The "natural progression" of NBL Christmas hoops

Perth head coach John Rillie believes games over the Christmas period has become the natural evolution of the NBL, and has refused to be “negative” about the Wildcats’ road trip over the holidays.

The Wildcats will travel to Melbourne to play United in their annual open-air game on Saturday night before a clash with the Taipans in Far North Queensland on Boxing Day.

“I think it’s evolving, the time of year we play,” Rillie said. “I think it’s natural where it’s heading but like anything when there’s change there’s always a little bit of kickback.

“But it’s our profession and it’s the time of the year we play so I don’t think having any negative thoughts about it is going to help you, you just have to deal with this the best way you can.

“During my playing career I was part of the transition from the winter to the summer, so really now that’s all I think about – the NBL is in the summer-time and at Christmas-time for us.”

Last time the Wildcats faced United they emerged from John Cain Arena with a one-point overtime win in what was one of the most entertaining games of the season.

Former Wildcat Luke Travers suffered a concussion in the first minute of the clash, in an incident that also hobbled Next Star Ariel Hukporti for the remainder of the contest.

Ian Clark also left that game with injury.

Perth has won seven of its last eight games to surge up to third on the ladder and equal with both Sydney and Tasmania on nine wins.

Rillie says while some might say his side has emerged with lucky results during the run, he refuses to use the word.

“I think when we’ve been on this good run we’ve had, we’ve found different ways to win. You use the word luck, I say we believe in ourselves and we execute in that moment,” he said.

“Because you could say the same thing about Tassie the other day and we’ve had a few other games.

“This team has shown resilience just to find a way to win a game so as long as we find a way to give ourselves a chance in that situation, everybody needs a little luck.

“If we truly want to be a championship contender we have to show we want to go on the road and win, and we can compete against the best teams on the road, because once you get into that scenario in the playoffs you have to win on the road to have any chance.”

The Wildcats play United at 8pm AEDT on Saturday night before clashing with the Taipans at 7:30pm AEDT on Boxing Day. Both games will be live on ESPN via Kayo.