Perth NBL coach Trevor Gleeson predicts the best is yet to come from Casey Prather and Bryce Cotton as the star duo's on-court relationship continues to flourish.
Cotton has averaged 22 points per game since arriving in early January, helping the Wildcats stave off the wooden spoon and earn a 31st-straight playoff appearance.
Prather has enjoyed another strong season, with the American finishing runner-up to Adelaide's Jerome Randle for the NBL MVP award.
The Wildcats' hopes of defending their title go on the line during their semi-final series against the second-placed Taipans, starting on Friday in in Cairns.
With Cotton and Prather both in hot form, Gleeson is confident his team will come up trumps.
The pair combined for 50 points in the Wildcats'101-74 win last week over Sydney.
And they drained 45 points between them last Sunday as the Wildcats secured a playoff berth with a last-minute 96-94 triumph over Melbourne United.
"Last week was a really good stepping stone for them, just knowing where each other are and feeding off each other," Gleeson said.
"Bryce is unselfish. He's shooting the lights out at the moment, and he makes the right decisions.
"Him, Casey and Damo (Damian Martin) - this is about their seventh or eighth game together.
"You can see the synergy between them. They're reading each other and they're playing in front of the game."
Wildcats veteran Shawn Redhage has already announced he'll retire at the end of the season.
Gleeson hopes that will serve as added motivation for his team.
"Internally, there's a lot of guys who owe him a lot," Gleeson said.
"He taught a lot of these guys how to be an elite player. Hopefully, we get to send him out on a good note.
"He's been really good the last couple of weeks off the bench in providing energy for us.
"He won the game virtually against Melbourne with that steal and the last two points. And he got some threes against Sydney. He's fresh and ready to go."
Cairns enter the finals series in strong form after winning six of their past seven matches.
