Brandon Knight has seen plenty in his professional career. The 451-game NBA veteran has played for six NBA clubs and suited up in four countries: the United States, Puerto Rico, Greece and now Australia. He isn\u2019t easily impressed.<\/p>\n
Yet three games into his NBL career, he\u2019s already found something he rarely saw in the NBA: a league with no nights off.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen you play 82, there\u2019s just some games, unfortunately, that you just don\u2019t have it,\u201d Knight said. \u201cIn this league, that\u2019s, like, not a thing.<\/p>\n
\u201cFrom what I\u2019ve seen thus far, it\u2019s like every possession.\u201d<\/p>\n
Knight believes the talent in the two leagues stacks up, but says the NBL has the edge in some key areas.<\/p>\n
\u201cA lot of talented guys in the NBA, a lot of talented guys here, but the level of detail, I would say, has been a lot higher thus far,\u201d he said. \u201cThe intensity here is very high.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
That was on full show at RAC Arena on Friday night. With Perth trailing by one and 19 seconds remaining, Knight stood his ground to draw a charge from fellow former NBA guard Cole Anthony, wiping off a layup that would have put Melbourne United up three and fouling Anthony out of the game.<\/p>\n
Knight then made United pay at the other end, nailing a mid-range jumper with 8.4 seconds left to seal a 103-102 win.<\/p>\n
The charge was no coincidence. Coach John Rillie had been \u201charping all week about being over the lane line\u201d, Knight said, and it\u2019s that level of preparation that has stood out most since his arrival.<\/p>\n
\u201cHere, we\u2019ll start prepping for a team five days in advance and start drilling their stuff,\u201d he said. \u201cWhen we get to the game, you can tell that we\u2019ve been preparing for them.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s no disrespect to the NBA, great league, but the amount of games, the amount of travel can really wear guys down. In the NBA, you might have Portland, Sacramento, Golden State all in one week.\u201d<\/p>\n
That intensity carries through to the defensive end, where Perth pressures the ball the length of the floor.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen I was in the NBA, I don\u2019t know how many times I picked up full court,\u201d Knight said. \u201cPickup for us is all five up the floor.\u201d<\/p>\n
After being eased in across his first two appearances, Knight burst into life against United with 20 points on 53 per cent shooting from the field.<\/p>\n
He has found his feet quickly in Perth, but insists there\u2019s more to come as he gets to know his new teammates.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m still very much learning, and learning on the fly,\u201d he said. \u201cBut it\u2019s good when you can learn and win.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Wildcats are back at RAC Arena on Wednesday night to host the Sydney Kings in an Ignite Cup fixture from 9.30pm AEDT, live on ESPN.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n