Preview: Illawarra vs Sydney (Round 1)

Thursday, September 28, 2023

If you’d have called the Sydney Kings to be entering the new season winless at the Blitz, you’d have been in a select few.

Saturday, September 30 at 8:00pm AEST at WIN Entertainment Centre

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You have to take pre-season with a pinch of salt, but if you’d have called the Sydney Kings to be entering the new season winless from their pre-season fixtures, you’d have been in a select few.

The Kings lost all three of their Blitz games under new head coach Mahmoud Abdelfattah as they, understandably, experienced the teething problems brought by a new coach and a raft of new players.

Illawarra, on the other hand, got back to winning ways with a largely successful pre-season.

This is a rivalry where form traditionally gets thrown out the window though. NBL23 saw the ladder-leading Kings register three wins from three games against the Hawks – however all three victories came by a single-digit margin.

A victory for Illawarra would see the Hawks give themselves a jumpstart in their second season under Jacob Jackomas, whereas a Kings victory would see them gain some much-needed momentum in Abdelfattah’s new era at the helm.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">AJ JOHNSON’S FIRST BUCKET ? ?<br><br>Tune in to all the action on Kayo Freebies <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/WeRiseTogether?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#WeRiseTogether</a> <a href="https://t.co/fFAtPKkYy8">pic.twitter.com/fFAtPKkYy8</a></p>— Illawarra Hawks Basketball (@illawarrahawks) <a href="https://twitter.com/illawarrahawks/status/1703678663273881878?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 18, 2023</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Hungry Jack’s NBL Blitz fixtures used for recent form

Illawarra
108-90 win over Cairns
95-88 win over Brisbane
71-85 loss to Melbourne

Sydney

76-105 loss to Brisbane
87-105 loss to Melbourne
86-93 loss to South East Melbourne

Lachlan Olbrich
Young Illawarra big Lachlan Olbrich is entering the new NBL season with a heavy trophy case, and after a Blitz campaign that saw him miss just three shots from the field across three games, there are now some serious eyes on the up and coming local star.

Olbrich was named the Big West Freshman of the Year in his sole college campaign at UC Riverside, and has since won the NBL1 Central title, Finals MVP and an All-Star Five nomination with the West Adelaide Bearcats.

In short, this is a kid who has continued to thrive as he’s risen up the basketball pyramid.

Olbrich is still just 19 years old and has already shown the ability to crash and bash with bigger and more mature bodies inside.

He’ll likely be backing up Sam Froling at the centre position, however his ability to shoot the three and play power forward could see him used in a variety of matchups for the Hawks.

“Lachlan Olbrich is the breakout player of the NBL Blitz, by far … I’m not over-exaggerating when I say – I won’t lock him in there right now – but the ceiling is a first-round pick … the creativity, the efficiency, he’s a big 6’10” kid who has both college pedigree and now potential to produce in the NBL,” – NBA Draft expert Sam Vecenie on the Game Theory Podcast.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Lachie Olbrich takeover alert ?<br><br>The <a href="https://twitter.com/illawarrahawks?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@illawarrahawks</a> forward is up to 20 points at the end of the third quarter ?<br><br>Watch every game live & free via Kayo Freebies ?<br><br>Outside Australia? Watch via ?? <a href="https://t.co/8LoWsbR7E4">https://t.co/8LoWsbR7E4</a> <a href="https://t.co/NXNdTo08iK">pic.twitter.com/NXNdTo08iK</a></p>— NBL (@NBL) <a href="https://twitter.com/NBL/status/1704391403504046416?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 20, 2023</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Jaylin Galloway
The dominoes have been lined up for Jaylin Galloway to become a genuine NBL force this season, now he just has to knock them down.

The two-time NBL champion had already been earmarked for a starting position following the departure of Justin Simon at the end of last season, and with DJ Hogg missing with injury for the foreseeable future, Galloway has a prime opportunity in the early weeks of the season.

He showcased his immense athleticism and potential off the bench in Sydney’s NBL23 title triumph and after his Summer League experience at Minnesota he could well be ready to explode this season.

The early mail has him as a genuine Most Improved Player candidate for this season, and the extra responsibility Hogg’s injury will present him should see Galloway put his best foot forward early on.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Make way for Jaylin Galloway ? <br><br>Watch every game live & free via Kayo Freebies ? <br><br>Outside Australia? Watch via ?? <a href="https://t.co/8LoWsbR7E4">https://t.co/8LoWsbR7E4</a> <a href="https://t.co/WxA9FhN8uF">pic.twitter.com/WxA9FhN8uF</a></p>— NBL (@NBL) <a href="https://twitter.com/NBL/status/1703704730193506436?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 18, 2023</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Gary Clark vs Kouat Noi
The matchup between one of NBL23’s best forwards in DJ Hogg, and one of the most highly credentialed new recruits in Gary Clark looked set to be one of the most mouthwatering matchups in the opening weekend of NBL24.

Through Hogg’s absence through injury though, it looks likely Kouat Noi will be handed the task of slowing down the almost 200-game NBA veteran.

Noi once again starred for USC Rip City in the NBL off-season and has never been short of confidence in his own ability – and he’s been presented a strong opportunity to impress new coach Mahmoud Abdelfattah in the first outing of the new season.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">??? FORMER TAIPAN, BIRTHDAY BOY KING KOUAT NOI WINS THE GAME FOR SYDNEY ??? <a href="https://t.co/iS6YmATxCy">pic.twitter.com/iS6YmATxCy</a></p>— NBL (@NBL) <a href="https://twitter.com/NBL/status/1586314636579655680?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 29, 2022</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Clark looks likely to slot in alongside Sam Froling in Illawarra’s starting group, and he was dangerously close to joining the 50/40/90 club while representing Capitanes de Ciudad de Mexico in the NBA G-League last season, with shooting splits of 50.8 per cent from the field, 39.5 per cent from three and almost 80 per cent from the field.

Other clubs were reportedly in the hunt for Clark’s signature this off-season, and it’s time for him to show why he was one of the most highly-chased imports of the NBL23 off-season.

Gettyimages 1688185441
Gary Clark drives the ball during the NBL Blitz.

The last four occasions Illawarra has led Sydney at quarter time, the Kings have bounced back to take the win.

Illawarra led at quarter-time in two of the sides’ three contests last season, however the Kings completed a clean sweep of their local rivals on the season.

Gettyimages 1449549688 (1)
Xavier Cooks led Sydney to victory against Illawarra in Round 1 last season, despite the Kings trailing Illawarra by eight points at quarter time.