Preview: Perth vs South East Melbourne - Round 15, NBL24

Friday, January 12, 2024

Can the Phoenix turn their fortunes around against Perth in front of the Red Army?

Saturday, January 13 at 8pm AEDT | RAC Arena

Watch: Live on ESPN via Kayo | International viewership details
Box scores: Download the free NBL App

The game will be played under the open roof at RAC Arena for the Wildcats' annual open-air game.

Derek Rucker believes Perth are currently the top performing team in the NBL given Melbourne’s recent defeats to Adelaide and Cairns.

Kings legend Brad Rosen compared the current plight of the Sydney Kings to Perth’s poor early season form, and praised the ability of the Wildcats to turn their fortunes around this season.

Keanu Pinder is reportedly likely to suit up for the game despite suffering an apparent ankle injury in Perth’s Round 14 win over New Zealand.

The Phoenix suffered the biggest loss of NBL24 in their Round 14 loss to Illawarra, however they were missing import trio Abdel Nader, Gary Browne and Alan Williams along with Craig Moller.

Nader and Williams are set to return this week.

Rhys Vague says morale within the group is still high despite the side’s current poor run of form that has seen South East Melbourne drop out of the top six.

Legendary commentator John Casey reminisced about Phoenix head coach Mike Kelly’s playing days, and told the story of how he thought Kelly had destroyed the commentary table following his diving for a loose ball in the 1990s.

Perth
108-102 win over New Zealand
100-82 win over Adelaide
105-102 win over Cairns

South East Melbourne
78-116 loss to Illawarra
83-95 loss to Brisbane
85-77 win over Tasmania

Bryce Cotton
Bryce Cotton’s comments regarding his Boomers future on The Basketball Show will have been like a dagger to the heart of almost all Australian basketball fans, but there is some small solace to be taken in that we can still watch him dominate the NBL with the Perth Wildcats.

Cotton once again starred for Perth in Round 14 and dropped 31 points en route to a high-scoring victory over the Breakers, and his backcourt partnership with Tai Webster is looking more and more well-oiled with each passing game.

For all the MVP discussion there has been throughout the season, for all the names thrown into the hat over the course of the campaign from Nathan Sobey, Milton Doyle, Chris Goulding, Alan Williams, and Parker Jackson-Cartwright, the race could be as good as over given Cotton’s incredible form following Perth’s stuttering start to the season.

There are no more superlatives to describe Cotton’s quality, and although legendary commentator John Casey still believes Leroy Loggins is the greatest import in the history of the NBL – and that’s certainly a more than fair comment to make given Loggins’ resume and longevity – just enjoy watching the master at work.

“Bryce Cotton is the best player in the competition, and not only that, he’s performing like the best player in the NBL and leading his team to victories. I didn’t give Perth much of a chance of winning in New Zealand … but Bryce is a master of the moment.” – Derek Rucker on Moments That Mattered.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">''A master of the moment'' ?<br><br>Derek Rucker says Bryce Cotton is still the best player in the league ?<br><br>Read more: <a href="https://t.co/N6mOd0Kg7G">https://t.co/N6mOd0Kg7G</a> <a href="https://t.co/pEADWfDFmp">pic.twitter.com/pEADWfDFmp</a></p>— NBL (@NBL) <a href="https://twitter.com/NBL/status/1744192590378135557?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 8, 2024</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Rhys Vague
Although the Phoenix suffered the biggest loss of NBL24 last week, it has to be taken with a grain of salt. South East Melbourne was missing four starters against the Hawks, and although they showed admirable fight, it was obvious they were well below full strength.

It’s fitting South East Melbourne play the Wildcats in Perth on this occasion, as aside from Rhys Vague likely playing an increased role in front of family and friends and his hometown Perth crowd, he will also suit up for his 100^th NBL game.

Vague was given more offensive freedom against the Hawks and took more shots than he had in any game prior in this season. Injury to Alex Sarr means he won’t give up too much size to the Wildcats’ center options, and his ability to play the small forward and power forward positions will help Mike Kelly tinker with his lineups if need be.

“Immediately after heads were a bit down, but we watched film, we reviewed it and picked out some stuff. Morale is up at the moment, we’ve had three good sessions this week and there’s been good energy from the boys.” – Rhys Vague to Phoenix Media mid-week.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">? Rhys Vague will suit up for his 100th NBL game against the side he won four championships with tomorrow night in Perth! ? <a href="https://t.co/qOBiBeigcR">pic.twitter.com/qOBiBeigcR</a></p>— South East Melbourne Phoenix (@SEMelbPhoenix) <a href="https://twitter.com/SEMelbPhoenix/status/1745602798878929406?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 12, 2024</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Kristian Doolittle vs Mitch Creek
The Kristian Doolittle appreciation society seems to have quietened down in recent weeks, however the import forward is still performing to a high standard in this electric Wildcats side.

A couple of quieter games against Melbourne and Cairns saw him leave the limelight, however he’s still quietly achieving and continuing to be an effective offensive and defensive presence for the Wildcats.

In the past three games he’s averaged 15.7 points, nine rebounds, one block and 1.3 steals per game as he maintains a high level of comfort within the Wildcats’ system.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">DOO FOR DPOY! ?<br><br>Perth Wildcats head coach John Rillie has endorsed an in-form Kristian Doolittle for the NBL's Defensive Player of the Year award.<br><br>Full story: <a href="https://t.co/3gJj5oxzOM">https://t.co/3gJj5oxzOM</a> <a href="https://t.co/1aeION1PwC">pic.twitter.com/1aeION1PwC</a></p>— Perth Wildcats (@PerthWildcats) <a href="https://twitter.com/PerthWildcats/status/1739923858608779503?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 27, 2023</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Mitch Creek, on the other hand, was something of a lone wolf for the Phoenix last week – despite the best efforts of his teammates in their short-handed defeat.

Creek joked mid-week that the likes of Michael Jordan and Hakeem Olajuwon are coming out of retirement to help the Phoenix out in the midst of this injury crisis, and although he continues to be his affable self off the court, there’s no doubting Creek will have taken last week’s defeat to heart and will aim to pull his teammates to victory in a similar fashion to what Bryce Cotton did for the Wildcats last week.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Another big game for the captain as Mitch Creek is our GOAT Player of the Game, scoring a game-high 24 points last night against the Hawks. ? <a href="https://t.co/IPnogLol69">pic.twitter.com/IPnogLol69</a></p>— South East Melbourne Phoenix (@SEMelbPhoenix) <a href="https://twitter.com/SEMelbPhoenix/status/1743399475086016809?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 5, 2024</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Perth has won its last five games at RAC Arena. Championship teams tend to make their home court a fortress, and that’s exactly what the Wildcats are doing in the west.

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Tai Webster.