For Cotton & Law's Wildcats, the sky could be the limit

With two elite scorers perfectly in sync, the Perth Wildcats look set to keep their title window open in NBL22.

Credit: JBC Studios

On paper, it would have been easy to assume that the Perth Wildcats were in some trouble heading into the new NBL season. They entered the season missing veteran point guard Mitch Norton, and with backup Kevin White under an injury cloud. New starting centre Matt Hodgson went down after one minute of action, leaving just one genuine big in Majok Majok on the active roster. Sparkplug import and sixth man Michael Frazier was also absent, as was fellow wing Todd Blanchfield, robbing even more of their depth.

Fast forward to the end of opening weekend, and the Wildcats were sitting pretty as the only team in the league with two wins. Development player Kyle Zunic filled in admirably running the point in Norton’s absence, Majok Majok battled in the paint in his regular season return from injury, young gun Luke Travers continued to shine, and the team cruised through games against Adelaide and Cairns.

All of those contributions, though, were made alongside and around the true engine of this Wildcats team. Reigning MVP Bryce Cotton and former Bullet Vic Law are among the league’s most talented players, and they proved as much in their opening games of the year. Against the 36ers, Law produced a scoring masterpiece in his Wildcats debut, pouring in 37 points from every corner of the court. Against the Taipans it was Cotton’s turn, as he finished with 31 points scored entirely through the first three quarters of play.

It was obvious before the season that Law and Cotton would form one of the most dangerous duos in the NBL. By leading their undermanned side to two straight wins, they further underscored the potential that this Wildcats team has with them at the helm.

A new Wildcats system?

With the addition of Law, the Wildcats now have two of the best pure scorers in the league. That is a luxury that no other team has, and one that the Wildcats themselves have been without in recent years. It should be unsurprising, then, that their style of play in the opening round was drastically different to that of last season.

Of course, it’s not just Law’s arrival that has caused that shift.