Perth Wildcats coach John Rillie is confident the way the club has managed players throughout their tough recent schedule will allow them to still be at their best when they confront the Illawarra Hawks in Wollongong on Saturday.
The Wildcats will be playing their fourth game in 10 days, while the Hawks have had an even tougher fixture and the match will be their fourth in eight days.
Kristian Doolittle has averaged more than 36 minutes on court across the last two games while Dylan Windler (33 minutes), Elijah Pepper (31) and Ben Henshall (30) have also had minimal rest. Jo Lual-Acuil averaged about 28 minutes for the last two games.
Those men all had the luxury of spending the entire final quarter on the bench during a thumping win over Cairns on January 22. Rillie said he’d also done his best to keep his stars fresh in between games.
“They’ll be prepared. They’ll be ready to go. With our medical staff and hopefully the way I am mindful of the schedule, when they throw the ball up on Saturday night, we are ready to go,” he said.
“I compare athletes sometimes to Formula 1 engines. You just can’t be in the garage for a couple of years. You still have to move around and do a level of activity to keep yourself ready for the next one.
“So, if you’re a high minute guy, you have got your routine. If you don’t get to play as much, you’ve got to put a bit more into the tank so you are ready for those moments.
“As an organisation we do a good job at that.”
The Hawks lost to Sydney by 18 points at Qudos Bank Arena on Thursday and only Tyler Harvey and Davo Hickey spent more than 25 minutes on court. That followed no Hawk playing for more than 25 minutes on court during their 38-point win over Brisbane on January 26.
The Wildcats have played their last four games in Perth and Rillie said it was now vital that they attack the Hawks with the same edge that they had during a recent string of away matches.
“We’ve had the luxury of being at home here for some games so we are back to being on the road. It’s about is adjusting back to being in that road warrior mentality that we did a great job of in late December and early January. We’re going to be playing a team that has a lot to fight for right now as well,” he said.
