ROUND 5 PREVIEW – KINGS VS WILDCATS

Kings-Wildcats.

It’s East meets West

Two legendary franchises.

And an early season blockbuster.

These two teams have combined for an astounding 16 National Basketball League championships.

Introduced players that would go on to be among the greatest the league has ever seen.

And together have been responsible for some of the best games in NBL history.

Not to mention a few of the most memorable playoff series of all time.

Both teams sit thousands of kilometres away from one another. Yet the rivalry that has existed since 1988 is no less intense because of it.

Any time the purple and gold heads to Perth, they are met with an avalanche of boos from the denizens of RAC Arena, known to all and sundry as the Red Army.

That kind of vociferous support is exactly what the Sydney Kings are hoping to receive on Saturday night in Afterpay Arena as the Wildcats look to consign the home team to consecutive losses at their venue and their third straight loss overall following a tough defeat to New Zealand in Canberra on Wednesday night.

And Perth will come in full of confidence, given they are riding a four-game winning streak to currently sit in the top three of the NBL standings with a 4-1 record, capped by a 100-86 home win over the New Zealand Breakers last Saturday night.

This will be the Wildcats’ first foray interstate this season, but they are playing with the kind of belief it takes to win on any floor, any time.

Despite the significant absence of centre Jo Lual-Acuil Jr due to injury, Perth has more than enough weaponry to still create serious issues for the purple and gold.

It starts with import forwards Kristian Doolittle (15.2ppg, 5.0rpg, 6.6apg, 1.0spg, 51.0% FG, 47.6% 3PT FG, 70.0% FT) and Dylan Windler (18.0ppg, 6.2rpg, 2.4apg, 48.4% FG, 43.3% 3PT FG, 93.8% FT). Doolittle is an All-NBL talent who is one of the best two-way players in the league; Windler is an outstanding perimeter shooter who is coming off his best game of the season against the Breakers where he was breathing fire from beyond the perimeter, hitting seven triples as part of his 32-point haul.

Then there’s explosive guard Elijah Pepper (23.8ppg, 2.6rpg, 3.2apg, 1.2spg, 50.0% FG, 37.0% 3PT FG, 80.0% FT) and tyro rookie Anthony Dell’Orso (13.4ppg, 3.6rpg, 3.0rpg, 1.4spg, 49.0% FG, 34.6% 3PT FG, 80.0% FT). Pepper has scored 25 points in each of his past four games and is a devastating scorer when he gets rolling; Dell’Orso is another in a group of youngsters who have come into the league this year and made an instant impact.

All of that, and then Perth goes ahead and brings in an import point guard by the name of Brandon Knight who was a first-round NBA draft pick in 2011 and played 451 games for six NBA teams during his nine-year run in the Association.

Knight made his debut last week and was impressive in limited minutes – he will add leadership and a cool head in a crisis for the Wildcats, who have an excellent head coach in John Rillie leading the way from the sidelines.

So, there’s no question this Perth outfit is exceedingly dangerous and the Kings will need to step up their play from what have been a pair of hard-fought losses.

Head Coach Brian Goorjian admitted after the defeat to the Breakers in Canberra that opposing teams are throwing a lot of bodies defensively at point guard Kendric Davis (22.8ppg, 4.8rpg, 7.4apg, 1.0spg, 41.8% FG, 78.1% FT) and that he needs to find ways to free up his superstar. Expect KD to bounce back at home after a couple of difficult outings.

The absence of Matthew Dellavedova means more minutes for the brilliant Makuach Maluach (15.8ppg, 3.8rpg, 73.2% FG, 61.9% 3PT FG, 75.0% FT) and rookie Will Johnston – both will be key in trying to take the pressure off KD and attack the Perth backcourt.

And Sydney’s frontline will have a large responsibility in negating what is an impressive group of Perth forwards – look for Xavier Cooks (15.6ppg, 6.4rpg, 2.4apg, 1.8bpg, 67.4% FG, 65.2% DFT), Torrey Craig (15.2ppg, 5.2rpg) and Andrew Carr (10.4ppg, 7.6rpg) to be active and aggressive at both ends of the floor.

This is a big one.

Time to get back on the right side of the ledger.

Let’s go Kings.

WHO

Sydney Kings vs. Perth Wildcats

WHEN

Saturday 17 October, 7:30pm AEST tipoff

LOCATION

Afterpay Arena, doors open 6:00pm

TICKETS

On sale via Ticketek

THE PLAYERS

KINGS

Projected Starters: Kendric Davis; Makuach Maluach; Torrey Craig; Xavier Cooks; Andrew Carr

Bench: Tyler Robertson, Jason Spurgin, Harry Wessels, Jayden Stone, Will Johnston; Lachlan Bofinger; Peitok Machar; Bailey Hanson

WILDCATS

Projected Starters: Brandon Knight, Elijah Pepper, Kristian Doolittle, Dylan Windler, Angus Brandt

Bench: Jaron Rillie, Jesse Wagstaff, Anthony Dell'Orso, Alex Higgins-Titsha, Cameron Huefner, Tana Hopa, Marley Sam, Jimmy Whitt

THE COACHES

KINGS

Brian Goorjian (9th season with Kings, record with Kings 213-88, NBL career record 600-277, 7 NBL championships)

WILDCATS

John Rillie (5th season with Wildcats, NBL record 80-56)

NBL26 REGULAR SEASON SERIES

Kings won 3-0

NBL26 PLAYOFFS

Kings won 2-0

CURRENT STANDINGS

Kings 3-2, 3rd

Wildcats 4-1, 2nd

KEY MATCHUP

Torrey Craig vs Kristian Doolittle

Doolittle is vitally important to the Wildcats given how much he provides for Perth at both ends of the court. A genuine two-way superstar, he can score inside and out, he’s an excellent rebounder and facilitator, and he can defend virtually every position on the floor. He’s one of those rare players who can dominate a game without scoring. Craig was sensational in the final quarter on Wednesday night and showed what a key he is for the purple and gold, going to another level offensively when his team absolutely needed it. A humble superstar, Torrey goes about his business with a minimum of fuss, and his vast NBA experience is something this young Kings group will lean on heavily, especially with Delly currently absent through injury.

THE QUESTIONS

Will a wounded Sydney come out swinging?

How tough will it be to stop the Wildcats’ plethora of long-distance threats?

HISTORY

All-time Head-to-Head

119 games played; Wildcats lead 69-50

In Sydney

60 games played, Kings lead 32-28

At Afterpay Arena

25 games played, Kings lead 14-11

DID YOU KNOW?

The Kings are currently riding a five-game winning streak against the Wildcats, their second longest winning run over Perth in franchise history. Sydney’s longest ever winning streak against the Cats is seven games between 2002 and 2003 – both streaks have come with Brian Goorjian in charge.

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