Preview: New Zealand v Illawarra (Round 16)

When: 5.30pm (AEDT), Thursday 19 January, 2023
Where: Spark Arena, Auckland
Broadcast: ESPN; Foxtel; Kayo; Sky NZ
LIVE BROADCAST AND BOX SCORE

Who won last time?

New Zealand 88 (McDowell-White 17, Gliddon 12, Rupert 11) d Illawarra 62 (Harvey 12) – Round 3, WIN Entertainment Centre, Wollongong

The Hawks in Round 3 were a long way from becoming the resilient, highly-respected fighting outfit they are today, and they barely put up a fight as New Zealand embarrassed them at home to the tune of 26 points. Will McDowell-White had his fingerprints all over this rout with 17 points, 10 boards, six assists and three steals to be +27 in 29 minutes, while Tyler Harvey was the only Illawarra player to reach double-figures.

What happened last game?

McDowell-White was brilliant again last Sunday and almost carried the Breakers to a stunning come-from-behind win over Cairns with 29 points on seven triples and his usual savvy point guard play at both ends, but ultimately the Breakers fell for the sixth time in eight outings.

The Hawks dropped their 11^th straight game in Sydney last Sunday - their fifth in a row by eight points or less. They got back in the hunt despite a 13-point final-quarter deficit thanks to some Tyler Harvey magic, but his attempts to take the lead and force OT in the dying seconds were unsuccessful.

What’s working?

Getting the D back – Were the Breakers recently renamed ‘New Zealan’? Because their feared interior D has disappeared. Mody Maor’s men leaked 90.5ppg in a six-game stretch bracketing the Christmas-New Year period, including 67ppg from ‘ones and two’, up from their previous average of 54.2. They knuckled down in Round 15 to hold Melbourne and Cairns to 81ppg and 57ppg inside the arc, and while that didn’t deliver much-needed wins, it rebuilds the platform their impressive NBL23 season has been constructed upon.

Getting after it – No one, and we mean no one, is questioning the Hawks’ effort right now, and that’s coming through loud and clear on the stats sheet. Jacob Jackomas’ men have gone +15 in the possession game in their past three contests, and their 11 steals against Sydney set up a 19-9 points from turnovers advantage. Will Hickey has pinched eight steals in those three contests, and given the Breakers burped it up 17 times to Cairns and were -15 on points from turnovers, McDowell-White and company will need to be on guard.

What needs to be stopped?

Tyler Harvey – Harvey ranks fourth in scoring, second in three-point makes and ninth in steals in the NBL as he throws everything at win number three. Illawarra’s past six games have been ultra-competitive against finals-level teams, and a huge part of that is Harvey averaging 23.7ppg with 4.7 threes at 43 per cent, 2.7 assists and 1.5 steals in that stretch. Harvey has shot 50 per cent on twos his past three games which makes it harder to run him off the arc. Can New Zealand's bigs deter Harvey's pull-ups without letting Sam Froling loose on the roll?

Jarrell Brantley – Brantley's big defensive job is being his usual disruptive self on ball-screens and helping on the interior without gifting open looks to Deng Deng. He’s averaged 2.8 steals in his past five games, and had a whopping five against the Taipans, so expect him to get after Illawarra’s guards. He’ll test out the Hawks’ defence too having averaged 21ppg at 47 per cent, 5/8 from deep and 9.5rpg in Barry Brown’s absence, with New Zealand +5 with Brantley on the floor against Melbourne and Cairns, but -19 in his 20:20 of rest.

Who’s missing key men?

Barry Brown remains sidelined for New Zealand, while Illawarra are expected to suit the same line-up that almost clipped the Kings.

Who’s matching up?

Dererk Pardon v Sam Froling – While Cairns made denying Froling a key defensive priority, the 22-year-old bounced back quickly two days later with 14 points, nine boards - five offensive - and five assists against Sydney as he caused them plenty of early headaches. He’d better be ready for a fired up and physical Pardon, whose past two games have delivered just 13 points at 33 per cent and more turnovers (seven) than defensive rebounds (six).

Will McDowell-White v Wani Swaka Lo Buluk – Meat Loaf said two-out-of-three ain’t bad, and McDowell-White has achieved that in his comeback thus far, compiling 41 points at 57 per cent, 10/17 from the arc, 13 dimes and nine boards in standout performances against Perth and Cairns. His ability to score and create from ball-screens – and repeat picks – is a test for any defender, but Swaka is a an athletic, long defender who can get in the star guard's passing lanes.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Will was on fire last night ?<br><br>Season high 29pts with 7/10 from downtown. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/UNBREAKABLE?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#UNBREAKABLE</a> <a href="https://t.co/iJpeALdVnG">pic.twitter.com/iJpeALdVnG</a></p>&mdash; Sky Sport New Zealand Breakers (@NZBreakers) <a href="https://twitter.com/NZBreakers/status/1614763122019176451?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 15, 2023</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Who’s saying what?

