Hawks fall to sixth in NBL power rankings

By Liam Santamaria

Every week this NBL season, I’m releasing my power rankings.

They drop each Tuesday on NBL Overtime and then run here the following morning.

Here’s my money-back guarantee: they won’t ever correlate with the ladder. They also don’t reflect where I think each team will finish. Instead, like most ‘power rankings’, they represent how each team is currently tracking when you consider form, injuries, illness, recent opponents, etc. In other words, the team on top is the one other teams do not want to be playing right now.

With that in mind, here are this week’s power rankings:

1. MELBOURNE UNITED

Previous rank: 1

There’s no change at the top this week after Melbourne added a couple of dubs to their already impressive record.

That’s now three in a row for Dean Vickerman’s men – a streak made up of wins over Perth and South East Melbourne as well as a thumping of New Zealand. With all that in mind, channel your inner Dionne Warwick and say a little prayer for the Taipans.

This week: @ Cairns

2. SYDNEY KINGS

Previous rank: 3

The Kings are storming up the standings right now having won six of their past seven, including their last four in a row.

Sydney’s D has been solid all season and with Jaylen Adams running the show, their offense has improved significantly over the past month. The challenge now is to take that good form on the road.

This week: @ Adelaide

3. PERTH WILDCATS

Previous rank: 2

The Wildcats fall out of second spot after dropping three of their past four games, with each of those Ls coming to Melbourne and Sydney.

It’s been a tough slog for the ‘Cats, on the road since late December, but all in all they’ve managed their situation pretty well. From here it’s just six more road games before the big payoff arrives: nine straight at home to prepare for the playoffs.

In the meantime, surely that front office is working the phones. An impact big man could put this team over the top.

This week: @ South East Melbourne, @ Tasmania

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">How's your squad looking with 12 rounds down? ?<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/NBL22?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#NBL22</a> ? <a href="https://twitter.com/AAMI?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@AAMI</a> <a href="https://t.co/qXt9kNcuuE">pic.twitter.com/qXt9kNcuuE</a></p>— The NBL (@NBL) <a href="https://twitter.com/NBL/status/1495549366605856768?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 21, 2022</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

4. SOUTH EAST MELBOURNE PHOENIX

Previous rank: 4

It’s been a hectic couple of weeks for the Phoenix as they played six games in fifteen days, with guys coming in and out due to COVID protocols. In the end, they got through that period with a 3-3 record while only dropping games to the teams above them on the rankings.

With their full squad on the floor, it’s now time for the Phoenix to cement their championship credentials. They’re currently 9-5 and with three of their next four against teams in the top half of the ladder, a strong couple of weeks could give them a real shot at securing a top-two finish.

This week: vs Perth

5. TASMANIA JACKJUMPERS

Previous rank: 9

I got this one wr…. I got this one wro… [deep breath] I got this one wrong.

Nah I’m just playing, that wasn’t difficult to type. Sometimes in life – and especially in this business – you’ve just got to pull up a chair, grab a fork and smash some humble pie.

Here’s the deal, though: part of constructing power rankings involves calculating the impact of injuries and I’ll admit, I didn’t give the Ants much of a chance without the big fella. Yes, they’ve been outstanding in their debut season. And yes, Scott Roth has them playing an impressive brand of ball. But so much of Tassie’s success has been built around their high-pressure D and with Magnay on the floor, that D is supported by elite rim protection. Without him, there are buckets to be found around the hoop.

Down the other end, Tassie entered last round ranked last in the league in field goal percentage and second last in three-point percentage resulting in an offensive rating that sat, yep you guessed it, last in the comp. That’s okay, though, because their D was typically keeping teams to scores in the low 70s. In fact, leading into last week’s action, the JackJumpers were 1-6 when their opponents had scored over 75 points.

What I didn’t account for was the possibility that the league’s newest club would suddenly turn into one of the deadliest shooting teams we’ve ever seen in this country. Only four times in all of NBL history has a team hit more triples than what Tassie drained the other day and no team has ever hit more in a 40-minute game. And yet there they were, draining three-ball after three-ball from all around the arc. Off balance, off the bounce… off the planet!

