NBL27 R9 Game Preview | Wildcats vs JackJumpers

The Perth Wildcats will welcome back Brandon Knight when they face the Tasmania JackJumpers at RAC Arena on Thursday night, tip-off at 6:30pm.

The teams meet for the first time this season, with Perth chasing its sixth win in front of the Red Army against a Tasmania side arriving with an 8-3 record.

The Wildcats won three of their four meetings last season and will look to build on that record as Knight returns to provide a boost to the backcourt.

Knight’s return gives the Wildcats another attacking option alongside Elijah Pepper, Dylan Windler and Kristian Doolittle, with the experienced guard cleared to play after missing two games with hamstring soreness.

Head coach John Rillie said Knight’s presence would benefit Perth in several areas.

“With his own play, his energy, his leadership, depth at that position as well, his availability ticks off a lot of boxes for us,” Rillie said.

Tasmania travels west following a 79-77 win over the New Zealand Breakers in Launceston, holding on after Sam Mennenga’s final shot missed.

The JackJumpers opened the second half with seven unanswered points after scores were level at halftime and led the rest of the way.

Dakota Mathias finished with 18 points, including four first-half three-pointers, making his perimeter shooting an important consideration for Perth’s defence.

Containing the JackJumpers combination of outside shooting and interior production will be important, with Perth looking to make Tasmania work for its scoring opportunities.

Wildcats forward Cameron Huefner believes the intensity of Perth’s preparation can translate into an improved defensive performance against the JackJumpers.

“I think you just saw with our practices, they’re that intense every day. I don’t think we ever practise at any lower than that,” Huefner said.

“I think our expectations as a team, as a club, they’re high and they will never drop.”

Perth’s focus is on producing consistent basketball across the contest and sustaining their best stretches would be important against Tasmania.

“It’s just consistency in our play,” John Rillie said ahead of the game.

“We have peaks and valleys. We’re not consistent enough for long enough parts of the game to sustain a winning result.”

The rebounding contest has been the focus for the WIldcats this week and will provide an area to attack. New Zealand collected 13 offensive rebounds and attempted 17 more field goals than Tasmania in their last meeting.

Creating extra possessions would give Perth more opportunities to test a JackJumpers rotation that used just seven players against the Breakers.

Majok Deng, Bryce Hamilton, Ben Gold and David Johnson were unavailable for that game, with Tasmania finding enough contributions across its remaining lineup to secure the win.

Discipline will be just as important after the JackJumpers earned 31 free-throw attempts against New Zealand, converting 21 compared with the Breakers’ 11 makes from 14 attempts.

Perth will look to disrupt Tasmania’s rhythm early and make the visitors work at both ends.

Knight’s return adds another dimension as the Wildcats chase their sixth win of the season on Thursday night.

Get your game night started with the band at the Murray Street Mall train station exit from 5:00pm, arriving at Pirate Life Perth at 5:25pm. The Red Army March leaves Pirate Life Perth at 5:40pm.

RAC Arena doors, The Y Fan Zone and merchandise outlets open at 5:30pm, with pre-game entertainment from 6:10pm and tip-off at 6:30pm.