Breakers coach Mody Maor was heartened by his point guard’s admission after their loss to Cairns, their third in a row and sixth from eight outings.

“It feels like we’re coming into games expecting to get the job done, and with how good this league is anyone can beat anybody on any night, we've seen it all year long, even for the last couple of years, we’ve just got to stop underestimating teams,” Will McDowell-White said.

“I don’t know if it’s because we had such a great start, maybe tonight because we were 2-0 against Cairns and thought it was going to happen, but we’ve got to change what we’re doing.

“It’s our practice, we know we can’t just come into a game and win, we need to set the standard in practice.”

The Breakers hit this season with incredible energy, the NBL23 equivalent of the JackJumpers’ inaugural year as the Kiwis looked to rebuild their club’s reputation.

They simply played harder than most of their opponents en route to an 11-3 opening that had them in first place after 11 rounds.

But a home slip-up to the Wildcats, an unexpected COVID break and a packed schedule has left them waning at a time when other teams’ intensity is starting to peak.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="nl" dir="ltr">SAM ? WAARDENBURG ?<br>MONSTER slam from the rookie!!<br><br>? <a href="https://twitter.com/SamWaardenburg?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@SamWaardenburg</a> | ? <a href="https://twitter.com/10PeachAu?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@10PeachAu</a> <a href="https://t.co/80VRdlFhk2">pic.twitter.com/80VRdlFhk2</a></p>&mdash; Cairns Taipans (@CairnsTaipans) <a href="https://twitter.com/CairnsTaipans/status/1614476715472064512?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 15, 2023</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

“The level of effort and intensity is not where it needs to be, it’s not where it was, we’ve pulled back,” coach Maor said.

“Average doesn’t get us where we need to go, average doesn’t beat the Cairns Taipans. We need to be a lot better than average.

“We've had packed schedule and loaded periods three times already this season and we still played with a level of effort and intensity I thought was special, even when I knew that the tank wasn’t 100 per cent full, I felt like the guys gave everything they could.

“I think at the moment the guys are playing a little bit too casual, a little bit too average and it's not going to cut it.”

The Illawarra Hawks are playing anything but average right now, and would have to be the greatest team in NBL history to be on an 11-game losing streak.

“Our record is disappointing, our injuries are disappointing, we’re losing and it’s disappointing, but the way we’re playing isn’t disappointing,” coach Jacob Jackomas said.

While most bottom-placed, two-win teams would dread travelling to Auckland to face the third-placed Breakers late in the season, after doing everything but beat the top two teams in Round 15, Jackomas’ men will relish the challenge.

“We’re competing. We’re showing a different kind of toughness now, because it’s easy as these things get on to lose belief and they're not. This is an even better showing, the Kings are the benchmark of the league,” Jackomas said.

“Every time we play one of these games we get a little bit tougher, so for the future, for everyone’s future in the room, it’s got to be bright."

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">HE IS ON AUTOMATIC ?? ? <a href="https://twitter.com/YoungTRaaw?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@YoungTRaaw</a> <br><br>? ESPN via Kayo Sports + Foxtel<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/HawkNation?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#HawkNation</a> <a href="https://t.co/kcmgP9XFXQ">pic.twitter.com/kcmgP9XFXQ</a></p>&mdash; Illawarra Hawks Basketball (@illawarrahawks) <a href="https://twitter.com/illawarrahawks/status/1613843883125010433?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 13, 2023</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Will ‘Davo’ Hickey has been a revelation for the Hawks of late, and he revealed where his team’s incredible toughness is coming from.

“I just think we all get along as guys, we’re all young and a lot of us are on that same journey, trying to break through and get our foot in the door,” he said.

“Just through that we find comfort in each other, we do things off the court and are pretty good friends outside of that and it makes it easier when you come into an environment where Jake facilitates that.

“I guess that’s where the whole playing hard has come from, this core group of young guys we've found that we’re pretty close to each other, so we’re playing for each other.”

Make no mistake, the Breakers are playing for their playoff lives.

While a fleeting NBL moment ago they were challenging Sydney for first place, losses to the Hawks and Kings this week could leave them clinging to a top six spot only by percentage.

“We’ve slipped, this is a normal thing to happen in a season, but it’s being going on for more than one game so now we need to flick the switch,” Maor said.

“I do have trust, a lot, in all the guys in the locker room, and I believe we’ll see a better team in the next game.”