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Perth Wildcats vs Adelaide 36ers |
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|---|---|---|
2018 NBL semi-final, Game 2: Fulltime |
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| Perth Arena, Perth, WA | ||
| Perth Wildcats | Adelaide 36ers | |
| 88 | SCORE | 89 |
| 28 | Q1 | 15 |
| 21 | Q2 | 25 |
| 18 | Q3 | 23 |
| 21 | Q4 | 26 |
The Perth Wildcats put their season on the line in Game 2 of the NBL semi-finals against the red-hot Adelaide 36ers. Join The Roar for live scores and coverage from 9:30pm (AEDT).
The Wildcats were comprehensively outplayed in Game 1 of the series, with the 36ers fast style of play leaving them shaken.
Perth have always been the picture of perfection in the NBL, especially at finals time, but Trevor Gleeson’s men were rattled in the series opener, unlike they have been anytime in the last three finals campaigns.
Adelaide finished the regular season with a bang, finding some form over the final few weeks and made every bit of their home advantage count on Saturday. They got out and ran at every opportunity, racking up fastbreak points like they were going out of fashion.
Despite that, it was their defence which led to attack. Perth’s shooting was woeful at times and with Adelaide crashing the boards and putting extra emphasis on winning the rebound count, their fast men – Nathan Sobey, Mitch Creek and imports Ramone Moore and Josh Childress simply couldn’t be stopped.
The telling factor was having six players in double figures for points. The 36ers have plenty of depth on their roster – indicated by Moore being their sixth man – and for the Wildcats to hold that level over 40 minutes, everything needs to go right.
Of course, there is the possibility playing at Perth Arena will shake the 36ers around.
If Perth are to get back into the series, they must defend better first and foremost with that effort led by Damian Martin.
From there, they need to play the game at their pace. In Adelaide, they got sucked into playing a faster style which simply doesn’t suit them. If they can slow things down, play the half court game and have both Bryce Cotton and JP Tokoto stand up, they will be a chance.
If the 36ers are allowed to play their pace though, it’ll be a sweep with Joey Wright’s men looking to earn themselves more time off ahead of the grand final series, which begins on February 16 – next Friday – against Melbourne United.
Prediction
The Wildcats will turn things around to an extent and certainly won’t get blown off the court like they did in Game 1, but after such a big drubbing, it’s hard to see them turning things all the way around, even at home.
36ers by 4.
Be sure to join The Roar for liv ecoverage of the NBL semi-finals from 9:30pm (AEDT) and don’t forget to add a comment in the section below.