Wildcats the team to beat

The Wildcats are about to enter their 30th straight play-offs series, a remarkable achievement unmatched by any sporting organisation in the country.

It’s a sustained run of excellence that means any season that doesn’t end in a championship is considered a failure in the West.

It’s why coach Trevor Gleeson had no problem effectively gifting Melbourne top spot on the ladder last week.

They’d never admit as much but the Cats, who left the likes of Nat Jawai, Damian Martin and Jermaine Beal in Perth when they flew to Sydney to take on the Kings last week, were playing for another day.

They’re not the slightest bit interested in minor premierships and are only eyeing the major prize. They haven’t thought anything different all season and they don’t just hope to be there come championship time, they have the unshakeable belief they they belong there.

They’ve won 17 games this season but that’s not what makes them favourites. It’s how they’ve done it.

While Melbourne and our own Illawarra Hawks have looked untouchable at their best, they’ve looked rudderless at their worst. 

Perth have produced their own share of highlight reel wins as well but it’s their ability to win games when they’re not playing well, when games aren’t going to plan, to win by an accumulation of small efforts, that gives them the finals edge.

There’s been no better illustration of that fact than two wins in Wollongong where they were twice out-played for three quarters only to find a way to win down the stretch. Not once did they ever think they were going to lose either game. 

Their captain Damian Martin is a five-time NBL defensive player of the year and has played most of the season with his teeth wobbling in his gums.

It’s easier to get a drink in King Cross after 3am then into the paint where the likes of Shawn Redhage, Matt Knight and Tom Jervis are patrolling. They’re finals veterans who know how to get it done at crunch-time.

United have perhaps the most talent-rich roster in the NBL but, an overtime win over the Cats three weeks ago aside, have been decidedly frail at the back-end of games.

In fact they’re the worst fourth quarter team in the league. Until they outscored the Hawks 22-18 in the fourth quarter last week they had lost their previous 14 straight fourth quarters and won just one of 22 final terms. Certainly some of those fades can be put down to comfortably cruising to victory but it does show a worrying trend of letting sides back into games. When they’ve had to chase points, they’ve struggled.

As for the Hawks, they’ve shown that no one can go with them scoring-wise at their best. They’ve also shown they can make big shots when it counts in a couple of overtime wins. 

Their chances rest on finding the hard edge that coach Rob Beveridge has publicly rued the lack of on several occasions this year. 

It’s the exact same challenge Melbourne face but the hardest thing to produce out of thin air.

Both Melbourne and the Hawks are more than capable of winning this year’s title – New Zealand or Adelaide to – but they’ll all have to find something extra.

Perth have shown they already have it.