Hoops

Wildcats vs Hawks - Sat Oct 31

Here's my take on the win

http://wildcatsviews.com/2015/11/01/perth-wildcats-maul-the-illawarra-hawks/

@Train Forman was on the bench for large stretches as he got into foul trouble early.

Well that was a disappointing 2nd half by the Hawks. They weren't flash in the 1st either frankly but they made a contest of it.
Enjoyed the Redhage-Ogilvy antics, Jawai getting pumped up, and Prather finding his groove in his first game back. Even nailed a couple of 3's I think, which was a bit shocking. (what's up with the stalled boxscore?)
Was good seeing Lisch back in Perth Arena doing his thing. Fights hard but could have used a few more mates tonight. Bevo in a suit?!?

Tipping this year is a biatch. I don't think you can write off any team. Heck, Sydney could very well knock off Melbourne tomorrow. No way in hell would I pick Cats to knock off Hawks by 29 points. Did Oscar Foreman even play this game? I can't even remember him in this game.

@Kobe24 here that sound? The bandwagon is rolling into town lol

Yeah we definitely agree on that point Train.

Referee development/training/cohesion is a must.

@Roy Hobbs - we can agree on this. If they are going to call charge/blocks especially; atleast be consistent. The way I see it, you can have as many stars In the league as you want but if you don't have the officiating up to standards we we just negate that.

I agree with that Train. Personally I think they need a real concerted emphasis on protecting ball handlers, reducing the holding/grabbing off the ball and cutting down the chatter from Players and Coaches.

We all want to see an exciting, attacking Game. We all want the NBL to thrive. I think they go hand in hand.

Sadly, right now, the League has improved in MANY areas, the officiating is not one of them.

Had Perth not screwed themselves in the game against the Crocs they would be 5-1. United made the play that matters move on.

I'm not a big fan of the officiating as a whole this season. Perth have been the benefactor of lots of bad calls but you have to admit they have been robbed equally of as many. The refs need to take control of the game better as a whole

He really gets my goat, so much skill negated by so much floppery.

Oh well, back to watching the casey Prather show.

Once again there's been some really bad calls both ways. To say the cats are getting it all their way is about bias also.

Ahhh ok gotcha Kobe24. It can be taken both ways. No harm, no foul.

I'm glad I provide humour to you Kobe 24. It doesn't change the fact that the reffing in this Game has been to the Wildcats favour and by a good margin.

No, it's not their fault but the way Redhage performs is his fault. Even Robbins, a former team mate, was telling him to stop with the flopping. That says something.

Yup I dislike the way the Cats play, will never try say otherwise.

It is a shame as they have many skilled players, yet they tend to play the "man not ball" at times.

I would also think my "bias" is far out-weighed by the Perth posters here.

Not even sure why they bother with live stats or a website for that matter. Cannot seem to get it right year in year out.

@Roy Hobbs Your biasness undoes your credibility

Flophage still the King. Utterly ridiculous the crap he gets away with.

Long live the King

Why the hell is Kenny so reluctant to shoot 3's. I've said this before but what a great pickup for the Cats and WTF he hasn't been picked up by NZ

Ogilvy and Redhage trading flops

Kenny needs to shoot more, has a nice shot, but seems reluctant to take them.

Great game, again, not over by a long shot at half time. Davidson is a veteran, probably shows how light on for quality bigs the Hawks are.

Rhys Vague would be the development player on the bench for the Wildcats, he will be a very good player in time and he is a big lad, played for Australia in 19's at worlds I believe...

Commentators in this game are probably equal to the best I have heard so far this season, they are knowledgeable and seem to time it well, working well together, unlike some of the officials.

How do they miss Jawai pantsing Davidson and throwing him to the ground, with his pants down to his knees?

Anyhoo, here's to another close one, maybe...

Jawai just pulled Davidsons shorts off and no call was made. He gets away with just as much as what gets called on him.

Is pulling someones shorts off a foul?

Weeks pushed to the ground = flop warning? That's a joke

Great game of ball going on and some twat wants to rant about what they are wearing.

DOLLA DOLLA BEAL!!

Are Cats fans happy now? They are getting everything in their favour from the refs this game.

Looking forward to this one, big time...

Yeah I changed my tips to Cats to win when I heard Prather was back in.

Cats have shortened to $1.35, Hawks $3.20, as I kind of expected after the Prather news filtered through.

"So you like both sides then?"
Haha, fair question. To clarify, I like the Cats to win, but in betting terms I think the value is with the Hawks. I'm definitely not touching the Cats at $1.35, but I'm very tempted by $3.20.

Wildcats $1.40, Hawks $2.95 atm.
Margin -5.5 points, Over/Under 166.5

I like the Cats at home with Prather back, but Hawks not bad value I reckon. Can get $4 on them for a 1-10 point win.

Nice :) thewest.com.au also reported that Damo will play a lot more minutes tonight also.

Great news for the Cats.

‏@PerthWildcats
WILDCATS ALERT: Casey Prather will return to the line-up for tonight’s game against Illawarra.

Anyone know what happened to the Lightning's Strike Squad? Started with a bang and ended with a whimper. If gone, it's another example of why private ownership eventually will end basketball hopes of a revival because everything owners do is on a whim.