Their bench isn't looking as strong as in previous years. Agreed probably not as much upside as a few other sides SEM and United especially. But they haven't clicked yet either and have looked scary in patches so should be happy with a 6-2 start.

Hunt is the only realistic option to upgrade but after todays game that seems unlikely. His performance was exactly the type of role glesson recruited him for.

Not as shaky as United's.

/thread

There were a MILLION butthurt threads like this last year, saying we couldn't make the playoffs and any win we had was fake. They all looked pretty stupid when we won the whole damn thing YET AGAIN

Last year Perth had significant roster changes

Kay and White were upgrades on Knight and Tokoto. Tokoto good all round player but White provides the scoring they need.

This year, no such changes.

Meanwhile, Sydney clearly better than last year. And I suspect we'll be saying the same about United and NZ within a few weeks.

They're 6 and 2, the how and why doesn’t matter.
Let it go mate, they’ll be in the playoffs and challenging again as always.

I agree they'll be in the playoffs

Just saying, purely based on what I've observed so far, real question marks over them at this point in a league that's obviously gotten stronger

Go watch last years gf, that's what they can do. Banking wins when you aren't playing well is the hardest thing, they dominated nz, yet shot poorly, cotton shot like 12%, yet they still got the win, how many teams could do that? It was also their second game on one of the longest road trips in sport. Maybe you should consider who sydney hasnt played

It's heart-warming that LV is so concerned about the Wildcats :)

Is LV wrong though?

Being second is clearly not good enough they need to be first!

I'm pretty sure it was LV saying the same thing at this point last year, which obviously aged well.

Take the heat off of Melbourne's poor 2-4 start which could be worsened to 2-5 tonight against the ladder leaders by focusing on Perth's 6-2 start seeing them sitting second on the ladder coupled with the bonus of knowing Perth fans will lose their shit.

Well played LV, well played.

Let us know when this happens.

yawn

Master Coach Gleeson just needs to be calmer and the Cats will be fine :)

"Not if you look at their past four games."

They would be around 3rd in league defensive efficiency, around Brisbane's level, and still miles behind Sydney.

Fair point though: Perth's defense looks a lot better when you don't include games where they give up big scores.

Nice one.

This season is looking a lot like 2017-18 to me

Powerhouse club, didn't quite get the balance right in years gone by and had questionable coaching. Recruits new coach and a proven NBL winner. Wins title.

Vickerman and Prather, this time it's Weaver and Ware

Having said that, Sydney does look good but It's too early to get a good read on United. Saturday was encouraging but tonight will tell us lots.

[Take the heat off of Melbourne's poor 2-4 start]

That's the thing though, their start hasn't actually been that poor

No Prather, CG missed a couple, Barlow missed a couple and then returned whilst battling some minor ailments

Meanwhile United had encouraging wins against quality opposition SEM and NZ, and lost 4 games by <5 pts.

It's difficult to read. I haven't really decided how bad their defensive issues will ultimately be. That's what will decide their season. The other issue will be whether Vickerman benches CG again when Prather returns ( he should)

I've learned not to count Perth out, that organisation seems to almost always get it right.

Few years ago they were dead last on the ladder in December, then ended up winning the Championship.

Last year they had that long slump mid-season, many casual fans and experts thought they would not make the playoffs without a third import.

Somehow they swept Brisbane and cut down the nets of United home court.

Like many other organisations they can make mistakes, DeAndre Daniels, JP Tokoto, Derek Cooke Jnr, Jaron Jackson (twice) and Andre Ingram, but it is how they recover from mistakes that is impressive.

Perth's defence has dropped off from their best, but I think their scoring has improved. Losing to Cairns and Brisbane would be considered failings but it's early season....we will have to see more to make a call.

What am I missing?
A lot of what LV said is accurate. He didn't say we're crap, he said it's been a shaky (but successful) start, and it has.

We've won close games, but I'd say that's a positive. Being able to execute under pressure and hit clutch baskets helps win rings.

I think the issue of "upside" for us, is that it will need to be a lot of small things, rather than simply "new import" or "player X back from injury"

Hunt has shown what he can offensively against weak D, but what we need is for him to be able to also score against Bogut, etc.
Cotton has had some poor games, hopefully that won't continue.
If Jook can start nailing his put-backs and hitting freethrows, then he can become a real force off the bench.
Vague has improved, but in many games has struggled to find his role.
Norton has shown that he can be an offensive weapon, but needs to be more consistent.

Not playing remotely close, still 6-2. Last season we had player's out left right and centre and still got w's.

Some of you might wanna revisit this thread tonight

Early days, but based on observations of season to date, Sydney and United look like they will build towards a point where they have higher ceilings than Perth

When it's $ time I'll bet red!

Who am I kidding, the game tonight showed Sydney and United are at a higher level than Perth right now

And with the likes of Lisch and Prather to return and both teams still to fully settle in after having world cup absentees, new coaches, etc, you'd have to think both teams have more improvement left in them

Uh, you mean when they played at home and beat United without Prather, Goulding and Barlow, by 1 point after losing all game?

In other words they beat half of United's team?

They did win in Melbourne too. You're right

But not to worry- United had what, 5 players at the world cup? They didn't have a pre season. Perth's been running their group for over 12 months. Early days

Some of you might wanna revisit this thread tonight

Early days, but based on observations of season to date, Sydney and United look like they will build towards a point where they have higher ceilings than Perth

Tonight United proved they can play at a high level for 4 quarters against a likely top 4 opponent.

They also closed out a game- against a team with more experience than anyone, and one of the best closers in the business.

Perth may replace Hunt, or White, or strengthen the roster by signing an Aussie and demoting somebody. So, it's early.

And, this may sound incredibly outlandish but I'm not discounting the possibility of United replacing Trimble either. Not saying is likely, but it's interesting how Vickerman has no hesitation dragging him and is clearly concerned about his D

Or, Prather another possibility too.

Fit is everything, it's a brutal business and we've seen stranger things (although did I read Prather signed on for 2? What's his contractual situation then?)

United will be champions.

When the duck did I say anything about replacing White?
As I said from before the start of the season, I'd expect him to be more settled from the start this year, and he has been.
I hope he gets more consistent & efficient on the road, and I wish he would get fired up earlier in the games, but he has shown he can stand up when its needed.

NB: All that tonight showed us was that neither Melbourne or Sydney can play defense.

"Perth may replace Hunt, or White"

White? Now we know you're just fishing!

White is super clutch. Replacing Hunt is much more likely.

Realistically they only have 3 options to upgrade their roster (assuming Cotton is untouchable, and Next Stars won't happen either). White going seems unlikely but it's still an option. Stranger things have happened

[
NB: All that tonight showed us was that neither Melbourne or Sydney can play defense.]

Sydney's already proven they're an awesome defensive team.

As for United, well, Shaun Bruce just played the best game of his entire life and Casper Ware brought his A game. Despite the 100+ tally, United's D wasn't great but it wasn't terrible either.

I reckon the thought process is "if I post one each year then when they don't make the playoffs I can go I was right"

30 years later.....

Shaky start with a luxurious run home.