The last time Illawarra faced South East Melbourne, it was humbled by 40 points, a loss that still lingers as the Hawks stare down a season-defining rematch.
Yes, Will Hickey was out injured and QJ Peterson had not yet made his NBL debut, but it was enough for superstar Tyler Harvey to label it a “low point” for a team that won a Championship barely six months earlier.
At the time the Hawks were 1-4. A month and a half later they are 4-9, very much on the cusp of their season being on the line.
For a team so stacked with talent, it is the brutal reality of just how important Thursday’s return leg against the Phoenix becomes. A win, and they are right back in the mix. A defeat, and they are anchored in the bottom rungs of the NBL ladder.
Jonah Bolden’s season-ending injury does not make things any easier, but according to Harvey, it is simply time to perform.
“Nobody cares about excuses, and at the end of the day, we all are professional basketball players, and we just have to find a way to win games, and I think we will start doing that,” Harvey told the Illawarra Mercury.
“Adversity can sometimes be a good thing. Obviously, you want to win in spite of adversity, but you play basketball long enough, you’re gonna go through some stuff, and how you grow through that and how you come out of that situation is important as well, so I think we’ve got guys that are locked in and ready to go.”
Harvey and coach Justin Tatum revealed the Hawks took the last fortnight to reflect and build into a massive second half of the season.
If ever there was a time to reverse the trend, it could come against the in-form Phoenix on Thursday night. A team that has not lost to anyone except Melbourne and Adelaide. This could be the opportunity to make a statement.
“We owe them a better game. That game was unfortunate, it did not go our way in any facet,” Tatum said of the teams’ last matchup.
“We shouldn’t even have shown up that day for the most part, but we’ve definitely been practicing. We understand with more intensity, determination, and we’re definitely going to have a better showing tomorrow.”
Illawarra hosts South East Melbourne on Thursday night at 7.30pm AEDT, live on ESPN.
“The FIBA Break came at a good time. We’re looking forward to starting this right now. I think we had to improve on every aspect of our game, and all of us had to figure out what we can do individually to help make the team better,” Harvey said.
