Perth Wildcats vs Adelaide 36ers - Tuesday Preview

UPDATE: This game has been postponed in line with the NBL's Covid Protocols.

Game Details
Perth Wildcats vs Adelaide 36ers
4.30pm WST Tuesday 28 December at Adelaide Entertainment Centre
Watch live on ESPN – available via Kayo or Foxtel

Context
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 game is the Wildcats first road game of the 2021/22 NBL Season, and the first in what is expected to be a six-week road trip for the team.
The Wildcats go into the game on top of the standings with a 4-1 record, while Adelaide have won two of their five games after winning the NBL Blitz pre-season tournament.

What the coach had to say
“There’s no excuses not to be ready that’s for sure, we’ve had a lot of time to prepare, we’ve seen them three times and before all of that most of these guys knew each other anyway. There will be no excuses for not being prepared or ready, and I’m sure both teams will have a few wrinkles to throw out but at the end of the day it will come down to execution and effort and staying together.” – Scott Morrison

Roster Availability 
The Perth Wildcats expect Matt Hodgson to play after he missed the last four games with a calf injury. He suffered the injury in the early minutes of the team’s season opener against the 36ers.
Mitch Norton and Todd Blanchfield will remain sidelined.
Development players Kyle Zunic and Corey Shervill will be in the 11-man team

Opposition players 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.

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
Bryce Cotton (425 threes) currently sits one three-pointer behind Jesse Wagstaff on the Wildcats all-time three-pointers made list. The pair are second and third behind Ricky Grace, who drained 960 in his 482-game career

Milestones
20-year-old Luke Travers will play his 50th game for the Perth Wildcats.

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.