Cotton fine as the Taipans fall short
THERE was simply no stopping Bryce Cotton as the Perth Wildcats trounced Cairns Taipans 90-67 to complete a perfect opening weekend at RAC Arena.
In front of their former head coach Mike Kelly – now the Wildcats’ associate head coach – Cairns got off to a hot start on Sunday but lost steam as missed shots and turnovers buried the visitors.
The Taipans generated turnovers courtesy of an aggressive game from Tahjere McCall, but they again failed to protect their own ball, allowing 20 turnovers while getting just 11 of their own.
McCall (16 points, eight rebounds) got his quest for the Defensive Player of the Year award off in style against tough competition, sticking to Vic Law like glue and restricting the import, who went off for 37 points in Perth’s season-opening win against the 36ers on Friday night.
But when McCall was off the court, the Taipans noticeably dipped defensively, allowing Cotton to do what he does best. Taipans coach Adam Forde isn’t panicking.
“One thing we’re conscious of is this is a marathon, not a sprint,” he said. “There’s things we’re doing differently, things we’re changing up on a weekly basis.
“We’ve got clear language in what we consider disruptive and what we’re comfortable in, so we’ll just continue to trend in that direction.
“It’s not going to happen overnight.”
Three-time MVP Cotton dropped 31 points on Cairns – 16 in the third quarter alone – as the Snakes clamoured to keep pace.
Forde said between Law and Cotton, coverage was a tall order in forcing constant changes-ups in schemes.
“We tried throwing a few different coverages at him,” he said. “There were a couple of times where unfortunately, whether it was second chance points of the ball getting kicked out to him ... that’s more than enough for him to get going.”
The Taipans allowed Cotton and Law free looks from the three arc far too often.
Sub-par nights in shooting from Stephen Zimmerman at the post and Scott Machado (1-12) did little favours for the Taipans, as Machado fouled out in the fourth quarter.
“I couldn’t throw a rock in the ocean,” Machado said. “I take the blame for that sure.”
Zimmerman finished with a 14-point, 14-rebound double-double, but left plenty of points on court.
HAVE ANOTHER GO
THE Wildcats milked every possession for what it was worth, as Cairns struggled to grab defensive rebounds.
Perth notched secondchance points against Cairns, who showed little aggression in regaining possession.
NO-NONSENSE NOI
AFTER a tough pre-season, Kouat Noi hit his stride, the 24-year -old landing an equal career-best 15 points from three-point range, as he shot his way to a 17-point outing.
Noi did give up an equal team-high four turnovers but his spark in offence should be cause for optimism.
The Taipans host the JackJumpers in their return to the Snake Pit on Saturday night.