Hawkeye - Illawarra Hawks v Adelaide 36ers R12 Preview

THE MUST KNOWS 

When: 8pm AEST, Saturday 3 April

Where: Adelaide Entertainment Centre, Adelaide

Broadcast: ESPN, SBS On Demand and Twitch

Last Time They Met: Illawarra 98 (Harvey 24, Adel 19, Bairstow 14) defeated Adelaide 89 (Crocker 23, Johnson 17, McVeigh 16), Round 8, March 4 2021

THE PRELUDE

It will be the first home-and-away clash between these two sides in 2021 (they've only met at the NBL Cup) - and with both teams banged up and limping into this one - it's probably fair to say there hasn't been a more important fixture for either team all season long.

The Hawks are coming off their worst defeat of the year against SE Melbourne on Thursday night and will be hitting the floor without star guard Tyler Harvey for the first time this season. The men from Illawarra remain in the NBL's top four for now, but a loss tonight would see them tumble out of the playoff picture with the winner of the Brisbane - Sydney clash beforehand moving into fourth place.

Adelaide on the other hand are in a state of free fall. 

The 36ers are currently in the midst of a five-game losing streak and are reeling after injuries to star big man Isaac Humphries and future NBA-prospect Josh Giddey derailed what looked like being a competitive 2021 campaign.

Last time these sides met - Tyler Harvey and Tony Crocker led the scoring for their respective units - but both will miss tonight's game through injury. Illawarra is winless from six games this year when Harvey has scored 15 points or less.

The Hawks will be without Harvey for the first time this season while Cam Bairstow will miss his second straight game.

The 36ers will still be without star big man Isaac Humphries and the experienced Crocker, but will welcome back Giddey.

THE FUN FACTS

Illawarra has lost three of their last four and a defeat here will be four out of five games for the first time this season.

The Hawks average the most shots per game at 75.6 while Adelaide take the least (67.9), but Illawarra average the least amount of free-throws at 13.6 per game.

This is the first game at the Adelaide Entertainment Centre for the 36ers in 47 days since February 15 when they were beaten by the Bullets 74-93. Adelaide have lost their last two home games by 19-points after also being defeated by Sydney in round four.

Adelaide has lost their last five games and eight of their last nine. The 36ers have not lost six games in a row since they dropped seven straight in November/December 2014.

Brian Goorjian has coached 754 NBL games and Thursday night was one of his all-time worst results. 63 points scored was just one point shy of his team’s lowest ever score of 62 in the 1998 Grand Final  and the 32-point defeat was his largest loss since 1997.

This will be the first NBL game back in South Australia for Brian Goorjian since November 2008 when he coached the South Dragons to a 106-100 win over the 36ers at the Distinctive Homes Dome.

THE MATCH UP

Emmett Naar v Josh Giddey

Hawks coach Goorjian put the acid on the Hawks backup playmakers after Thursday night's diabolical showing against the Phoenix - saying Naar and Lachie Dent would need to make the most of the opportunity presented to them with Harvey set to miss with injury.

Naar has shown on occasion this season he is perfectly capable of being the side's floor general - but with Harvey off the floor on Thursday the Hawks were almost clueless on the offensive end as the Phoenix went on a 24-0 run.

Naar's numbers are down across the board this season - but that is in part due to less opportunity. He's only logging 12 minutes per contest (compared to 16 last season) and tipping in just under four points while dishing out a shade under two assists. Across his 85 career games he's averaging five points and three assists per game, but he'll be given the reigns to the Hawks team tonight and he'll have a hell of a matchup to contend with.

Giddey has been a revelation this season for an Adelaide side devoid of many shining lights. He's scoring 14 points with handing out nine assists per game - and returns to his home court after missing time with an ankle injury,.

He'll be a tough cover for the slightly undersized Naar - with Giddey standing at 6' 8" and now mixing his great distribution skills with a jumper that is starting to become more consistent. 

THE SPOTLIGHT

Daniel Grida - Grida returns to the Hawks line up for the first time this season following a ACL injury suffered whilst training with the Lakeside Lightning in his hometown of Perth in March 2020.

Grida had not missed a game in the last two seasons with the Hawks since his debut playing all 56 games and including a career high 17-points against the Breakers.

The West Australian rising star has been missed for the Hawks so far this season - his agressive defensive mindset and attack on the rim perhaps the missing piece in an otherwise vastly improved Hawks lineup.

Grida has averaged five points and a couple of rebounds in an average of 13 minutes across 66 career NBL games so far.

He also has the unusual record of making his NBL debut in a four overtime game back in October 2018 against United in Wollongong.