Hawks to reignite fierce rivalry with Kings

By the time the Illawarra Hawks return to the court on Thursday, it will have been 25 days since their last NBL game.

What better way to end that COVID-19 enforced hiatus than against their fierce rivals, the Sydney Kings.

The NSW rivals have met on 103 occasions, with the Hawks winning 47 of those Freeway Series showdowns.

Thursday's clash, tipping off at 7.30pm AEDT at the WIN Entertainment Centre, will mark the 50th meeting between the two sides in Wollongong, with the Hawks victorious in 25 of them - although the Kings have won the past three.

More to that, with the Hawks winning game one (a fixture neither team led by more than eight points at any stage, making it the most competitive match played between any teams this season), of the NBL22 Adrian Hurley Cup series 92-84, each of the past four matches between the rivals has been won by the road team - a trend Illawarra hope to buck on Thursday.

"That rivalry has been there forever," said Hawks forward Sam Froling, whose team will be wearing their Space Jam: A New Legacy Tweety Bird jerseys on the night.

"Us guys that aren't from here, we inherited from the people who have been here for a while, and we pass it on the new guys coming in.

"We enjoy these games and I think the fans really love it.

"Especially when they're here, we love beating Sydney in front of our home fans."

Both NSW rivals have been champing at the bit to return to the court, having both suffered last up losses - the Hawks going down to the Brisbane Bullets on December 19 (25 days ago) and the Kings being defeated by Melbourne United on December 26 (18 days ago).

A big part of the Hawks' 3-1 start has been their improved offence, going from the lowest-scoring team in NBL21 (80.5 points/game) to the highest this season (90.5ppg) - while taking the most shots (82.5).

On top of that, the Hawks' defence has been exceptional, with a league-leading 10.5 steals per outing.

On the flip side, the Kings, who are 3-3, are this season's lowest-scoring outfit (74.2ppg) on the back of the league-worst field goal percentage (37.6%) - a mark that would be the worst in NBL history.

.@DuopReath and our Hawks will lock horns with arch-rivals the @SydneyKings this Thursday at the @WINSportsEnt - in game two of the #AdrianHurleyCup 🏆

🏀: 7.30pm AEDT.

🎟: https://t.co/qRYDDllxsk

📺: @ESPNAusNZ via @kayosports and @Foxtel.
#WeAreIllawarra #FlyAsOne #NBL22 pic.twitter.com/AreNno8lRv

— Illawarra Hawks Basketball (@illawarrahawks) January 11, 2022

To ensure the Hawks secure their fourth win of the season, they will want to improve their first quarters, being the only team that has not been in front at quarter-time in any game so far.

Illawarra is a combined -27 in first-quarter scoring differences compared to +42 over the rest of the games - with star guard Tyler Harvey yet to score in the first 10 minutes of a fixture this campaign.

This is a stark contrast to Harvey’s performance in NBL22, where he was the number one first-quarter scorer with 185 points total.

As a team, the Hawks will be trying to win their first two home games of a season for the first time since October 2013 (having split their fixtures 1-1 the past eight campaigns), while coach Goorjian is chasing his maiden win against the Kings at the WIN Entertainment Centre, having lost the previous two encounters.

Key match-ups during the Adrian Hurley Cup clash loom between Duop Reath (20.25 points, nine rebounds and 1.25 blocks) and Jarrell Martin (14.17 points, 8.67 rebounds and 1.33 steals), forwards Antonius Cleveland (12.5 points, six rebounds and 2.75 steals) and Xavier Cooks (13.17 points, 8.17 rebounds and three assists and point guards Harvey (15.75 points, 3.25 steals and 2.75 assists) and Jaylen Adams (15 points, eight rebounds and three steals).

Finally, this fixture also presents Hawks Tim Coenraad with a chance at securing a potential club milestone.

The 317-game veteran needs two more three-pointers for 400 in his career, which will see him become just the fourth Illawarra player to reach that level - behind Mat Campbell (1049), Glen Saville (680) and Oscar Foreman (464).

HawkHeads, grab your tickets to the blockbuster clash now via Ticketmaster.

Altneratively, you can watch the match on ESPN via Kayo Sports and Foxtel.