The Hawks all-but sealed top spot on the ladder

The Hawks all-but sealed top spot on the ladder come regular season’s end by clinically disposing of Tasmania 102-78 on Thursday, the type of bounce back from disappointment that’s become customary for Justin Tatum’s team. 

It was an unsurprising result but, seven days after dropping their second game to last-placed Cairns in less than a month, the undermanned JackJumpers shaped as the kind of banana peel the Hawks have slipped on more than once this season. 

There appeared little chance of that from the jump on Thursday, Sam Froling’s mighty 16 points at 7-9 from the field in the first half the telling performance that saw the visitors lead by 18 at the break.

It looked like a training scrimmage from there, but it ticked the boxes Tatum was after. 

“Our effort level was high, through the roof, our attention to detail was great, our will to win showed for 40 minutes,” Tatum said. 

“I still have some things to complain about, but we got better this week. We were determined to play better today. We know we didn't give our best effort last week against Cairns.  

“We had a really good week of practice and we changed some things up intensity-wise. The guys are just motivated differently right now, and they wanted to get back and play this game today and they gave a great effort.” 

Froling finished with 18 points, seven rebounds and two assists, while front-court partner Mason Peatling also had himself a night with 12 points and six rebounds, and Tyler Harvey had 15 points and five dimes despite a 1-8 night from long range. 

It kept the game well in hand for the Hawks and gave Tatum the luxury of playing all of his big guns for less than 30 minutes, though the starting group had a point to prove having admittedly dropped the ball last time out against the Taipans. 

“We have such a close team, from the staff to the players, so we’re able to push each other and hold each other accountable to make sure we do bounce back well,” Froling said.   

“We knew they were depleted inside and we had an advantage there without [Will] Magnay, so we pounded it in and I took care of it. Then in the second half they doubled [me] a lot more and that's when it opened up for Tyler and Trey to get going a little bit.   

“You hold a team to 78 points, 13 in the first quarter. Our third quarter was the worst one by far, but defensively we were great, and then I thought offensively we moved the ball a lot more and looked a lot more cohesive.”   

While the starting group found its groove, the Hawks bench continued its reliable contribution with Will Hickey (12 points, four rebounds, four assists) and Todd Blanchfield (12 points) leading a bench effort that refused to let the JackJumpers back into the contest. 

Blanchfield in particular has found a timely return to form in the absence of Darius Days, who won’t see on-court action until the post-season.  

“I think people forget three years ago he was number two to Bryce Cotton in Perth,” Froling said of Blanchfield.  

“He's done this before in this league. Obviously Darius is a massive piece for us but, with him going down, Toddy’s stepped into that role and he's done it before. 

“He's been great for us hitting shots and the way he talks, he's probably our best communicator on the team, so he's been a massive piece.”  

The bounce back showed all the benefits of a seven-day lead-in, with the Hawks now enjoying a six-day turnaround into Wednesday’s road clash with New Zealand, ahead of a return to Wollongong to take on the Kings Friday week. 

Thursday’s win kicks the club clear of the play-in tournament, with the February FIBA window set to keep the Hawks off the floor for three weeks before their post-season campaign gets underway. 

Tatum said it’s a must for his team to use, not just the remaining two games, but the preparations on the practice floor to ensure the enforced lay-off works in its favour.  

“It's always good to get back to the lab and work on your mistakes that you've made the game previous, but [the week] was really good for us internally to really get our competitive nature back,” Tatum said. 

“We want to, not just finish these three games with wins, we want to really get better. We know if we put ourselves in a good position, we'll have a nice time off and we want to use these games to keep us focused and locked in. This past week was good for us and hopefully we just carry this on for the next couple of games.

There’s no secret plenty of time on the practice floor will be spent at the foul-line after the Hawks missed 11 freebies from the stripe in Thursday’s win.   

“We definitely have to take advantage of the opportunities that we create for ourselves from the free-throw line,” Tatum said. 

“Guys have just got to mentally lock in better and push themselves to do better, because, if we don't play defence or Tas make some shots, this could have been a different type of ball game with 11 missed free-throws. 

“The guys understand that and they're tough on themselves. We’ve just got to find ways to get better at it and hopefully they'll improve these next couple games.”