Simon set sights on shutting down Cotton

Sydney Kings’ Justin Simon embraces any defensive responsibility he is tasked with by how coaches.

Time after time this season, the NBL21 Defensive Player of the Year has risen to the task and shut down their opponent’s best offensive threats.

But in this league, none are bigger than three-time MVP Bryce Cotton, who Simon will be matched up on for the Kings' clash with the Wildcats at Qudos Bank Arena on Saturday night.

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“Taking on Bryce is absolutely a challenge I look forward to,” Simon said.

“He’s a talented guy, so we’re all going to have to be locked in as a team to try and limit his looks and make any ones he does get up tough.

“That requires everyone being on the same page defensively while playing with high intensity and showing him plenty of bodies - not to mention trying to put him in every action we run as a team on the other end of the court.

“I don’t want to take too much away from the rest of the Wildcats team, as they’re got some great players there but Bryce is the head of the snake and we need to make his life as tough as possible.”

The round 14 showdown presents the Kings a chance to rattle off their fourth straight win at Qudos Bank Arena, after solid victories against Melbourne, Tasmania and most recently, South East Melbourne.

“The biggest positive we took away from the Phoenix win was our ball movement and it shifts around the court as it did, it allows players to make plays and good things happen,” the St. John’s alum said.

“But we know we allowed too many points, especially how easily they scored in the paint - so we’ve got to lock in and take that away from Perth this week otherwise they will hurt us.

“Defending the paint and running people off the three-point line are aspects we’ve hung our season on because if we do, it creates stops and allows us to get out and run, which makes us hard to stop on offence.

“If we do those aspects and dictate the play, it’ll put us in a great position to win.”

Victory on Saturday, in the NBL20 grand final replay, would move the Hoops Capital side to 15-5 with just eight games remaining before finals.

As such, Simon knows how important it is to protect home court and cement a top-two spot.

“Our first priority is to take care of home court, which we have done the past few games,” the 26-year-old said.

“Obviously we would love a top-two spot going into finals but we try not to look too far ahead and take each game as it comes.

“If we take each game as it comes and lock in that way, I’m sure the rest will take care of itself.”

Tickets for the Saturday, January 7 fixture, tipping off at 8pm AEDT, are still available here.