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Perth Wildcats vs Illawarra Hawks |
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|---|---|---|
2016/17 NBL Season, 21 October 2016 |
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| Perth Arena, Perth | ||
| Perth Wildcats | Illawarra Hawks | |
| 80 | SCORE | 73 |
| 17 | Q1 | 20 |
| 22 | Q2 | 13 |
| 24 | Q3 | 21 |
| 17 | Q4 | 19 |
The Illawarra Hawks will be looking to get back into the winners circle and break an incredible 23-game hoodoo when they travel west to play the unsettled Perth Wildcats. Join The Roar for live scores and coverage from 9:30pm (AEDT).
The Hawks’ hoodoo in Perth stretches back over a decade with each of their last 23 matches in the west ending in defeat.
They will have revenge on their mind, though, not only for that but for last year’s semi-final loss where they competed well but were eventually beaten soundly in Game 3.
It has been an action-packed week off the court rather than on it for the Wildcats, with the club cutting import Jaron Johnson from their roster.
Given Perth quite clearly need a big scorer through that guard import spot, Johnson hadn’t shown enough to warrant the faith long term, although his performance at the back-end of the match against Cairns was quite something.
He has been replaced by the all-time three-point leader from the D-League, 31-year-old Andre Ingram, who will bring experience and points to the Wildcats, two things they need.
The Wildcats sit third on the table coming into Round 3, after taking their record to 2-1 with a scrappy victory over the New Zealand Breakers last week.
The Hawks, meanwhile, came flying out of the blocks with just a single game in Round 1, putting up a point scoring record for the 40-minute era with their 122 against the Adelaide 36ers.
It has all been downhill from there despite the best efforts of import superstar Rotnei Clarke and the likes of AJ Ogilvy and Marvelle Harris, who have all produced at different points.
They first suffered a four-point loss to the Sydney Kings at home in Round 2, before being lit up by Todd Blanchfield as he shot seven from behind the arc and led Melbourne United to a double-digit win over the Hawks.
Simply put, the Hawks’ defence must improve for them to be competitive. There is no questioning the star power and scoring potential they have offensively, but their defence hasn’t showed anything of quality yet.
The real battle here will be that of the sharp-shooters – Clarke for the Hawks and new Perth import Ingram. Both can put up points in a hurry, so whoever gets their defensive switches and rotations right to cover the opposite shooting guard will go a long way to winning this game.
Prediction
The Hawks struggle in Perth, and coming off back-to-back losses it’s hard to see that changing. The Wildcats are playing strong defence, and while their offence has plenty of flaws they won’t lose at home.
Wildcats by 9.
Be sure to join The Roar for live coverage of this Round 3 fixture from 9:30pm (AEDT) and don’t forget to add your own comments in the section below.
Follow Scott on Twitter @sk_pryde