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Illawarra Hawks vs Brisbane Bullets |
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|---|---|---|
2016/17 NBL Season, 13 January 2017 |
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| WIN Entertainment Centre, Wollongong, NSW | ||
| Illawarra Hawks | Brisbane Bullets | |
| 85 | SCORE | 80 |
| 23 | Q1 | 30 |
| 14 | Q2 | 19 |
| 24 | Q3 | 17 |
| 24 | Q4 | 14 |
The Illawarra Hawks will be looking to move one step closer to the playoffs when they take on the desperate Brisbane Bullets during Round 15 in Wollongong. Join The Roar for live scores and coverage of the match from 7:30pm (AEDT).
The Hawks might be relying on their offence predominantly, but it hasn’t hurt them too much with the club sitting inside the top four and playing high-quality basketball that is close to landing them a finals spot.
Currently sitting in third position with a record of 11 victories and 10 losses, the Hawks will be looking to pick up their next three or four victories in convincing fashion to secure a finals spot.
Their form earlier in the season was abysmal and much of their turnaround has to be credited to Rotnei Clarke taking the team option, coming off the bench and shooting the lights out.
Since he was placed back on the interchange at his own request, he has led the Hawks through some fantastic offence, his shooting lighting the league on fire.
The unsung hero for the Hawks though has been Mitch Norton. Whenever he has been off or injured, there is a noticeable impact on the Hawks offence, and their defence also suffers on the perimeter.
Illawarra had an up and down round last week, getting 117 points put on them by the Adelaide 36ers before they bounced back, putting 106 on Melbourne themselves to claim the victory.
The Bullets, meanwhile are right under the pump and must find ways to start winning if they want to keep their finals hopes alive in their first season back after an eight-year absence.
Sitting in sixth place on the ladder and coming off a very ordinary four-point loss to the Perth Wildcats where their offence was strangled, the club is going to need at least four or five wins from their last eight games to be in with a shot at finals.
Their guard rotation have been inconsistent at best with Torrey Craig carrying the weight in rebounds, but Adam Gibson and Jermaine Beal not quite getting the job done.
With Daniel Kickert not leading the way in the frontcourt, the Bullets defence has been up and down, and the options for Gibson to run the team have been a little limited, leaving Brisbane with plenty of work to do.
In terms of the season series, the Hawks have won twice on the road against the Bullets already – something that could prove to be a death blow for Brisbane come finals time.
Prediction
The Bullets defence on the road will be strong, but Rotnei Clarke is simply too good and will power the Hawks to a victory.
Hawks by 8.
Be sure to join The Roar for live scores and coverage of this match from 7:30pm (AEDT) and don’t forget to add your own comments in the section below.
Follow Scott on Twitter @sk_pryde