Hawkeye - Hawks v Brisbane Bullets R2 Preview

THE MUST KNOWS

When: 7.30pm (AEDT), Thursday 21 January

Where: Nissan Arena, Brisbane

Broadcast: ESPN, SBS On Demand and Twitch

Last Time They Met: Hawks 90 (Froling 19, Naar 17, Harvey 16) d Brisbane 84 (Sobey 19, Law 17, Drmic 14), Round 1, Nissan Arena

THE PRELUDE

It’s a case of deja vu for the Hawks and Bullets as two teams who opened the season against one another cross paths again tonight in Round 2 of the NBL.

The Hawks enter the match 2-0 after dismantling the Cairns Taipans in style on Monday night, while the Bullets will hit the court with fresh legs having only played the one fixture so far in 2021.

Fatigue will be one of the biggest tests for a young Hawks outfit that has racked up over 5000 kilometres in the air in the last week alone. It will be The Hawks third game in six days and they enter the game without the services of marquee man Deng Adel (quad tightness) and Cam Bairstow (ankle), with big man Dan Grida and backup guard Lachie Dent already unavailable due to injury.

Hawks fans got a glimpse of rising Kiwi star Max Darling for the first time against the Taipans, with teenage phenom Akoldah Gak also in line to debut tonight.

Gak signed a three-year deal with The Hawks after turning down multiple college offers in the States, with the 18-year-old recently ranked 96^th in the ESPN Top 100 High School basketballers in the world.

The Hawks come into the game ranked first in three-point percentage, second in points, assists, turnovers, field-goal percentage and three-point makes, and third in offensive rebounds.

They also rank second in defensive rating and defensive rebounding percentage and third in turnovers forced.

The Hawks will also be looking to start the season 3-0 for the first time since 2013.

THE MATCH UP

Harry Froling v Sam Froling – the Fro-Bros have already locked horns once this season and it was the younger sibling Sam that left with the bragging rights.

Not only did The Hawks get the win, Sam laid down a career high 19 points to go with four rebounds and a block in his first career start in the NBL.

Coach Goorjian has taken a liking to the sophomore big man and it's clear his role is growing by the game as he becomes more in tune with an almost entirely new bunch of teammates around him.

Older brother Harry was one of the Bullets best on opening night, finishing with 10 points, 12 rebounds and four assists. He also added a sneaky hair tug to the stat sheet on brother Sam (all in good fun) but it wasn't enough to get Brisbane home.

If the Bullets defenders remain determined to chase Hawks shooters off the three-point line, both big men will have a significant role to play in this one - whether that be mopping up the glass, protecting the paint or offering an easy option under the basket.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Slammin <a href="https://twitter.com/sfrol13?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@sfrol13</a> had a breakout night on Saturday - netting 19 points in his first career start. <br><br>Here is every bucket from the second year big man ahead of Game 2 against the Taipans tonight.<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/IllawarraProud?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#IllawarraProud</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/FlyAsOne?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#FlyAsOne</a> <a href="https://t.co/1TospGOYBE">pic.twitter.com/1TospGOYBE</a></p>— Hawks Basketball (@thehawks) <a href="https://twitter.com/thehawks/status/1350980457970675713?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 18, 2021</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

THE SPOTLIGHT

AJ Ogilvy – the Hawks skipper was well held in the season opening fixture between these two teams but bounced back in a big way against the Taipans with a very well-rounded stat sheet (6pts, 7reb, 3ast, 2stls and a block). It’s still early days but the new skipper seems to have found his niche in coach Goorjian’s system as a jack of all trades. Offensive boards and second chance points were a big reason for The Hawks success last time around, and with Cam Bairstow ruled out you can expect Ogilvy’s role to be wide and varied against a strong Brisbane front court.

Tyler Harvey – Bullets coach Andrej Lemanis said part of his gameplan in the season opener revolved around stopping Harvey and fellow back court shooter Justinian Jessup. Harvey had 16 points off 14 shots against Brisbane and had a minus 10 differential in the win. He was far more aggressive against the Taipans (25 points from 21 shots and +20 differential) and proved an unstoppable force when in rhythm. Lemanis is no dumby, so expect the clamps to remain on Harvey tonight as Brisbane try to curb his influence.

THE MASTERCOACH

Brian Goorjian on playing three games in six days…

Brisbane is going to be ready, they have had an opportunity to prepare but we certainly haven’t complained about the schedule or talked about anything like that. I enjoy being around these guys everyday and I love the challenges that are presented with what’s gone on with covid, everybody knows the league’s doing the best it can under these trying circumstances.

We’re just fortunate to be involved in this great game and I'm fortunate to be around these guys. We know its gonna be a tough game [against the Bullets], our depth is really helping with the schedule that we’ve got right now but we’re looking forward to the challenge.

On the impact of young shooter Isaac White…

A huge weapon in the game of basketball right now is your ability to shoot the ball and the kid is obviously we’ve got Justinian and we’ve got Tyler but he’s a special shooter with a tremendous work ethic…his contribution has been great but I keep going to the day to day, he’s a great at practice, he’s hard working, he’s a team guy. What stands out with him, he comes in and he shoots the ball and he can score.

On The Hawks increased focus on defence this season…

The Hawks were the worst defensive team in the league last year. I said after game one, the first quarter was bad for us and we didn't play a perfect game defensively but we played hard. This team knows they have to do that in order to win. Justin Simon has been a real key there, I think he triggered it in Game 1 and his long arms and defence is getting the team going and it’s an important aspect for us if we’re going to beat good teams.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">This piece of brilliant D + outstanding O lands <a href="https://twitter.com/simon_Says_so?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@simon_Says_so</a> our <a href="https://twitter.com/citymotorsgroup?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@citymotorsgroup</a> ‘Spark of the Game’ Hawk Nation ?<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/IllawarraProud?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#IllawarraProud</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/FlyAsOne?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#FlyAsOne</a> <a href="https://t.co/GnELoVRdRk">pic.twitter.com/GnELoVRdRk</a></p>— Hawks Basketball (@thehawks) <a href="https://twitter.com/thehawks/status/1351382855914381312?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 19, 2021</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>