Preview: Round 18 vs Hawks | Win Entertainment Centre

When: 6.30pm (AEST), Thursday 31 March 2022
Where: WIN Entertainment Centre, Wollongong
Broadcast: ESPN; Kayo; Sky Sports NZ

The Brisbane Bullets head down to Wollongong to face the Illawarra Hawks in the first game of Round 18. The Bullets will again be without Nathan Sobey and Tyrell Harrison. They will look to other key players to step up against an in form Hawks outfit.

WHO WON LAST TIME?
Brisbane 96 (Sobey 17, Cadee 16, Franks 16) d Illawarra 92 (Froling 15, Reath 15, Cleveland 13) – Round 3, Nissan Arena, Brisbane

The Hawks were flying at 3-0 when they headed into the Armoury, but the Bullets’ offence shot them down, racking up 96 points on 14/32 from range and firing up 25 free throws. Brisbane led by 15 early in the second, the aggressive Hawks attacked the interior to pinch the lead in the third, but Nathan Sobey’s 9 points in 3:15 down the stretch sealed the deal.

WHAT HAPPENED LAST START?
The Bullets were slow out of the blocks against Tasmania and it cost them, outscoring the JackJumperss 62-52 over the final 28 minutes and showing plenty of fight, but coming up a bucket short.

The Hawks had all the energy in Melbourne on Sunday, running over the reigning champs with a stunning 56-32 run in 21 minutes from the second to fourth periods to seal the win.

WHO’S IN FORM?
Anthony Drmic – Drm has really stepped up for the Bullets and his past three games has produced 16.3ppg, 4.7rpg, 3apg, 1.3spg and 7/18 from deep, allowing the Bullets to be competitive without one of their key guards, Nathan Sobey. Perhaps Drmic’s most potent asset, doesn’t show up on the stat sheet. The way he fights on defence and gets after the ball is to be commended.

Robert Franks’ has also been in a  strong vein of form and in the past seven games has produced 23 points per game and 9.4 rebounds, shooting 60 per cent from the field, 22/41 from deep and 31/36 from the foul line

Antonius Cleveland – AC has been impressive of late. In his past eight games, the athletic forward has averaged 17.3ppg, 5.1rpg, 2.4orpg, 2apg and 1.9spg against top six teams.

STATS LEADERS

BULLETS
Points: Robert Franks 18.3ppg (#5 in the NBL)
Rebounds: Robert Franks, 8. 5rpg (#6 in the NBL)
Assists: Jason Cadee, 5.09apg (#7 in the NBL) 

HAWKS

Points: Tyler Harvey 14.9ppg

Rebounds: Sam Froling, 7.59rpg (#9 in the NBL)
Assists: Xavier Rathan-Mayes, 4.14apg (#11 in the NBL) 

ON THE RECORD
Following last game Brisbane point guard Jason Cadee spoke on a worrying trend after his team gave up another big early lead to the JackJumpers before almost clawing it back.

“Another night of chasing a lead. I say it all the time it’s hard to do, it’s hard to chase team in this league, you have to be almost perfect,” he said.

“We fought hard, I just think at times in situations like this it’s noticeable – we played them three weeks ago we had Sobes, tonight without Sobes that pressure, when I know I've got him in the backcourt it’s a lot easier to beat pressure. Tonight it was pretty noticeable.

“And we’re missing Tyrell (Harrison), two starters we haven't had for a lot of the season, it’s part of it and you’ve just got to keep fighting, keep working to find ways to just keep pushing forward in the right way and do things that can counter that.

“It’s probably been one of our struggles, we’re just hanging around finding our way into games, now it’s just trying to find ways to get over the top of teams.”

It's when Brisbane up the defensive ante – usually courtesy of Anthony Drmic and Deng Deng – that they charge back into games, and Cadee wants that intensity from tip against the Hawks.

“They’ve found a bit of form. They were struggling for a little bit there but they’ve started to find their way. Obviously a lot of talent, high-powered team,” he said.

“Them on their home court, they're stuck in a battle trying to get into the four, we've got to find a way to come out aggressive and really get after them.”

NEXT HOME GAME

The Bullets will return to Brisbane to take on the Adelaide 36ers this Sunday 3 April. Kids Go Free* so get your tickets today!

Kids go free when purchased with a full price adult. Select the Adult & Junior Package