NBL23 Review: Perth Wildcats

With the NBL23 season in the books and Free Agency just around the corner, the time to review the season is now.

From bottom to top, NBL Media will be running through each side’s most recent campaign and assess the good, the bad, the ugly, and the upcoming off-season.

After their 35-year post-season streak was ended in NBL22, the Wildcats entered the new season with a burning desire to once again be competing at the business end of a campaign.

And they did. Just.

The final day win over the Sydney Kings will go down in history as one of the most dramatic games in NBL history following the earlier result between Melbourne and Adelaide.

That, coupled with the Play-In Qualifier win over South East Melbourne saw Perth emerge as a potential Cinderella story candidate in the post-season, but its campaign was cut short by the Cairns Taipans.

Perth, much like Melbourne, flattered to deceive at points through the season, and flip-flopped between looking like one of the most dynamic teams in the league and falling way short of the quality necessary to complete a title tilt.

The Good – Meshing of the backcourt pair

While it took some time to get going, the backcourt partnership that became established between Bryce Cotton and Corey Webster is cause for a great amount of excitement amongst the Perth fanbase heading into next season.

You know what you’re going to get with Cotton. There aren’t enough superlatives to describe the influence he has had on the NBL during his time in the competition, and despite falling short in his campaigns for both the championship and the MVP in NBL23 he put together one of the best individual seasons he’s had in the NBL to date.

He equalled his NBL career-best points per game average at 23.5 at a 40.5 per cent clip, and he upped his rebound and steal numbers on NBL22.

Such was the tightness of the MVP race that even though he finished second behind Xavier Cooks that there was loud protest in the result – with many believing Cotton should have won.

Webster, on the other hand returned to the FIBA-level assassin he'd shown himself to be during his time at the Breakers.

Some poorly judged comments from his former side in New Zealand lit the spark for Webster to catch fire. His 26-point, four assist performance represented a turning point in not only his season, but Perth’s.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Corey Webster finding space and dropping tidy middies? That&#39;s a sight Breakers fans will be used to ?<br><br>Catch the <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/NBL23?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#NBL23</a> action live on ESPN via Kayo Sports and Foxtel. <a href="https://t.co/YuW6BXgWiU">pic.twitter.com/YuW6BXgWiU</a></p>&mdash; NBL (@NBL) <a href="https://twitter.com/NBL/status/1598936873300242433?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 3, 2022</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

With Cotton contracted for next season and Webster’s team option picked up, the disappointing end to NBL23 will quickly make way for a bullish excitement for the side’s starting guard duo heading into NBL24.

The Bad – Consistently poor rebounding

Control the boards, control the game. It’s a basketball theory almost as old as the game itself.

It’s also why the Perth Wildcats really struggled at various points throughout the season.

TaShawn Thomas led the Wildcats in rebounds per game with 6.1, a number that was only good enough for 13^th in the competition, while Luke Travers was Perth’s only other member inside the competition’s top 20.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Family is everything to <a href="https://twitter.com/PerthWildcats?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@PerthWildcats</a> import TaShawn Thomas ?‍?‍?<br><br>He offers us an insight into growing up in Texas, and how his son has changed his outlook on life in the latest episode of One-On-One. <a href="https://t.co/EXMSqFn9E2">pic.twitter.com/EXMSqFn9E2</a></p>&mdash; NBL (@NBL) <a href="https://twitter.com/NBL/status/1590917231365574657?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 11, 2022</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

As a unit the Wildcats averaged almost a whole rebound fewer per game than the next lowest team in the competition – the Tasmania JackJumpers – acrossthe regular season. In fact, their mark of 35.9 boards per game was almost six fewer than the Kings.

That’s six fewer possessions in a game. Whether that reduces your opportunities to score or gives the opposition more opportunities to score is irrelevant – it’s not a measure the Wildcats will wear with pride coming out of the NBL23 season.

The Ugly – Alienating senior players

Returning to the post-season was the minimum pass mark for the Perth Wildcats in NBL23, and even though they managed to scrape in via the final Play-In spot, what did it cost them?

For the bulk of the run-in John Rillie elected to give extensive minutes to Bryce Cotton, Corey Webster, Luke Travers, Brady Manek, TaShawn Thomas and Jesse Wagstaff.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">BRADY MANEK PUTS A MASSIVE FULL STOP ON THE CATS&#39; WIN ?‍? <a href="https://t.co/TpNqqm9M1a">pic.twitter.com/TpNqqm9M1a</a></p>&mdash; NBL (@NBL) <a href="https://twitter.com/NBL/status/1618944286661414914?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 27, 2023</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

That left veteran contributors Mitch Norton, Todd Blanchfield and Majok Majok on the outer, as well as impressive development player Michael Harris and leadership group member Kyle Zunic.

The fact Norton and Blanchfield were each thrown on to the court for only the final 10 seconds of the dramatic victory over the Sydney Kings was seen as genuinely insulting by some corners of NBL fandom. After all, Norton is a two-time champion with the side and Blanchfield is a veteran of almost 400 NBL games.

Even Majok, who has established himself as a strong rebounding centre at NBL level was cast by the wayside, despite the side’s consistent inability to win the rebounding battle.

Perth's Kyle Zunic and Mitch Norton.

Yes, Perth made the Play-In series, and yes they recorded an emotional and dramatic win over South East Melbourne in the Play-In Qualifier, but how much as the team’s culture been impacted for what, in reality, was a situation in which the side fell well short of its ultimate goal?

The Off-Season – Sorting out key player contracts

The Wildcats have made no secret about the desire to move on Todd Blanchfield, Mitch Norton, and even Kyle Zunic this off-season. The problem? They’re all contracted for NBL24.

All three were stripped of most of their minutes as John Rillie shortened the rotation for the Wildcats’ run-in to the final few games of the season, and Perth managed to scrape into the post-season basically using only six players.

Blanchfield showed he can still be an electric contributor thanks to his performances with the Boomers against Kazakhstan and Bahrain in the recent FIBA World Cup qualifiers, and he’s set to represent Australia in the upcoming FIBA 3x3 Asia Cup.

Mitch Norton entered the fray in the do-or-die clash in the final regular season game against the Kings and put in a match-winning defensive shift, while Zunic – a member of the club’s leadership group – played fewer games in his sophomore season than he did as a development player in NBL22.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">The Perth Wildcats remain in conversations with Todd Blanchfield and Mitch Norton about their respective future with the team, sources told ESPN. No guarantee either will return for next season; both parties are looking at what the best solution is going forward, sources said.</p>&mdash; Olgun Uluc (@OlgunUluc) <a href="https://twitter.com/OlgunUluc/status/1635210812175577089?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 13, 2023</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Whether any of the trio remains at the Wildcats remains to be seen, but if they do depart then it’s likely Perth will have to eat up a solid chunk of their contracts.

What happens with these three players over the off-season could define Perth’s NBL24 campaign - and potentially beyond.