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In a game with serious playoff ramifications, the Illawarra Hawks host the Adelaide 36ers at Win Entertainment Centre. Join The Roar for live scores from 7:30pm (AEDT).
Illawarra have booked their ticket to the playoffs, where they will face either Melbourne or Perth, and have to score an away win to book their place in the grand final series.
Adelaide can finish as high as third if they win both matches this round, as they hold the series split 2-1 over the Hawks. They would, however, have to beat Illawarra on the road and Perth on the road for that to be possible.
Illawarra haven’t been in the best form over their last few games, dropping a home game to Melbourne (without Kirk Penney) and requiring overtime to beat a lowly Townsville side.
As has been the case all season, they relied on their big three of Penney, Kevin Lisch and AJ Ogilvy to get the job done against the Crocs, and will use this game to get Penney back to peak fitness after missing a few games.
Adelaide was one of the hottest teams in the competition until star import Jerome Randle went down with a leg injury, sidelining him for the rest of the regular season. The 36ers lost two huge games last week, to New Zealand and Cairns, which put a massive dent in their playoff aspirations.
For the 36ers to come away with this one, they’ll have to overcome a poor away record (4-8), against a team averaging 93.7 points per game, and with an impressive 10-3 record at home. They also need their veterans to take control of the tempo.
Illawarra won’t adopt similar tactics to Perth and rest key players, despite having a finals spot sewn up, although you’d be surprised to see any of their big three play more than 30 minutes – they have bigger plans next week.
Adelaide will be sweating on Melbourne completing a home-and-away double over the Breakers this round. While the 36ers are preparing to take the court as the first of their encounters is finishing up, the message is simple: win both games this week.
Prediction
This looks like too much of a hurdle for Adelaide to overcome without the services of Randle.
Illawarra by 8
Join The Roar for live scores of this NBL Round 19 match from 7:30pm (AEDT), and don’t forget to leave a comment if you’re following along.
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