Perth’s 99-point problem as JackJumpers loom

John Rillie has heard the noise before.

Four straight losses, three of them at RAC Arena, have the Red Army restless and the critics circling.

Rillie isn’t panicking, though. He has steered the Wildcats to Finals in each of his four seasons in charge.

With Brandon Knight back on Thursday night and Jo Lual-Acuil Jr. likely only weeks away, he’s confident the tide is about to turn.

“Craig [reporter] asked me after the game, do I hear the noise? Like I’ve been a part of that situation for quite some time, probably since the minute I took this job. So that allows me, now fifth year, I’m a little more accustomed to these situations,” Rillie said on Wednesday.

“I feel like we’ve handled those moments very well. Come out on the other end of them well. We’re just going through it again.

“Do you want to go through these? Absolutely not. But I always feel, a team, a person, life, how you respond in these moments really dictates what can happen in the future.”

Five games is the longest losing streak of Rillie’s tenure. That was back in 2022, when the Wildcats fell to 3-5 before recovering to make the Play-In.

Expectations are far greater in NBL27, but at 5-6, the challenge is not dissimilar.

“Like when you construct a roster, you construct it thinking that everyone’s going to be healthy, everyone’s going to be playing well, but then you get into the season and these things appear,” Rillie said.

“So just navigating through it. And most importantly, it’s getting those guys back healthy so they can be impactful players when they do return.”

Thursday night’s visit from second-placed Tasmania is the first test, and it doesn’t get much tougher.

Defence has been the focus at training, with Perth conceding 99 points or more in six straight games.

“Habits of practice carry over. It takes time,” Rillie said.

“Do I hope we go out tomorrow night and have a better effort and it looks better and we hold Tassie to a reasonable score? Absolutely. But then we also have to understand, like, there’s a process to it, guys learning.

“And, you know, if we do perform at a high level tomorrow night, then we got to back it up again Saturday.”

Perth hosts the JackJumpers from 9:30pm AEDT at RAC Arena, live on ESPN.