R2 Preview: Sydney Kings vs Illawarra Hawks

When: 5.30pm (AEDT), Saturday 11 December

Where: Qudos Bank Arena, Sydney

Broadcast: ESPN; Kayo; Sky Sports NZ


Who won last time?

Sydney 79 (Martin 23, Cooks 19, Hunter 15) d Illawarra 73 (Froling 12, Naar 12, White 12) - Round 21, WIN Entertainment Centre, Wollongong

The Hawks offensive woes continued late last season with Tyler Harvey sidelined, and their vaunted defence had few answers for the dynamic duo of Jarell Martin and Xavier Cooks, who scored inside, outside and from the foul line en route to a combined 42 points at 50 per cent, including 5/9 from the arc. Illawarra won bench scoring 39-7 behind the hot hands of Isaac White and Tim Coenraad, but their starters were destroyed by the Kings.


What happened last week?

The Hawks looked good. A sub-par performance from Adelaide made life easy for Brian Goorjian’s men, but their aggressive defence picked up where it left off last season, generating scores aplenty, Duop Reath brings a new dimension to the frontcourt and Xavier Rathan-Mayes found form in Sunday’s second half to suggest he’ll be a handful.

Sydney also showed plenty of promise, 10 Kings hitting the scoreboard and eight registering at least one assist. However, after leading by 15 with eight minutes to play Chase Buford’s team imploded, shooting 3/11 and giving up five turnovers to almost cough up the W. While United’s offensive impotence let them off the hook, the Hawks won’t be so forgiving.


Who’s in form?

Jarell Martin – He was a model of efficiency on Sunday, but boy did Martin look dangerous, picking up 12 points at 50 per cent including a pair of treys, eight boards and three dimes to make it seem easy. The Hawks held Jarell to 7.3ppg in their first three meetings last season, but he stepped up in the season-closer with a 24 and 10 double-double, and both teams will know his output, and ability to score in transition, will have a big say in Saturday’s result.

Duop Reath – Given Cooks’ shot-blocking ability, Martin may be asked to step out and guard Reath, who didn’t hesitate to show Adelaide his jumpshot in a 12-point opening half that contained two trifectas. The Boomers back-up also scored 10 points from the paint or free-throw line and grabbed three o-boards to be a game-high +26. At the defensive end, he will be sternly tested by Martin, Cooks, Makur Maker and the returning Jordy Hunter this week.


<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Duop Reath has the three-ball. And the Hawks lead the 36ers by 5 at the break <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/NBL?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#NBL</a><br><br>Watch the NBL on ESPN now! ? <a href="https://t.co/zYaEUCBzVS">pic.twitter.com/zYaEUCBzVS</a></p>&mdash; ESPN Australia &amp; NZ (@ESPNAusNZ) <a href="https://twitter.com/ESPNAusNZ/status/1467325137791901699?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 5, 2021</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>


Who needs to be?

Shaun Bruce – With the late scratching of Jaylen Adams, back-up PG Bruce takes on a big responsibility. He averaged 5.4 assists and 5.4 boards against the Hawks last season, highlighting his team-first approach, and it will be his composure under pressure and ability to defend Harvey and Rathan-Mayes on ball-screen action that his team needs on Saturday.
 
Harry Froling – Once the emerging Aussie Nikola Jokic, Harry is now the other Froling, and despite putting in plenty of work on his conditioning in the off-season, he played without composure in the season-opener. The Hawks were +29 in the 28:15 Harry was on the bench, and -19 in his 11:45 on court. If he wants to stay in the rotation, things need to improve.


Who’s statting up?

 - The Kings were -8 in the possession game in the final eight minutes in Round 1, generating 11 field-goal attempts to Melbourne’s 21 in that time

 - Sydney coughed up 20 turnovers, but United only converted that into 14 points. In pre-season, the Kings averaged 18 miscues for 22.7 opposition points

- The Hawks forced Adelaide into 21 turnovers and won points from turnovers 23-11. They scored 13 points following miscues in their decisive 36-12 run across half-time

 - Illawarra had 12 fewer cough-ups than the Sixers, and last season their differential of -2.8 was best in the league


Who’s matching up?

JR Hunter v Justinian Jessup – Last season, when Jessup shot 33 per cent or less from long range he averaged just 9.1 points per game, showing a rookie habit of going into his shell when the J was astray. Pleasingly for the Hawks, despite a 1/7 opening-night from the arc, he continued to be aggressive, shooting 6/8 from inside en route to 17 important points in Adelaide, with five of those baskets coming right at the cup.