Anyway, the bottom line is that the Jackies are playing with incredible confidence right now. They’re brilliantly coached, they work their tails off defensively and then they go down the other end and share the ball. That’s the beautiful thing about it: playing with effort, energy and unselfishness has brought them success and that success has, in turn, created a confidence to go out and achieve remarkable things. The result of all that, recently, has been five wins from their past six games and a well-earned return to fifth spot on the power rankings. March on, Jackies!

This week: @ Brisbane, vs Perth

6. ILLAWARRA HAWKS

Previous rank: 5

I’ll be honest, I’m exhausted from all that ranting about the JackJumpers, so let’s just keep it simple here: it’s time for the Hawks to turn this ship around.

Yeah, they’ve still got a winning record but these guys have won just 4 of their last 10 games and will need to play 9 of their remaining 13 away from home. That’s going to be tough and with the current top four all looking pretty good, Brian Goorjian’s crew really needs to get a move on.

This needs to be an undefeated Round 13 if these guys are serious about making the playoffs.

This week: vs Adelaide, @ New Zealand* (in Hobart)

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">How amazing do our <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/NBL22?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#NBL22</a> Indigenous round uniforms look??<br><br>Read the story behind our kits, designed by Lani Balzan, here: <a href="https://t.co/N76fKsDwg3">https://t.co/N76fKsDwg3</a><br><br>To grab your own HawkHeads, visit our store from 9am Tuesday: <a href="https://t.co/Myx4PfmvRD">https://t.co/Myx4PfmvRD</a><a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/WeAreIllawarra?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#WeAreIllawarra</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/FlyAsOne?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#FlyAsOne</a> <a href="https://t.co/LjkGpX0uS3">pic.twitter.com/LjkGpX0uS3</a></p>— Illawarra Hawks Basketball (@illawarrahawks) <a href="https://twitter.com/illawarrahawks/status/1495577195028574213?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 21, 2022</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

7. BRISBANE BULLETS

Previous rank: 6

It’s not often you shoot 55 percent from the field and lose. Yet, somehow the Bullets managed to pull that off when they notched up the highest shooting clip of the season and still went down to the Phoenix. It was only the second time in franchise history that Brisbane registered 50-40-90 shooting clips and lost but such was SEM’s ball control (just 6 turnovers) and the red-hot shooting of Ryan Broekhoff and Cam Gliddon.

That’s now six Ls for Brisbane from their past seven games. It’s funny because, despite that recent record, James Duncan’s squad is actually starting to play some pretty good ball. After all, they had a shot to force overtime against Melbourne, lost in Sydney on the buzzer and had a look at a potential game-winner this week against the Phoenix.

Do they need to improve in those big moments? Absolutely. But the Bullets are far better than their 5-9 record would suggest.

This week: @ Cairns, vs Tasmania

8. ADELAIDE 36ERS

Previous rank: 7

The 36ers slide down one spot this week but only by virtue of Tassie’s dramatic over-correction.

In reality, Adelaide’s win over Cairns was a much-needed stabiliser for a team that had thrown a game away the previous week. It also displayed a couple of positive signs for CJ Bruton’s squad, including a bounce-back performance from Mitch McCarron and nice night at the office for Daniel Johnson. Those two need to be consistently elite for this team to be successful.

This week: @ Illawarra, vs Sydney

9. NEW ZEALAND BREAKERS

Previous rank: 10

It’s strange to move a team up the rankings after a 35-point loss but that’s just the kind of wild and crazy guy I am. Nah, the fact of the matter is: these guys are just better than the Taipans right now. Yes, they’re enormously inconsistent, but Dan Shamir’s squad can do some damage when they’re up and about.

To give that some further context: over their past eight games the Breakers have notched up four wins. Only Melbourne, SEM, Sydney and Tassie have a better record over the same number of games.

When they lose, they tend to lose heavy. But, as Illawarra know only too well, take these guys lightly at your peril.

This week: vs Illawarra* (in Hobart)

10. CAIRNS TAIPANS

Previous rank: 8

Remember that wonderful night a few weeks ago when Bul Kuol and the Taipans blew the Bullets out of the sky? Me neither, as the Snakes have since lost four in a row, making it one win from their past eight games.

Things have gotten particularly ugly over their past three, where the Taipans have shot a combined 16-of-70 from long range and have committed a massive 56 turnovers. Here’s hoping that players-only meeting on Sunday was able to find some solutions.

This week: vs Brisbane, vs Melbourne