Perth Wildcats Season Hanging On By A Thread: Can They Overcome Bryce Cotton's Month-Long Absence?

Oct 24

3 min read

Bryce Cotton Celebrates After A Huge Three Point Shot At RAC Arena

Perth Wildcats Season Hanging On By A Thread With Cotton To Miss A Month

With a fractured rib ruling out last seasons MVP Bryce Cotton for up to a month, the question that all Perth Wildcats and NBL fans are thinking is, "Can They Overcome Bryce Cotton's Month-Long Absence?".

With Bryce Cotton going down in last weeks game against the New Zealand Breakers with a fractured rib, all Perth Wildcats fans held their breath as the realisation set in that Cotton would be out for some time. The four time NBL MVP is the Wildcats most important player and has shown in his time in the NBL that he can turn a game on its head in a matter of moments. But with this extended time on the bench, the pressure now turns to John Rillie and his coaching staff to figure out a Plan B to get this team rolling in the right direction.

The Wildcats have had a rough start to the season with a record currently of 2 wins and 4 losses and are coming off of three road games in a row in Tasmania, Cairns and most recently New Zealand. To make matters worse the injury to Cotton has really thrown their season up in the air as they now look to other star players to step up. Who are the players that need to step up for them to win?

Tai Webster was the player who stepped up for the Wildcats after Cotton went down against the New Zealand Breakers and finished the game with 20 points, 6 rebounds and 6 assists. His dominace attacking the basket and being able to facilite enabled the Wildcats to stay in that game and nearly win it late in the piece. This isn't going to be a one man job to replace Cotton though as Cotton is averaging 18.3 PPG and those points will have to be shared around the rest of the team for them to have a chance.

Players such as Keanu Pinder and Dylan Windler will also need to step up if they are going to have a chance to compete with some of the leagues best teams. Pinder who has had an up and down start to the season statistically with a concussion as well and Windler who has also been dealing with injury, have to step up now to take some of the load off of one of the leagues best players, Kristian Doolittle. Doolittle has been a man on a mission currently averaging 15 PPG and 10.2 RPG and has asserted himself in this Perth Wildcats team as one of the team's leaders both on and off the court.

"With something like this, when there’s a little research and experience on it, it’s really a touch and go each day and week sort of thing", Bryce Cotton on his injury.

The Wildcats and John Rillie's staff will take confidence in knowing that all of these players can perform and have shown they can at the highest level either in the NBL or other top leagues in the world. It is going to be interesting to see how they get the best out of all these players both on the training court and on the biggest stage. These times are where you either make a name for yourself or destroy it in a matter of moments.

If Cotton is too miss the month that has been reported by the Perth Wildcats he will miss a total of 7 games in which will either keep their season alive or close the door on this season. It is a critical run for the Wildcats, if they come out on top with more wins than losses, it could help turn their season around and even help the teams overall game plan so they are not so reliant on the NBL24 MVP, Bryce Cotton.

Plan B starts this Friday night with the Perth Wildcats taking on the Sydney Kings at RAC Arena. With the Perth Wildcats season hanging on by a thread with Cotton to miss a month it is time for the team to step up and help this team get back to where they want to be. Can the The Perth Wildcats over come Bryce Cotton's injury?

Hear from the crew at The Basketball Fix to discuss the Bryce Cotton injury and plenty more topics from around the NBL world.