Can the Wildcats win without a dominant scorer?

Unlike the other teams that finished in the NBL’s top four, the Perth Wildcats’ offence isn’t centred around one weapon.

The first-placed Sydney Kings have the MVP runner-up, Kendric Davis, who scored 24.4 points per contest, while six-time MVP Bryce Cotton led the way for Adelaide with a league-best 25.7 points.

The competition’s fourth-leading scorer, Nathan Sobey (22), was the heartbeat of the South East Melbourne Phoenix, who finished the campaign in third.

But the Wildcats’ leading scorer on the season was big man Jo Lual-Acuil Jr., who chipped in 17.1 points per fixture.

That mark was the 10th highest in the NBL this season, falling behind Brisbane’s Casey Prather (24.4), Cairns’ Jack McVeigh (21.2), Illawarra’s JaVale McGee (19.3), Tasmania’s Bryce Hamilton (18.2) and New Zealand duo Parker Jackson-Cartwright and Sam Mennenga (both 17.7).

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One man who appreciates the success of a dominant scorer is 2001 NBL champion Damon Lowery.

“I am a massive fan of the scoring hierarchy. Equal opportunity is not good,” Lowery said to the West Australian.

“The big dogs eat first, and then the puppies eat next.

“You need to have that seven-footer (Jo Lual-Acuil Jr.) on the floor, and he needs to play for 35 minutes.

“It needs to be a minimum of 15 shots around the basket where he can draw fouls, get other players into foul trouble and get his team in the bonus.”

But, over the past decade, the statistics don’t necessarily support Lowery’s thought, with only five of the past 10 champions featuring a top-five scorer (Bryce Cotton features three times alone):

NBL25: Champion - Illawarra Hawks, top scorer: Trey Kell III (17.7 - 11th highest)
NBL24: Champion - Tasmania JackJumpers, top scorer: Jack McVeigh (17.3 - 10th)
NBL23: Champion - Sydney Kings, top scorer: Derrick Walton Jr (16.4 - 14th)
NBL22: Champion - Sydney Kings, top scorer: Jaylen Adams (20.8 - second)
NBL21: Champion - Melbourne United, top scorer: Jock Landale (16.5 - 12th)
NBL20: Champion - Perth Wildcats, top scorer: Bryce Cotton (22.9 - first)
NBL19: Champion - Perth Wildcats, top scorer: Bryce Cotton (21.8 - second)
NBL18: Champion - Melbourne United, top scorer: Casey Prather (16.7 - fifth)
NBL17: Champion - Perth Wildcats, top scorer: Bryce Cotton (23.1 - first)
NBL16: Champion - Perth Wildcats, top scorer: Casey Prather (16.3 - ninth)

Making the case even stronger for an equal-opportunity offence, like Perth’s, is the fact that all three of the past champions haven’t featured a top ten scorer.

In Illawarra, Kell III had Tyler Harvey (17.1), Sam Froling (13.9), Darius Days (13.9) and Will Hickey (10.1) also average double-figures.

Jordon Crawford (16.1), Milton Doyle (15.7) and Will Magnay (10.8) all shone alongside McVeigh.

Finally, NBL23 MVP Xavier Cooks (15.1), Dejan Vasiljevic (13.4) and Justin Simon (10.6) were all key contributors alongside Walton Jr.

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So the fact that Lual-Acuil Jr. has Kristian Doolittle (16.6), Dylan Windler (12.9), David Duke Jr (12.3) and Elijah Pepper (10.7) in doublefigures might be a benefit to John Rillie’s side.

Sure, there is the sentiment of who takes the ball down the stretch, but there’s also the thought that teams can be more potent if the defence doesn’t know where the points are going to come from.

With the NBL26 Finals tipping off on Wednesday with Perth travelling to John Cain Arena to face South East Melbourne, both theories will be put to the ultimate test.

That Seeding Qualifier tips off at 7.30pm AEDT, live on ESPN.

Read the full story here >> Perth Wildcats urged to make Jo Lual-Acuil their scoring star in NBL final against South East Melbourne