Coach wants 40 minutes in 450th

Trevor Gleeson will coach his 450^th NBL game when the Perth Wildcats meet the Cairns Taipans on Friday night.

He’s just the sixth coach in NBL history to reach that milestone.

If the Wildcats win on Friday night, his career win-rate will be an impressive 60 per cent.

However, following Wednesday night’s loss, he’ll be looking for a more consistent effort from his players.

“I thought we came out with the right intensity but then the game became too easy and we took soft options which is disappointing,” he said.

A win for Perth will see them lock in top-two and home court advantage in a semi-final series.

“We’re more concerned with playing the right way, I thought we did for a half. We have to start doing that for 40 minutes. That’s where my concern is. The ladder and the positions always works themselves out, so I don’t lose sleep about that.”

The Wildcats have defeated Cairns in all three of their meetings this season by an average margin of 15.7 points.

Perth last swept the Taipans in a season-series way back in 2002.

The two teams last met on Monday in Cairns.

In that game, Perth led by two points at quarter time, one point at halftime and scores were tied at three-quarter time.

The Wildcats forced the Taipans into six last quarter turnovers and zero from seven threes to pull away.

Jesse Wagstaff will be rested for tomorrow night’s game against the Cairns Taipans, while Todd Blanchfield will undergo a game day fitness test. SKG Injury Update.

Tip-off is at 7.30pm at RAC Arena.

Tickets available here.