Round 18 Preview v Illawarra Hawks

The Adelaide 36ers are building some momentum in their charge towards the NBL top four but the Sixers do need to keep winning and the next challenge is the Illawarra Hawks in Wollongong on Tuesday night.

The 36ers could lay claim to being the form team of the league right now, or at least of those in the pack chasing those third and fourth positions. 

Adelaide found form on its home floor to start with winning their last four matches at the Entertainment Centre against the Hawks, Wildcats, Bullets and Taipans by double-figures, and then they brought that with them to Sydney on Sunday. 

They came away with a stunning overtime win against the Kings where Josh Giddey had another triple-double, and Daniel Johnson dominated the extra period with 13 points.

That sees the 36ers enter Tuesday's game on a three-game winning streak to have improved to a 13-16 record on the season and winning against the Hawks would take them to 14-16 to have them right in the mix of a playoff spot with six games to go, of which two are on their home court.

The Sydney Kings and South East Melbourne Phoenix still occupy third and fourth positions on the table heading into Round 18 but the gap has closed to the chasing pack just outside the top four with both those teams losing their last two games, and the Hawks and 36ers are right in the middle of that group.

Illawarra won its last game back in Round 16 in Tasmania against the New Zealand Breakers to improve themselves to a 13-14 record so a win for the Hawks on Tuesday night and they join the Phoenix and Kings on a 14-14 record.

The last time the two teams met was back in Adelaide five weeks ago and it was the first of four successive double-figure wins at the Adelaide Entertainment Centre for the 36ers that has put them back in contention to be fighting for a playoff spot with the Hawks.

The win wasn’t without a scare for the Sixers though. They did well to lead by 14 at half-time but then memories of what happened against Perth at the NBL Cup came to life when they conceded 17 of the opening second half points to the Hawks.

But this time the 36ers were able to stem the tide and snap their five-game losing streak in some style. 

Point guard Josh Giddey returned from injury and NBA import Brandon Paul made his first start but Daniel Johnson’s 26 points and 15 rebounds on his 33rd birthday proved pivotal in an 84-72 victory in the team’s first game at the Adelaide Entertainment Centre for 47 days.

Giddey flirted with a triple-double yet again with 13 points, 11 rebounds and eight assists while Paul and Jack McVeigh both added 10 points each. Keanu Pinder also delivered his most encouraging performance of the season with 10 points and three offensive rebounds.

Justinian Jessup led the Hawks with 17 points and three blocks while Emmett Naar had 16 points and Justin Simon 13 points but the absence of Tyler Harvey and Cam Bairstow was tough to cover.

Over the last four rounds of the #NBL21 season, the 36ers have been the highest scoring team in the league at 89.0 points a game while Illawarra has been the lowest scoring team at 73.8 points. 

A lot of the reason for that is the three-point shooting with the Sixers averaging a league high 10 three-point makes 38.7 per cent shooting while the Hawks are making the lowest at 5.8 per game at 26.7 per cent in that period.

It's no coincidence that this run of the best form of the season for the 36ers has gone hand in hand with the big man's return from his foot injury. 

To start the season he was playing so well he was in MVP contention and now that he's back, he showed what he's capable of in Sunday's win over the Kings by making three triples in a game for the first time in his NBL career to go along with six match-defining blocked shots. 

He became the first player since Chris Anstey in 2007 to have six blocks and hit three triples in a game, and if he can something similar again on Tuesday, it'll go a long way towards an Adelaide win.

Adelaide coach Conner Henry was especially impressed by Sunday's win in Sydney to see the 36ers bring their strong form at home onto the road with them to come away with that crucial win.

"As we were getting Crock and Ice back and trying to manage our health, we knew what the challenge was that was laid out in front of us and we've talked about it. They know what's at stake here and there really isn’t a lot of pressure," Henry said.

"We talk about that and it's just about managing our health, and the guys like to play. They are sharing the basketball and the ball is moving better, our second efforts are better and now we've come on the road and won a very important game. Now we have to try and rest up and duplicate the effort."

The Sixers will continue to take the approach of simply focusing on the game in front of them because they just have no other choice.

Look too far ahead and drop the ball on what their immediate task is and suddenly they could shoot themselves in the foot and slip from the playoff hunt, so that's going to continue to be the way Henry approaches things.

"The only course we can take and belief that we have is that it's just a one-game series every night so we have to manage our emotions the best we can, manage our health as best we can and make sure know the scout, and know what our roles are," Henry said.

"I think our roles are pretty defined right now and that guys are comfortable in those roles, and when we get to outside those roles we adjust. Everyone's found their voice now and they are communicating well. 

"It's a one-game series now for us based on where we are coming from with injuries and our roster, and we aren’t feeling a lot of pressure. We've got a good nine man rotation right now so it's just about managing our health, and the type of effort that we put out there."

The Sixers are looking a different outfit defensively during this improved run of form too and part of that has been having more rim protection especially from Isaac Humphries and Keanu Pinder who combined for eight of the team's 10 blocks against the Kings.

"Having two guys who can protect the rim who are bouncy and have good timing gives us an opportunity to use our length out on the floor with Josh, BP, Crock, Church and Dill when he comes in," Henry said.

"When we contain the basketball in our pick and roll coverages, and when they get to the rim they have to encounter those two guys, we can get stops. And if we can get stops, we can flow into our offence. 

"Ice was phenomenal again with his timing, staying down and staying down, and using that second jump right at the last second that the elite shot blockers have. 

"He's got that and he likes the challenge of guys coming at him, and he had a number of blocks on Martin in this game that were impressive and Keanu as well. It's certainly nice to have that rim protection."

HUNGRY JACK'S 2021 NBL SEASON – ROUND 18

ADELAIDE 36ERS v ILLAWARRA HAWKS
WIN Entertainment Centre, Tuesday 7.30pm ACDT

Broadcast – ESPN, SBS on Demand, NBL TV, Twitch