"It's a game you have to win": Cotton

The Adelaide 36ers are riding high right now. They sit on top of the ladder after Round 11 of the Hungry Jack's NBL26 season, thanks to six straight wins.

The most recent of them was an incredible comeback against Perth, in Bryce Cotton's return to RAC Arena.

But all that is in the past now, as the 36ers prepare themselves for a top-of-the-table clash with Melbourne United on Friday night.

The importance of this matchup, which United won the first of earlier in the season, isn't lost on five-time MVP Bryce Cotton.

"It's a game that you have to win," Cotton said on 1629 SEN SA Radio.

"Obviously, you're trying to find little kinks in the armour. If you can do that in the process [of winning], that's great, but you just kind of take it for what it is.

"You want to get the win when you can because even if you've had a team's number during the regular season, come post-season, it's a completely different ball game and none of that stuff matters.

"It's all about what happens in the moment, and you worry about the later stuff later."

Bryce Cotton is a $491,100 guard in the NBL’s official fantasy game, Beat The Coach, presented by Choice Hotels. Take on Damon Lowery and Beat the Coach in any round of the NBL26 Season and you’ll receive an entry into the end-of-season $10,000 prize draw, including $5,000 cash and $5,000 in Choice Hotels™ gift vouchers. Sign up to play now here.

While the 13-3 36ers have spoken about the importance of Friday's Round 12 fixture with United at the Adelaide Entertainment Centre, one topic they haven't addressed is their positioning on the ladder.

"You don't talk about it (ladder positioning) too much, because at the end of the day all you can control is the next game that you have, and you never want to count your chickens before they hatch," Cotton said.

"Obviously, we are in a good position at the moment, but if you watch all these other teams, you know things can happen where teams can go on a skid where they lose four or five games in a row.

"I'm not saying that that will or won't be us, but that just means you have to make sure you stay locked in.

"As long as you're taking care of week-to-week, in theory, you'll end up where you wanna be at the end."

Friday's blockbuster tips off at 7.30pm AEDT, live on ESPN.