WILDCATS WARY OF STAR WARE
PERTH Wildcats sharp shooter and former Townsville Crocs player Clint Steindl says the Wildcats have a plan to stop Melbourne United star Casper Ware during the rest of the NBL grand final series
That plan?
Rough him up.
Ware has played a crucial role in the series to date, sacrificing parts of his own game to limit the influence of Wildcats matchwinner Bryce Cotton. Cotton managed just 10 points in the series opener, and followed it up with 19 points in game two.
They were both below his season average of 22.5 points. Wildcats players have vowed to make life hard for Ware for the rest of the series, with Steindl saying it is imperative for the team’s bigger players to set some strong screens.
“We’ve just got to make it tougher for Casper to chase Bryce, and we’ve got to make it tougher for him to score,” Steindl said. “We’ve got to hit him. We don’t just want him running off screens feeling comfortable.
“We’ve got to make it harder, and tire him down so his effect is limited on both ends of the floor.”
Ware scored 19 points in United’s game-one loss, and 14 in Sunday’s 92-74 win in Melbourne.
Game three of the best-offive series will be played in Perth tomorrow night. Cotton has made just 11 of his 33 field attempts during the grand final series. But Steindl says there are other parts to Cotton’s game that often fly under the radar.
In the game-one win over United, when Cotton went 0of-9 from long range, he tallied eight rebounds, eight assists and two steals.
“People expect Bryce score,” Steindl said.
“But he affects the game in so many ways – assists, rebounds.” to