Game preview: Hawks @ Adelaide 36ers | RD8 NBL27

The kilometres keep stacking up, and so do the wins. After beating Perth last Saturday and Cairns on Thursday night, the Hawks head to Adelaide chasing a third straight win, the latest stop on a five-game road swing. The travelling fan club is following the team from Cairns to Adelaide for the second leg of its trip.

The record still reads 4-8, tenth on the ladder, and Hawkheads can read a ladder. But Tyler Harvey had a motto going into Cairns, and it worked. He said it was four, “that’s just get to four wins and after four comes five.” Makur Maker led the way with 24 points and nine rebounds in the 107-95 win, and Harvey hit five threes on his way to 19. Four is in the bag. Saturday is a shot at five.

The Hawks will wear a black armband in honour of Life Member and former chairman Peter Brettell.

From the words of our tribute: “Vale, Peter. Thank you for building the nest.”

The matchup

Season series: Hawks lead 1-0

The first meeting, in Round 3 at the WIN Entertainment Centre last month, went the Hawks’ way. Adelaide has been talking about avenging it.

• The Hawks won 114-92 on Friday 2 October.
• The Hawks’ season highs for points (114), field goals (45), three-pointers (15), rebounds (49) and assists (33) all came in that game.
• Kelan Martin scored 28 and Sam Froling pulled down 13 rebounds, still the Hawks’ highest individual totals in those categories this season.
• Adelaide shot 9 of 38 from three, and Bryce Cotton finished with 15 points.
• Nick Rakocevic collected 11 rebounds, but the Hawks won the glass 49-35.

The rematch is already circled. The Hawks host Adelaide at the WIN Entertainment Centre on Thursday 19 November in Indigenous Round, and Hollywood Seats put you courtside and part of the action.

Scouting the 36ers

Adelaide is 5-6 and seventh on the ladder, one win behind third-placed Melbourne United. The 36ers won in New Zealand and then lost at home to Brisbane. They have won one of four at home this season, and they will be without Mangok Mathiang.

• Bryce Cotton: The six-time NBL MVP leads the league in scoring at 27.7 points per game and adds 7.2 assists. He is dangerous from deep, making 3.8 threes a game.
• Nick Rakocevic: A physical presence inside. He averages 18.7 points and leads the NBL in total rebounds (11.2) and offensive rebounds (4.5) per game.
• Zylan Cheatham: He fills the stat sheet, averaging 14.1 points, 7.3 rebounds and 4.5 assists.

Keys to victory

Keep the ball moving. The Hawks’ season-high 33 assists came against these 36ers in Round 3. Harvey says unselfish basketball makes it “tough for teams to figure out who they’re trying to stop.”

Slow down Bryce Cotton. The six-time MVP can’t be stopped, only slowed. The Hawks held him to 15 points in Round 3, against his season average of 27.7.

Keep Nick Rakocevic off the glass. He leads the league in rebounding and still got 11 in Round 3. Froling’s 13 rebounds led a team effort that won the boards 49-35. Do it again.

Start fast, quieten the crowd. Adelaide coach Trevor Gleeson has said, “Our starts have got to improve.” Tatum expects the 36ers crowd to “have it rocking”, so hit first and take the noise out of an expected sellout at the Adelaide Entertainment Centre.

Game details

• Who: Illawarra Hawks at Adelaide 36ers
• When: Saturday 7 November, 5:30pm AEDT
• Where: Adelaide Entertainment Centre
• Watch: If you can’t make the game, tune in on ESPN Disney+
• Watch party: The Illawarra Hotel

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