NBL Crosscourt: Perth Wildcats come under concussion fire; Taytum firms for long-term Hawks deal
NBL commentator Peter Hooley says basketball as a sport is “really poor at trying to look after the head”, after calling out Perth’s shocking handling of Kristian Doolittle’s in-game head knock.
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The Perth Wildcats have come under-fire for leaving import forward Kristian Doolittle on the court for nine minutes after suffering a head knock.
Doolittle looked clearly dazed after running into a Mitch Creek screen at the start of the third quarter during Saturday night’s Wildcats and Phoenix clash at RAC Arena.
NBL commentator Peter Hooley noticed the incident – which left Doolittle shaken and grabbing his head – and called for the Wildcats import to immediately assessed.
“Doolittle needs to come out of this game,” Hooley said.
“He bumped heads with Mitch Creek and he is stumbling for a little bit. He looks really worse for ware and it took him a while to get over half court.
“If I’m the Perth Wildcats staff, I’d be having a quick check over of anything to do with the head.
“Here is the incident – it looked like (Doolittle) was trying to gain his balance.”
Minutes passed and Doolittle remained on the floor in the third quarter, despite appearing to look dazed and shaking his head. It coincided with the Wildcats failing to score a point to start the third after having a double-figure lead at the break.
Hooley couldn’t believe a dazed Doolittle remained in the game.
“I’m still shocked that he is out there,” he said.
“You’ve got to get Doolittle out of this game right now, the way he is still holding his head.
“He is not right whatsoever and he has continued to hold his head.
“The word has got to get down to the Wildcats bench – he is still doing it (holding his head) now trying to gather himself.
“He has just got to get out of this game and someone has to check on him.
“He is looking for a sub right now – he is clearly not right.”
Doolittle finally got subbed out with 4.55 minutes remaining in the third quarter.
The incident prompted Hooley to declare that basketball as a sport is “really poor at trying to look after the head”.
Pretty pathetic from the entire Wildcats staff to leave Doolittle on the court for 10 minutes after being hit in the head and clearly not well.#NBL24
— DT (@15DT15) January 13, 2024
Melbourne United have been thorough when dealing with concussions involving Matthew Dellavedova and Shea Ili, but the Doolittle incident wasn’t a good look for Perth.
It’s why Hooley was within his rights to call it out.
“Any player that has to deal with any sort of concussion – just watching it – it gives me a shivers to be honest,” he said.
“Because he has been doing this since they bumped heads and the immediate reaction of trying to find his balance is really unsettling to watch.”
Doolittle’s concussion also didn’t go unnoticed online, with fans taking to X to leave a barrage of comments.
“What’s wrong with the Perth Wildcat’s coaching and medical team that they can’t see how Doolittle is struggling after clashing heads earlier?,” one fan said.
“Why leave him out there so long?.”
Another supporter said: Get Doolittle off Perth Wildcats his head isn’t right. Protect the player.”
Wildcats coach John Rillie was asked about Doolittle post-game.
“He is with the doctors going through the medical testing they do,” Rillie said.
“We’ve just got to wait and see what the results with that are.
“Tough to see.”
Earlier this season, Perth legend and three-time champion Matt Knight urged the NBL to adopt a mandatory 12-man stand down for concussion.
Knight suffered 15 concussions throughout his 10-year career, forcing him to medically retire in 2017.
He still suffers headaches and dizziness, and while he hasn’t suffered memory loss, he has fears for the future.
Phoenix to investigate injury crisis
Injuries have hit the South East Melbourne Phoenix hard again this season – and it will prompt the club to conduct a review of its medical procedures.
The Phoenix are in eighth-position following another inconsistent campaign, and while they’re not blaming injuries for their slide, they acknowledge it has played a role.
South East Melbourne have lost Craig Moller for the season (knee), while guard Gary Browne has battled with a groin injury for extended periods.
The Phoenix’s injury woes reached breaking point in a blowout loss to Illawarra without key stars Browne, Alan Williams and new import Abdel Nader due to injury.
South East Melbourne owner Romie Chaudhari confirmed the club will look into its recent injury woes.
“Injuries have played a big part in our season too, and while we don’t make excuses, we have to factor that in,” Chaudhari said.
“As a club, we will review our medical processes in the post-season and look at ways to not have a repeat of what has happened in NBL24.”
The Phoenix remain in the mix for a top six finals berth, but we’ll need to start stringing wins together to catch the likes of Brisbane, Sydney and Illawarra.
Chaudhari has a simple message to his team with five regular season rounds remaining.
“The NBL title race remains a tight one so I’ve implored the club, the team and the staff to fight for every inch,” he said.
“A few wins catapult us right back into title contention and that’s what we’re focused on. We have five home games left and we expect to cause some trouble late in the season and give our fans something to be proud of. As the late great Jimmy Valvano said, “Don’t give up. Don’t ever give up.
“Of course we’d want to have more wins on court, but this season was a refresh for the team, a new coach and assistants and a bevy of new players that need time to set the foundation for future successes.”
Adams too good to be lazy
Jaylen Adams is one of the finest players the NBL has seen in recent years, so he is better than just giving up on a defensive play.
This was on show during Sydney’s disappointing loss to Adelaide on Thursday night.
The Kings had everything to play for coming off consecutive home defeats.
Instead, Sydney turned up to Adelaide and laid an egg, especially on the defensive end.
The Kings gave up 42 points in the first half to look “all lost at sea” in defence, according to the commentary team.
Adams was called out by commentator Ryan Broekhoff late in the fourth quarter when he gave up a turnover, but just stopped and didn’t chase back on an Adelaide fast break.
“Look at the effort from Adams – there is no effort getting back in defensive transition – he just stopped,” Broekhoff said.
“That’s not the effort that you need at this point in the game. Make a mistake, that’s fine, but get back on defence.”
Adams responded in style on Sunday, dropping a game-high 39 points in Sydney’s blowout win over the New Zealand Breakers.
There’s no doubt Adams is a star, but he needs to be better for the sake of Sydney’s season.
Lock in Tatum now
Justin Tatum is firming to be offered the Illawarra job full-time after guiding the high-flying Hawks from the NBL’s cellar to the top six.
Tatum has been terrific in reigniting the struggling Hawks - and deserves to be rewarded with a long-term deal.
The father of Boston Celtics superstar Jayson Tatum has proven his worth in the interim role as a man manager who can get the best out of his players.
This was on show in Saturday’s epic double overtime win against the JackJumpers in Tasmania. The Hawks dug deep to record a thrilling 108-107 triumph.
Nevertheless, Illawarra officials should do the club a favour and secure Tatum now to start building for next season and beyond.
Originally published as NBL Crosscourt: Perth Wildcats come under concussion fire; Taytum firms for long-term Hawks deal
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