Perth Wildcats vs Illawarra Hawks: Friday Preview

Game Details
Perth Wildcats vs Illawarra Hawks
7.30pm WST Friday 22 April @ RAC Arena
Watch LIVE on ESPN – available via Kayo or Foxtel
Tickets

Context
It’s both team’s penultimate game of the 2021/22 and there’s a lot on the line. For the Wildcats, a win will all but sew up qualification for the NBL Finals, while a loss could possibly tee up a do-or-die clash with the Phoenix on Sunday. The Wildcats are coming off a confidence boosting win over the Cairns Taipans and have won two of their last three, while the Illawarra Hawks have won their last four. The big story this week for the Wildcats is star Vic Law has been ruled out for the remainder of the year with an ankle injury after playing every game this season.

Pre-game words
Scott Morrison on Vic Law’s injury
“My heart goes out to Vic, I feel really bad because he’s had a great season and this is going delay his next thing, whether it be Summer League, or whatever, so I feel really bad for him… But for the team, it’s all about locking in on the game plan, here’s who you’re going to be matched up with, here’s the spot you’re going to be in, and we need everybody to give five, 10 per cent more.”

Scott Morrison on pressure leading into this round and maintaining the Wildcats Finals streak
“Regardless of the streak, whether it be one, five, 10, 40, 100, when you set a goal to win a championship and you feel like you have what it takes to get there, if you don’t reach that goal, it’s going to be disappointing. If we win tomorrow and make the Finals, then lose in the semis or Grand Final, it’s going to be just as disappointing.”

Scott Morrison on the Illawarra Hawks
“Illawarra has been playing as good as anybody in the league. Between them Sydney and United, they’ve all kind of maintained that consistency all season. They have a number of weapons that can hurt you and they provide matchup problems at basically every position.”

Roster Availability 
Vic Law is out of the line-up with a season-ending ankle injury, with Kyle Zunic replacing him. 

Opponents to watch out for
Scott Morrison highlighted the importance of WA big man Duop Reath. The Olympian is coming off 17, 29 and 18-point games above his season average of 15.0. Tyler Harvey averages a team-high 15.9 points.

Last time they met
The Wildcats defeated Illawarra in both their prior meetings this season – both of which took place on the Hawks home court. The two games took part just four days apart, with Bryce Cotton dropping 28 points in the most recent clash.

Fun Facts and Stats
Bryce Cotton is four triples away from setting a new regular season personal best. He’s on 83, with his best effort being 86 last season. With two games left to play, Cotton is also in a commanding position to take out the scorer’s title again. He holds a 50-point advantage over Mitch Creek. He averages 22.9 points in 19 games against the Hawks.
Of the Hawks 12 games on the road so far, they have only lost in Brisbane and Hobart (twice).

History
The Perth Wildcats have won 11 of their last 13 against the Hawks – including two do-or-die semi-finals games last year. Their last home loss to Illawarra was in the first game of that series.