SUNDAY takes the Perth Wildcats, winners of four out of their last five games, to the WIN Entertainment Centre to take on the Illawarra Hawks, the team who delivered Perth that solitary loss in their last five outings. 

Illawarra is clear on top of the NBL25 table, with a record of 10-5. They have also won four of their last five games, thanks to some impressive form from Tyler Harvey and Trey Kell III. Both of their import guards are averaging 17 points per game this season, and combined with the valuable rebounding of big men Darius Days and Sam Froling, the Hawks have become a very difficult outfit to defeat.

In their last match the scoring punch came from Harvey as, despite inefficiency, he put up 31 points to lead his side. But their offensive options are vast and the Hawks have managed a ‘my turn, your turn’ style, as each game another player steps up. Having this many scoring options is a weapon, and it would take a great defence to prevent Illawarra from posting 100 points as they have done in thier last four games. 

Perth would love to say they have the defence to match Illawarra, but with Kristian Doolittle remaining on the sidelines and Tai Webster having now been ruled out for the next six weeks due to a hamstring injury (which has hampered him all season), they will be missing some of their firepower on that end. 

As Bryce Cotton continues to set the world on fire offensively, head coach John Rillie would be wary of asking him to do too much on the defensive end and limiting the Wildcats flamethrower. This means the task of guarding their opponent’s scorers may rest on the young shoulders of Ben Henshall, Izan Almansa and Hyrum Harris.

Those three have played extended minutes this year in place of focal points Doolittle, Cotton, Webster and Keanu Pinder, who have all missed time with injury. Pinder returned for Perth in Round 12, but came off the bench again as he sees his minutes ramp up. Almansa has done a fine job in his place in the starting lineup, and for continuity sake Rillie may opt to run with what has been working.

As for Illawarra’s defence, the task of stopping Bryce Cotton appears almost impossible. The MVP favourite is averaging a ridiculous 48 points per game over the Wildcats last four matches, and has shown no signs of slowing down. In their last game against the Taipans, he managed all 44 of his points in just 26 minutes of basketball. It will likely be a combination of Trey Kell and former Wildcat Wani Swaka Lo Buluk who get the job, but as a team they will need to work together to cut off Cotton’s angles and force him to pass up the ball.

These two sides have met already this month, and the story was similar on that occasion. Cotton scored 40 points and the Wildcats posted 111 total themselves, but could not stop Illawarra’s offensive engine as they scored 121 points in a team effort, as six Hawks scored 12 points or more. That night it was Kell who led them with 26, going 3/5 from beyond the arc. 

It will be fascinating to see two offensive juggernauts try to outsmart each other on both ends of the floor, and which team will hold up for the all-important victory. It is Perth’s only game in Round 13, while Illawarra then face Sydney on Wednesday night, as the NBL displays 12 consecutive days of basketball over the Christmas break.