Hanging by a thread: Hawks' title defence in disarray

Four wins off the pace for the top six and a brutal five-game road swing leaves the reigning champions barely clinging to their Finals hopes.

Sunday’s five-point defeat to New Zealand delivered another bitter hit to Illawarra’s title defence, and Justin Tatum didn’t mince words about why.

“They just want it more. They just want it more,” he said of the Hawks' opposition.

“It’s unfortunate my team doesn’t show the same resilience, against anyone, not just New Zealand.

“I don’t think they’re overly more talented or found more shots, they just find ways to win a game, and that’s what they’ve done.”

In search of answers, the Hawks tinkered with their rotations, even benching JaVale McGee to start, yet the story stayed the same in NBL26 — another loss.

They now sit precariously in eighth position, with two games in hand, but four wins to make up on the sixth-placed JackJumpers.

Even with the incredible talent at their disposal, it looks an uphill battle to challenge for a Play-In spot.

“We’re going to keep playing these next 10 games as ‘we have a chance’ and guys show up to work and my coaching staff and myself keep preparing as we have an ability to defend our title,” Tatum said.

“Until it’s statistically all the way out, I’ll never say never.”

Illawarra has now lost five of its last seven games and, with an underwhelming road record (2-8), the next fortnight doesn’t get any easier.