The Perth Wildcats will continue their endeavour to overpower opponents when they take on New Zealand at Perth Arena on Friday night. 

In a time when basketball rosters are going smaller with a focus on pace and space, the Wildcats have gone bigger. 

Long-time centre Matt Knights has shifted to the power forward position with Nate Jawai and Tom Jervis sharing the responsibilities at the five. 

It worked in their opening round 79-66 win over Adelaide where they controlled the rebounds 50-36. 

Coach Trevor Gleeson said: ‘We’ve got one of the best front lines in the league, so we’ve really got to use that to our advantage.’

‘We want use that and beat some guys up and be physical under the ring and make sure we own the two-three feet around and also scare the little guys.’

Captain Damian Martin will also face a fitness test as he attempts to overcome a calf injury for Friday’s match.