R2 Preview: Brisbane Bullets vs The Hawks

When: 6.30pm (AEST), Thursday 21 January

Where: Nissan Arena, Brisbane

Broadcast: ESPN; Sky Sports NZ; SBS On Demand; Twitch

Tickets: Click here

The last time

Hawks 90 (Froling 19, Naar 17, Harvey 16) d Brisbane 84 (Sobey 19, Law 17, Drmic 14), Round 1, Nissan Arena

Brisbane looked the better team early in this season-opener, but the Hawks’ support crew ultimately exploited their defensive strategy of keying on big names, as Sam Froling and Emmett Naar combined for 36 points at 50 per cent. New import Justin Simon got the tempo on the Hawks’ terms with his hustle, while compatriot Tyler Harvey finished the job with six points in the final 90 seconds.

The now

That has been the tale of the tape for the 2-0 Hawks, who have received contributions from all over their roster en route to a pair of road Ws, their triumph in Cairns particularly impressive without Cam Bairstow and Deng Adel – who both remain sidelined. The Hawks have been clinical at exposing opponents’ lapses, outscoring Cairns and Brisbane 38-8 in three spurts that lasted less than 10 minutes in total.

The Bullets won’t be too disheartened by their first-up effort, especially given Matt Hodgson was sidelined and Orlando Johnson didn’t play in the final 23 minutes. While that pair’s availability is still unknown, Andrej Lemanis and Co will be pleased with how their side’s depth held up in a hard-fought loss, with the giant Tyrell Harrison pulling in 7 rebounds in 11:41 and livewire Tamuri Wigness having 6 points and 2 assists in 13 minutes.

The stats

 - During the Hawks’ 19-8 run in six minutes bridging half-time, Brisbane shot 4-of-13 at 31 per cent and committed 4 turnovers. Over the remaining 33 minutes they shot 50 per cent and had just eight turnovers

 - Jason Cadee ranks 8^th in the NBL in plus-minus differential per 36 minutes on court. In the Round 1 loss, the Bullets were +6 with JC on the floor, but -12 in his 8:50 on the bench

 - The Hawks rank first in three-point percentage, second in points, assists, turnovers, field-goal percentage and three-point makes, and third in offensive rebounds

 - They also rank second in defensive rating and defensive rebounding percentage, and third in turnovers forced

The key players

Harry Froling – While his brother Sam got the headlines from the Round 1 match-up, it could easily have been Harry who was the match-winner. The former 36er produced 10 points on 5-of-7 from two-point shooting, grabbed 12 boards, 3 o-boards and dished 4 assists. If he can avoid foul trouble this time around and get his long bomb to drop, bragging rights might get squared away in the Froling family.

Justin Simon – It’s quite remarkable that of Brisbane’s 12 turnovers, five were at the hands of Simon steals, and nine of the Hawks’ match-winning 17 points from turnovers came directly from his thievery. In his first two Hungry Jack’s NBL games, the unassuming Simon has contributed a super-impressive 23 points, 20 boards, 8 dimes, 6 steals and 5 swats. Did somebody say versatile?

The quotes

Hawks import Tyler Harvey produced a playmaking masterclass against Cairns on Monday night, with 25 points and 7 assists as he keyed an impressive road win at both ends.

“We have a great team, we have so many different weapons we can use, they make my job easy, honestly,” Harvey said modestly.

“Coach has put in place a great game plan for us and we just have to go out there and execute.”

Coach Brian Goorjian told a different story, however.

“I just talked to him about where we needed to be mentally, and this guy ran the team from the floor,” Goorjian revealed.

“It’s such a pleasant experience being there and just talk to guys and let him do the play calls, let him run the team, let him change the defences, he was tremendous tonight.”

After the Hawks’ ‘lesser lights’ delivered the W in the season opener, Harvey made sure his running mate Justinian Jessup didn’t have two quiet games in a row.

“Justinian, people are going to focus on him, and when we get other people going, like we did in the first game – we talked of the importance of the performance of Naar and Froling and Justin – and now you can’t play Justinian like that,” Goorjian said.

“Tyler ran a couple of sets we have for him, and he got him when we needed it, he orchestrated those sets and got him the ball in places that he could score.

“He was tremendous Justinian, but it was the point guard and playing off him.”

Taking on Brisbane’s targeted defence was a tough challenge for Harvey in his first NBL assignment, and he can bet the Bullets will have some more schemes for him to try and crack in the return bout.

“Personally I always enjoy the back-to-back games, it’s certainly what happens when you’re in the playoffs, it’s the ability of both teams to review and make adjustments,” coach Lemanis said.

“I thought generally our defence was pretty good, I thought the guys we identified as shooters we did a pretty good job of not giving them open looks and I think that’s reflected in their shooting … To their credit, some of those other guys who during the pre-season hadn’t made shots, made some shots and at some crucial times.”

It was a quality game of Round 1 basketball, and despite the W, it also left master coach Goorjian with plenty to ponder.

“They did a couple of things that just consistently kicked our butt, how they scored, and it’s all about the second time in a short window, it’s about who makes the best adjustments,” he said.

One of those areas was their ability to score inside as the Bullets won paint points 52-38, Jason Cadee and Nathan Sobey using their knowledge of Lemanis’ system to get Froling and Vic Law plenty of good looks.

Yet while Law finished with 17 points and 9 boards, he wasn’t happy with the L and will be looking to take his game to a new level in the rematch.

“I thought I played alright, but I thought there were a lot of points left on the table, a lot of makeable shots,” he said.

“But it’s game one, I won’t get too upset about it, but I know this coming Thursday I’ll be more prepared.”