Hawks Vs 36ers Post Game Wrap

Illawarra has fallen to consecutive losses for the first time this season, and just the third time under Justin Tatum, with a 93-79 road loss to Adelaide on Sunday.

The 36ers were smarting from a 27-point last-start thrashing at the hands of New Zealand and were desperate to bounce back and continue a run of nine straight wins on the Brett Maher Court.

The Hawks enjoyed a seven-day lead-in following last week’s away loss to Perth and got the jump 10-0 early and led 16-4 through the opening five minutes, but never recaptured momentum from there.

Kendric Davis was on triple-double watch before finishing with 16 points, 10 assists and seven rebounds for the hosts, with the other two legs of the Sixers big three Montrezl Harrell (25 points) and DJ Vasiljevic (23) doing the rest of the damage for the hosts.

After a red-hot start, the loss sees Tatum’s team drop out of the top two for the first time this season having dropped three of its last four outings heading into next weekend’s monster showdown with Sydney in Wollongong.

The Hawks have lost three straight games just once since Tatum took the reins and will be desperate to avoid reproducing that stat against their arch-rivals at the Sandpit.

Was it hustle or muscle?

Illawarra were rested despite a tough road trip to Perth a week earlier, and welcomed back point-guard Trey Kell, but finished with their lowest offensive return of the season.

After going 6-0 from the field to start, including 4-4 from deep, the Hawks shot just 45 per cent from the field, and just 34 per cent from long range, but coach Tatum’s frustrations lay elsewhere on the stat sheet.

The Tatum brand has been built on effort plays and non-negotiables, so a forgettable night on the glass did not escape his attention.

The Sixers won the battle of the boards 46-39, but it was more telling in the opening half that saw the hosts out-muscle the Hawks 26-16 on the glass, including seven offensive boards.

Jarrell Martin breezing past three white singlets to put back a wayward Davis three on the halftime buzzer told that story, while in the hustle stakes Adelaide outscored the Hawks 23-4 in transition points.

Despite also attempting more three-point shots, the hosts made 30 trips to the foul-line to the Hawks’ nine, including 15-0 in the first term. Tatum was tight-lipped on the discrepancy post-game, but suggested there will be a few areas to work on in the lead-up to the Kings clash.

“There’s a lot of things to address this week,” Tatum said.

“I tip my hat off to Adelaide for shooting the ball well. Our trans D needs to get better, and we’ll work on that this week.

“The free-throws did not help, but Adelaide came out and played well.  I guess they did a really good job drawing fouls and getting us out of defensive position and being able to dictate the tempo of the game.

“Thirty free-throws is a lot, but I guess they were well-deserved. Adelaide came in with a good game plan, they played well, shot the ball well, we could’ve done better defensively.”

Silver lining in Trey Kell’s return

The Hawks were 5-1 with their point-guard on the floor, but dropped to 1-2 without him. It made Kell’s return against his former club a boost whatever the result.

As it was, Kell finished with a team-high 18 points at 7-11 from the field while making five of his side’s total nine trips to the charity stripe. There was perhaps some rust in four turnovers but there’s no doubt the 28-year-old will be better for the run with a long turnaround into the Kings clash.

“It’s always good to have 11 healthy players and get all your guys back,” Tatum said.

“As he gets back to being in game shape and being back to Trey Kell, hopefully we can see just as good a production out of him going further into the season.”

Froling stands up against Sixers giants

 It was ultimately a forgettable night for the Hawks, but tape of Sam Froling’s performance could reveal the blueprint for the next time they take on the Sixers.

In Harrrell, Martin and Isaac Humphries, Adelaide may well boast the most formidable post arsenal in the NBL, so Froling had to stand up if the Hawks were any chance of pulling off a road win.

The co-skipper delivered with 16 points, seven rebounds, three assists and two steals. Man-to-man, the Sixers had next to no answers when the Hawks found their star big man, which they did not do enough as they mounted a late comeback.

Having shot at a career-high efficiency this season, a 4-13 night for co-captain Tyler Harvey (11 points) is an outlier unlikely to be repeated. A return to his usual clip in combination with Froling would see the Hawks like their chances next time out against Adelaide despite being 0-2 against the Sixers this campaign.

Stage set for WEC blockbuster

This coming Saturday’s clash with Sydney is tipped to be a sellout, the Hawks having knocked off the Kings on their last trip up the freeway to take on their arch-rivals.

With a FIBA window to follow, a victory that halts an 0-2 slide would be gold for Tatum, who’ll be looking for a return to the principles of his team’s early campaign.

“As long as we play good basketball it doesn’t matter where we play it,” Tatum said.

“I just want my team to play a lot better than we’ve previously been doing, but it’s always good to play at home.

“If it’s before FIBA or after the FIBA break, as long as we find a way to play well and get wins (I’m happy).”