Greg Hire: NBL too tight for Perth Wildcats to allow head starts

But in a close game, it’s only natural to reflect upon your every possession.

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Whether you made the right pass, communicated to the best of your ability, ran the lanes hard or even took the right shot.

Already this season we’ve seen a number of games come down to one or two possessions.

Unfortunately for us, we were on the wrong side of those possessions in our one-point loss against New Zealand on Sunday.

We gave their shooters extreme confidence early in the game and you can’t give players as talented as they are great looks. Compounding that, in the first half, the Breakers had around five or six dunks, which gave them a lift.

We allowed them great team belief, specifically in that second quarter when we struggled with the intensity of the game.

This league is too talented to give the opposition a head start.

We need to set the tone early in tonight’s top-of-the-table clash against the Sydney Kings at Perth Arena, beginning with our defensive intensity.

That doesn’t mean we go gung-ho and give up easy transition buckets, it means we make everything they do difficult.

By playing solid defence, it allows us to get out in the open court and reward ourselves with fast break points.

Casey Prather and Jaron Johnson are two of the most athletically talented individuals in the league.

We need to take advantage of having those two in the lanes, using their unique skill set to get the crowd roaring.