Arch-rivals lock horns for second spot

After 27 games of the NBL22 season, it all comes down to Sunday’s showdown between the Illawarra Hawks and Sydney Kings.

Not only will the winner at Qudos Bank Arena take out the Adrian Hurley Cup but they will also lock up second spot on the ladder and secure home-court advantage in the upcoming semi-final against their New South Wales rival.

If Sunday’s hosts are victorious, the first-ever semi-final series between the two sides will start on Wednesday at Qudos Bank Arena but of Brian Goorjian’s side win, the series will tip-off on Friday at the WIN Entertainment Centre.

The semi-finals will be the first time two teams from NSW will compete for a place in the grand final since the West Sydney Razorbacks swept the Illawarra Hawks 2-0 in the 2004 semi-final series.  

Heading into the round 21 fixture, the Kings and Hawks are arguably the two hottest sides in the league at the moment, with the former winning 14 of their past 15 and Illawarra taking out seven of the past eight - with that loss coming against Sydney on April 14.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Coach Brian Goorjian and big man <a href="https://twitter.com/samfroling_?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@samfroling_</a> broke down Friday&#39;s big win against the <a href="https://twitter.com/PerthWildcats?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@PerthWildcats</a> during the post-game press conference.<br><br>Watch the interview in full here: <a href="https://t.co/dog5ajrsPt">https://t.co/dog5ajrsPt</a><a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/TogetherWeFly?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#TogetherWeFly</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/WeAreIllawarra?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#WeAreIllawarra</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/NBL22?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#NBL22</a> <a href="https://t.co/GdO8TqIY5N">pic.twitter.com/GdO8TqIY5N</a></p>&mdash; Illawarra Hawks Basketball (@illawarrahawks) <a href="https://twitter.com/illawarrahawks/status/1517631271291080704?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 22, 2022</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

The pair have met 105 times all-time, with the Kings winning on 57 occasions - although the Hawks have won two of the three games in NBL22.

 Interestingly, in their last two games played, the scores at three-quarter time have been exactly the same with the Hawks on 75 and the Kings on 78 – the combined 153 points the two highest-scoring games to three-quarter-time time this season. 

If Illawarra product Xavier Cooks (who leads the league with 13 double-doubles in NBL22) plays this game for the Kings, he needs nine rebounds to become the rebounding leader for the season or he will win if he does not play this game as he currently sits in pole position on 9.68 rebounds per game just ahead of Stephen Zimmerman on 9.62 per game.  

After a new career-high six blocks against the Taipans on Thursday, Cooks is also in front of the blocks list leading into the final game in a tight field.

It was not that long ago when Sydney had Andrew Bogut lead the NBL in both rebounds and blocks in 2019. 

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Showdown for second spot ?<br><br>?: <a href="https://twitter.com/10PeachAu?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@10PeachAu</a> and <a href="https://twitter.com/ESPNAusNZ?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@ESPNAusNZ</a> via <a href="https://twitter.com/kayosports?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@kayosports</a> and <a href="https://twitter.com/Foxtel?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@Foxtel</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/TogetherWeFly?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#TogetherWeFly</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/WeAreIllawarra?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#WeAreIllawarra</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/NBL22?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#NBL22</a> <a href="https://t.co/ZIQJjSM6Jc">pic.twitter.com/ZIQJjSM6Jc</a></p>&mdash; Illawarra Hawks Basketball (@illawarrahawks) <a href="https://twitter.com/illawarrahawks/status/1517982571233443840?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 23, 2022</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

The Hawks are following up from an emotional 82-77 win in Perth on Friday night to guarantee their NBL Finals spot.

Tyler Harvey shot 6-from-16 threes on Friday night which equalled Oscar Forman’s 40-minute record for three-point attempts in a game for the Hawks (8/16 vs Bullets in February 2017).

Harvey’s previous career-high before Friday night was just 13.  

Of the Hawks’ 13 games on the road so far, they have only lost in Brisbane and Hobart (twice).

The Hawks are undefeated on the road against the other top four teams this season and this is the first season since 2012 that Illawarra has won more on the road than at home. 

Fast fact, Brian Goorjian, who chalked up his 800th game on Friday,  first coached in the NBL in 1988 - the same year Sydney counterpart Chase Buford was born.

The Freeway Series showdown tips off at 3pm AEST and will be broadcast on 10 Peach and ESPN via Kayo Sports and Foxtel.