Hawkeye - Illawarra Hawks v NZ Breakers R20 Preview

THE MUST KNOWS 

When: 5:30pm AEST, Friday 28 May

Where: The Stockyard (NZ)

Broadcast: ESPN, SBS On Demand and Twitch

Past meetings:

Round 6 at John Cain Arena: Hawks 102 def Breakers 88
Round 16 at Silverdome, Launceston: Hawks 75 def Breakers 67
Round 18 at WIN Ent Centre: Hawks 73 def Breakers 71

THE PRELUDE

It's a big night for the Illawarra Hawks in the land of the long white cloud with a crunch matchup with the lowly NZ Breakers looming as a pivotal one in the race to the NBL playoffs.

With Perth getting the business done last night against the Kings, tonight presents a wonderful opportunity for the Hawks to skip away from the chasing pack and consolidate a playoff position with only a week remaining in the season.

New Zealand has shown promsiing signs since returning to their homeland after more than five months playing abroad in Australia, winning two of three and showing the league exactly what could have been if COVID-19 and the scheduling was a little more favourable for them.

A win tonight will push the Hawks two wins clear of Sydney in fourth place with a winnable clash looming with Adelaide at home on Sunday. 

New Zealand is the only team that has not beaten the Hawks at least once this season, and this is the only chance the Hawks have this season to sweep an opponent.

This will be the first ever played at this venue in South Auckland.

THE FUN FACTS

Tonight's game is the first of two in the NBL's Indigenous Round for Illawarra and the side will be donning a brilliant new strip created by local Indigenous artists Sam Hill and Harry Pitt.

Illawarra has won five of their last six games and their only loss in that span was to ladder leaders Melbourne United.

The Hawks set a new NBL record for the 40-minute game with 45 three-point attempts (made 12) and set a new franchise record with 11 blocks in their last game with the Taipans.

Over the last four rounds, Illawarra is the lowest scoring team at just 80ppg and are only making 26.4% of their three-pointers (a league low).

However, the Hawks have been keeping their opponents to a league low 76.7 points off a league low 62 shots per game. They are also forcing their opposition into a league high 16.3 turnovers per game.

In their last ten games, the Breakers have only scored less than 74-points twice and both times were against the Hawks (67 & 71)

Brian Goorjian has coached against the Breakers 21 times in his career for 18 wins and three losses. He last coached in the NBL in New Zealand in January 2009 when his South Dragons won 101-94 at the North Shore Events Centre on the way to winning the championship that season.

Deng Deng was on the Breakers roster last year, but will not appear in the record books as he never got any playing time in the 14 matches he suited up in. He played 19 games for the Sydney Kings in 2019 and has played in all 32 games for the Hawks this season averaging 15 minutes per game and 6.4 points and 4.1 rebounds.

THE MATCH UP

Tyler Harvey v William Mcdowell-White

When Tyler Harvey scores 25-points or more the Hawks are undefeated from six games.
Harvey scored 29 against the Breakers in Launceston after 21-points in the first half alone. The MVP-candidate is averaging 25ppg against NZ after scoring 24, 29 & 22 in three clashes this season - which is the most by any player in NBL21.

Will Mcdowell-White will be tasked with trying to corral Harvey, with the Brisbane-born Indigenous star showing out in his first full season in the NBL since leaving the Kings in 2017. McDowell-White was a member of Brian Goorjian's 24-man Australian Boomers squad so the Hawks coach clearly knows his value, with his 6'5" frame and big wingspan the best hope NZ have of slowing down the Hawks star.

THE SPOTLIGHT

Sam Froling + Max Darling

Sam Froling will suit up for his 50^th NBL game tonight. Froling is one of the favourites to land the coveted Most Improved Player award this year after lifting his averages from 6 points and 3.4 rebounds last season to 11 points and 7.2 rebounds this season while shooting 50.5% from the field. Froling is also the only Hawks player to start every game this season and continues to go from strength to strength.

Max Darling is another Hawk to keep an eye on tonight with the Kiwi native returning to New Zealand for the first time this season. Darling has played 14 games for the Hawks in his first NBL season and will be heading back home to play for the Canterbury Rams when his commitments with the Hawks wrap up in the next month.