Hunter looked dangerous early in his NBL debut against Melbourne, patiently waiting for scoring opportunities while also getting on the boards and making some astute passes. However, after he opened the second half with a triple, he was largely absent from the King’s offence, getting just two shots in the final term when Sydney desperately needed a basket. Expect Bruce to make a point of getting his dead-eye shooter more involved.



<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Too casual, too ? <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/WeTheKings?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#WeTheKings</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/NBL22?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#NBL22</a> <a href="https://t.co/HBnUBLx3TU">pic.twitter.com/HBnUBLx3TU</a></p>&mdash; Sydney Kings (@SydneyKings) <a href="https://twitter.com/SydneyKings/status/1467351941160128514?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 5, 2021</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>


Who’s talking the talk?

While the administrators have been noisy this week, the fans will hope the athletes are doing the talking on Saturday evening.

Never before has the Hungry Jack’s NBL seen so many long, talented, athletic players in the same season, and many of them are on show in the NSW derby.

One of the contenders for NBL athlete of the year is new Hawks import Antonius Cleveland, who wasted no time introducing himself to the league with a stunning reverse jam in Adelaide.

“I had open space, I had time to get myself together and so the dunk was just easy, I can do that every night,” Cleveland said, matter-of-factly.

“It just depended on the angle that Todd (Withers) gave me, he kind of forced me to go to the other side of the rim. I don’t really do too many reverses, to be honest with you, he forced me that way and I just went natural with it.”



<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">REVERSE SLAM. AC UNO. ?‍? <a href="https://t.co/FgWithlCyf">pic.twitter.com/FgWithlCyf</a></p>&mdash; Illawarra Hawks Basketball (@illawarrahawks) <a href="https://twitter.com/illawarrahawks/status/1467317733863813120?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 5, 2021</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>


Another natural athlete in Hawks colours this season is versatile big man Duop Reath, who won high praise from his coach after an 18-point, nine-rebound debut.

“I thought Duop was a big piece at the stretch four position with that length and athleticism up and down the floor,” Goorjian said.

“He was our big, big signing. I'm really happy with our imports and the selection there, but a national player on your club team is huge, and tonight you could see it.

“He’s like AC, they're just finding their feet with our group but he splashed 18 points, he can shoot from the perimeter, he blocks shots, he’s athletic and a tremendous human being.”

The athletic Hawks face their open-floor equal in Sydney, who despite the absence of point guard Jaylen Adams will be looking to get up-and-down at pace.

A key to that is do-it-all forward Xavier Cooks, who tallied 10 points, seven rebounds, five assists and two blocks in Round 1 to earn the love from his coach.

"He can do so many different things defensively, guard the ball, guard the rim, making plays from the weak side, all those things he's fantastic at. Offensively he's really gained a lot of confidence in driving the ball and making plays as a facilitator,” coach Buford said.

"We try not to focus on who is a guard, who is a big. We just want to run to space and play fast and have everybody DHO (dribble hand-off) and screen-and-roll and handle it.

“Xav is someone who can do both sides of that equation very, very well.”



<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">HIGHLIGHTS | cool dunks ?<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/WeTheKings?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#WeTheKings</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/NBL22?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#NBL22</a> <a href="https://t.co/zH4kPrijau">pic.twitter.com/zH4kPrijau</a></p>&mdash; Sydney Kings (@SydneyKings) <a href="https://twitter.com/SydneyKings/status/1467683417013764097?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 6, 2021</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>




For Cooks, the style coach Buford has employed is like a perfect fit for his skillset.

“The main thing I like is his style of play, he's a really fun coach to play for. He gives the players a lot of freedom, we play with pace and a lot of it is position-less basketball,” Cooks said.

"At first it might be a little tough but once we dial in and get rolling, we're going to be tough to stop … We're so long, we're so athletic, we're so versatile that it's going to be hard for teams to matchup with us."

While there has been plenty of talk about off-court matters in the lead-up to this game, the real story is on the floor with two talented and exciting outfits, and Goorjian can’t wait to take on his former team once again.

"This is the best rivalry we have in our sport right now and I feel it's gone to a new level recently," Goorjian said.

"It'll always be a special place to play for me and the occasion will be even sweeter when we get that win."