Perth's plan to "wear down" Cotton

The Perth Wildcats go into Sunday's blockbuster matchup with Adelaide having lost three of their past five matches.

One of those was Bryce Cotton's highly anticipated return to Perth, in which the 36ers stormed back from 21 points down to win at the death at RAC Arena.

While it still remains fresh in some people's minds, Perth coach John Rillie and his group have put it in the rear-vision mirror and are concentrating on exacting revenge at the Adelaide Entertainment Centre, a venue they've already tasted victory at this season.

“All of us feel like that one was one that got let go and slipped away. To go back into there, where we’ve had success this year is a very important game and challenge for us,” Rillie said to the West Australian.

To achieve that, the Wildcats know they will need to limit the impact of five-time MVP Cotton, who is averaging 25.8 points, 7.8 assists and 3.5 rebounds per game this season.

“We’ve done a great job on Bryce. He’s a great player. At the end of the day you are not going to stop him, you’ve just got to find ways to slow him down. It’s a team effort. I don’t think you can play Bryce one on one. He’s too good. It’s a game plan. It’s a strategy we have to follow. It takes five guys,” Wildcats' Sunday Dech said.

“I’m on the ball quite a bit with him and so is David Duke and our other guards. But it’s also the level of our bigs. It’s our help-side sinking in. It’s all of those little factors that maybe the general fan doesn’t see, but they’re the ones the coaches really pay attention to and it makes our job a lot easier.

“With Bryce you’ve got to wear him down. It’s a 40-minute game. He lifts in the big moments. It’s about how least effective you can make him.”

Bryce Cotton is a $529,900 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.

Sunday's blockbuster between Adelaide and Perth tips off at 2.30pm AEDT, live on ESPN and Channel 10.

Read the full story here >> Perth Wildcats trio Dylan Windler, Jesse Wagstaff and Ben Henshall cleared for NBL clash with Adelaide 36ers