“Fake momentum”: Cotton plays down Kings’ edge

Despite the Sydney Kings holding a 2-1 lead and just one win away from the title, Bryce Cotton has played down the narrative, saying the Championship Series remains firmly in the balance heading into Game 4.

Speaking on SEN SA on Tuesday, Cotton kept the message simple: win at home, then roll the dice in a decider.

“The thing with a grand final series is every win or every loss carries so much fake momentum,” Cotton said.

“If you lose a game, it’s like ‘oh, it’s the end of the world’ … that’s how people see it from the outside looking in. You win a game, it’s like ‘oh my god, they got it’.

“It’s all fake. You’ve got to win three games regardless.

“Sydney’s handled two home games, we handled our one home game. We just need to handle it again tomorrow and then put ourselves in a position to where it’s a coin toss for both teams and it’s win or go home.

“You couldn’t ask for anything better.”

Cotton has been at the centre of the Series, from his Game 2 buzzer-beater to an ongoing rivalry with Kendric Davis that’s added plenty of heat to the matchup.

Game 3 brought fresh noise, with coach Mike Wells questioning the lack of fouls paid to the MVP and the physical defence from Sydney, particularly Matthew Dellavedova.

Cotton, though, isn’t getting dragged in to the commentary.

“Interesting … it goes the way it goes, but you’ve just got to focus on Game 4,” he said.

And as for the back-and-forth with Davis, he kept things measured.

“It’s a lot of chippiness and a lot of talk that’s been happening throughout the Series,” he said.

“At the end of the day I’m not paying too much mind to it.

“I don’t really have a comment. Anything I have to say I’ll always say it to a player, but I don’t really air it online.

“It’s part of sports, the competitiveness of wanting to beat people. Things can vary as far as how you go about it … sports are sports.”

After logging heavy minutes and facing relentless defensive attention, Cotton says there are no excuses heading into Wednesday night.

“When you’re at the pointy end of the season you muster up all the energy you need and whatever it takes, it takes,” he added.

“I can be tired when the season’s done.”

Adelaide hosts Sydney in Game 4 at the Adelaide Entertainment Centre from 7:30pm AEDT.