“They’re the best team in the league right now for a reason.” 

“They’re the best team in the league right now for a reason.” 

That was the succinct assessment of Perth coach John Rillie after Illawarra dismantled the Wildcats 120-88 in Wollongong on Sunday. 

It saw the Hawks both fortify their own spot at the top of the ladder, and bring the incredible run of 40-plus games from Wildcats talisman Bryce Cotton to a shuddering halt.  

The virtual lock for league MVP had averaged 48 points over his previous four outings, but could only manage 13 at the Sandpit, and none after quarter-time. 

In comparison, Hawks back-court pair Trey Kell and Tyler Harvey combined for 33 points at the half, the former finishing with 31 points, five boards and five assists. 

A famously straight-shooting Rillie said there was no real mystery to how the league’s current benchmark got it done. 

“The things that we talked about where they're probably the best in the league at at this point in time, they dominated us,” Rillie said. 

“They’re relentless with how they play once they have the ball, and they’ve got multiple guys that can get it down the floor fast, then their bigs just have a knack [for] right place, right time … they're the best team in the league right now for a reason. We really saw that firsthand today.”  

Blowing out the highly fancied Wildcats both on the road and at home through Cotton’s purple patch caps a standout month for Justin Tatum’s team, who’ve also downed United in Melbourne and now won their past two home games by a combined margin of 70 points. 

Hawks put the clamp on Bryce 

The win on their home floor was impressive as any for the Hawks this year, with Tatum naturally fielding questions about the shut-down of Cotton in the aftermath.  

Since going for 59 against New Zealand on December 1, Cotton had been unstoppable, and even managed to drop 40 in a 10-point road loss to the Hawks a month ago.  

While Wani Swaka Lo Buluk and Will Hickey no doubt did their job on the league superstar on Sunday – Cotton going 5-16 from the field and 0-7 from long range - Tatum put the victory down to an across-the-board defensive effort that saw the visitors go 35-71 from the field, and 7-29 from deep.

“We came with a scouting plan, JK (Joel Khalu) did a great job with the scouting plan, but when the guys understood the assignment they locked in and we didn't have to do too much adjusting,” Tatum said. 

“That was probably the most exciting thing that I took out of the game, watching them as a collective group adjust to what they knew they had to do to win. Our primary defenders are Swak and Davo (Hickey) on Bryce, but we wanted to make sure anybody else who caught the ball got a lot of attention because we know that they're looking for Bryce and looking to find ways to get him the ball. If we gave them attention like we normally give Bryce, then that would hopefully frustrate them a little bit.   

“Bryce is like a microwave, he’s cooking right now. If he ended up with 40 and we had a 20-plus win, we're still here tipping our hat’s off, but to hold somebody as exceptionally great offensively as Bryce is, is kudos to the team.”  

 Double T show giving Hawks fans their money’s worth 

 Is there a better back-court pairing in the NBL right now than Kell and Harvey? 

Tatum gives an emphatic no when asked. “In my opinion, they' the best backcourt in the NBL,” Tatum said. 

The famously unassuming Kell is less willing to label his combination with the skipper as such, but the proof could well be in the prolific scoring pudding. Their combined 46 points and nine assists came at 62 per cent from the field and from long-range.  

It’s a potency Kell puts down to a seflessness he was not as attuned to when coming up against his current back-court foil in previous seasons.  

“From afar, it seemed like [Harvey] was just kind of a shot-chucker to be honest,” Kell said. 

“Part of it was, I know they didn't have the greatest team the past couple of years that I've been in the league, so a lot of weight was on his shoulders. Now I think he's in a more relaxed state. He's shooting the ball tremendously well this year. 

“I'll be the first one to gas him up. That's why [we call him] Tyler-beam. When he's on a heater, like he was last game, I'll be the first one to say ‘go ahead, take us to the finish line’ and vice versa. Today, he's calling me Trey-beam and telling me to go. 

“We have a unique relationship in that way, but Tyler's been great since we’ve been on the same team. I think we're a good back court, but at the end of the day we're winning games and for me that's all I care about.”  

Family affair a special one for JT 

When Tatum left the US to pursue a professional coaching career, it was to take up an assistant coaching role with a last-placed franchise coming off its worst ever season. 

Within half a season, Tatum as a head coach had the Hawks deep into a playoff series. Now as a fulltime head coach and face of the franchise, he has the Hawks humming to the point many consider them to the team to beat for the chip this year. 

They played that way at the WEC on Sunday, which also proved the first time Tatum’s parents and daughter Kayden were courtside to watch his team in action. While he joked it had him on his best behaviour, having his biggest supporters on hand was a special moment.  

“I was on my best behaviour, you see?’ Tatum joked.  

“When Mom and Dad are in town, I’m on my best behaviour, so I might have a little picture of them in the seat for when they do leave to remind me, but it was good to have them there.  

“My daughter gave me a high five and it’s mostly for my daughter, she’s 10 years old, to show her that you can achieve anything that you want to if you put your mind to it. Her coming all the way across the world to see her dad’s having some impact on the team and in the city, in the country in general, it means a lot to me.  

“My mom and dad are just proud of me, no matter what, but it's just building confidence in her to let her know that, ‘hey, whatever you want to achieve, whatever you want to do, believe in that’.”  The Hawks will next be in action in what’s a now an annual Christmas Day showdown with the Kings on Wednesday.