On the eve of the NBL playoffs, Perth coach Trevor Gleeson predicts a breakout game from Wildcats latecomer Miles Plumlee is still to come.
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The US import, who was brought in during January at the expense of countryman Dario Hunt, played only 17:53 minutes against Brisbane Bullets at RAC Arena on Sunday.
The Wildcats used Majok Majok in the centre spot for just under 11 minutes and Nick Kay at times as well.
But Gleeson seems to have no concerns with Plumlee's performances, despite limiting his court time.
"I thought he was great tonight," the coach said after the 85-72 win.
"He certainly moved forward; got in the right sports offensively.
"Defensively, his three steals, seven rebounds in 17 minutes is pretty damn good.
"He's going to have a break out game here soon; you can see it."
Working against Plumlee is his performance against New Zealand in front of his home crowd on January 25.
He monstered the Breakers, scoring 23 points and pulling down 18 rebounds in 33:20 minutes on court.
Now, he is almost a victim of that performance, with the Perth crowd and NBL media expecting a repeat every time the veteran of 347-NBA games goes on court.
"It's the same, everyone expects with Bryce (Cotton), for the ball to go in (every time he shoots)," Gleeson added.
Crucially, on Sunday, the Wildcats welcomed back captain Damian Martin after six weeks on sidelines with a foot injury.
The six-times defensive player of the year did not start running freely until about eight days before the game and trained with the team for the first time on Wednesday before suiting up against the Bullets.
He was restricted to about three minutes each quarter and while he only contributed two points, four rebounds and two assists on the stats sheet, coach Gleeson was clearly happy to have their leader back on court.
"I thought he was influential in the game; read it straight away," Gleeson said.
"The pleasing thing for me was he came in and was in rhythm. Sometimes you come back after missing six weeks, your timing is not right there."
Perth will end their home and away season at RAC Arena against Adelaide 36ers, a game they might need to win to enter the playoffs in second spot.
Australian Associated Press
