Perth Wildcats vs Adelaide 36ers - Tuesday Preview

Game Details
Perth Wildcats vs Adelaide 36ers
4.30pm WST Wednesday Tuesday 18 @ Adelaide Entertainment Centre
Watch LIVE on ESPN – available via Kayo or Foxtel

Context
This game ends COVID-enforced mid-season delays for both teams. The Wildcats haven’t played since New Year’s Eve, while the 36ers last match was on 18 December. Both teams have had a number of games postponed as COVID-19 infected both rosters.
This is the Wildcats second clash with 36ers this season and their first in Adelaide. The two sides also met twice in the pre-season.
The Wildcats go into the game on top of the standings with a 5-1 record, while Adelaide have won two of their five games after winning the NBL Blitz pre-season tournament.

What the coach had to say
“Adelaide have talented bigs who can step outside and shoot threes or hurt you in the paint. Johnston, Bairstow, Humphreys and also Soto is going to play I believe tomorrow. We haven’t seen him yet, so we need to do our job on the glass like always.
"We’re last in the league in defensive rebounding, which, while we don’t have to be first in the league, we definitely need to improve that, so it’s something we want to focus on.
"Their guards are going to be tough. McCarron is a really good player who controls things, Hannahs has given us trouble at times, he’s a tough guy to match up with and they get Sunday Dech back who does just as good a job on Bryce as anybody, so it’s going to be a tough game, COVID or not.
They’re going to be itching to play, they haven’t played in even longer than we have, so both teams are going to come out firing.” – Scott Morrison.

Roster Availability 
Perth Wildcats players Luke Travers, Kyle Zunic and Mitch Clarke will be unavailable for tomorrow’s game due to health and safety protocols.
Todd Blanchfield’s (knee) availability is subject to a game day fitness test.
Corey Shervill will miss approximately eight weeks with a foot injury.
Development player Ollie Hayes-Brown comes into the team.

Opponents to watch out for
Daniel Johnson and Dusty Hannahs are Adelaide’s two-top scorers, averaging 16.4 and 15.0 points per game respectively. Cameron Bairstow leads his team in rebounds with 7.4 per game. 
Keep an eye out for highly-touted 19-year-old Filipino giant Kai Sotto, who made his debut in the 36ers most-recent game.
Former Wildcats Sunday Dech is expected to make his return from injury.

Last time they met
The Wildcats hosted Adelaide on opening night of the season at RAC Arena, coming away 85-73 winners. It was the Wildcats first game under coach Scott Morrison, with four players also making their club debut. Vic Law made history, scoring 37 points – the most ever by a Wildcat on debut for the club while Kyle Zunic became the first development player to start in his first NBL game.
Daniel Johnson was Adelaide’s best with 22 points and six rebounds.

Fun Facts and Stats
Bryce Cotton (24.5ppg) and Vic Law (23.0ppg) are the NBL’s top-two scorers so far this season.
Wildcats guards Mitch Norton and Bryce Cotton are both approaching assists milestones. Norton is two dimes away from his 700th career assist, while Cotton is two off his 600th.

History
Perth and Adelaide have met 144 times over 40-years – the most of any two teams in the NBL. The Wildcats have won 79 times.
More recently, the Wildcats have won five of their last six against the 36ers, but Adelaide have won eight of their past 11 home games against Perth.