R7 Preview: Brisbane Bullets v Illawarra Hawks

When: 4.00pm (AEST), Friday 26 February

Where: John Cain Arena, Melbourne

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

The last time

Illawarra 90 (Harvey 31, Ogilvy 14, Jessup 10) d Brisbane 82 (Sobey 24, Law 16, Johnson 11) - January 21, Nissan Arena, Brisbane

The two teams opened up the season with a couple of early match ups in Brisbane and it was Illawarra getting the win in both to the tune of six and eight points respectively. This second match up saw a fascinating battle of point guards between Tyler Harvey and Nathan Sobey. They combined for 55 points, but Harvey's 31 led the Hawks to the victory. However, they did have to overcome a 13-point deficit in the first half and they were able to turn it around by holding Brisbane to shooting 6/32 from three-point land in just one of the determining factors in the final result.

The now

Well since those two early meetings between the Bullets and Hawks in Brisbane to open the season, it's sure been an interesting ride for both teams and now entering Friday's NBL Cup encounter, Brisbane is 3-5 and Illawarra 6-3.

Both lost their opening NBL Cup encounters too with the Hawks giving up a 12-point lead only to lose to the Cairns Taipans on Saturday while the Bullets couldn’t keep pace with the South East Melbourne Phoenix on Sunday and went down by 16.

Illawarra has already had the chance to respond to that and did so with an emphatic 102-88 win against the New Zealand Breakers on Monday night but this will be Brisbane's first game since that Sunday defeat to the Phoenix.

The Hawks have lost three of their past five matches after opening the season with four straight wins, but they do appear to be finding their groove again blending in Cam Bairstow and Deng Adel into a rotation that was firing on the back of Tyler Harvey, Justinian Jessup, Justin Simon, Sam Froling and captain AJ Ogilvy.

Brisbane's form has been a rollercoaster ride and heading into the NBL Cup they had thrashed Adelaide on the road by 19 points just days after a big loss at home to the 36ers, but then they opened the tournament within a season losing by 16 to the Phoenix. At 3-5, they do need to start to find some consistency and a lot of that falls on the shoulders of imports Vic Law and Orlando Johnson who struggled against South East Melbourne Phoenix.

The stats

- The Bullets haven’t been shooting the ball how they'd hope this season. As a team their starting group are going at 44.6 per cent from the field and 29.2 per cent from three-point land. In contrast, their opposition starters have been going at 46.8 per cent and 40.1 from deep.

- And in games against each other so far this season, the biggest difference was the shooting between the two teams. The Hawks went at 42.8 per cent from the field and 38.3 per cent from beyond the arc in the two wins while the Bullets went at 44.3 per cent and 21.9 per cent.

- The difference in Vic Law's output in wins and losses for the Bullets this season has been stark. In Brisbane's three victories, Law has put up 27.7 points and 9.7 rebounds a game while shooting 57.4 per cent from the field and 42.9 per cent from beyond the arc. In the five losses, he's putting up 14.2 points and 8.2 rebounds while shooting just 42.6 per cent from the floor and 18.8 per cent from long-range.

The key men

Matt Hodgson – Sure, there's no doubt the importance of Nathan Sobey and Vic Law to the Bullets, and they do need to get more from Orlando Johnson but for much of his 151-game NBL career, Matt Hodgson has been the barometer of his team. He provides such great energy when he's on the floor, he's a dangerous offensive presence, a strong rebounder and a shot intimidator. Quite simply when he's playing well he makes his team better and he makes all his teammates walk taller when he's up and firing. But he can also be foul prone and have his struggles. But if he can continue his good recent form, the Bullets will always be a chance.

Justin Simon – It might seem strange to single him out when he is the fifth leading scorer on a team that features the hot shooting of Tyler Harvey and Justinian Jessup, and the former NBA talents of Cam Bairstow and Deng Adel. But he sets the tone and energy for the team. What he provides defensively can't be measured with the pressure he applies, deflections he creates and shots he stops falling and turnovers he forces. His offensive rebounds have already been match-winning twice this season. Factor all that in and the fact that he'll have the job to lockdown Brisbane's potential game-winner Vic Law, and the Hawks fortunes could well rest with him.

The quotes

Brisbane Bullets coach Andrej Lemanis is fully aware of just how important his centre Matt Hodgson is to the fortunes of his team, and he couldn’t be happier to see him regain some form and confidence after battling an ankle complaint earlier this season.

"Hodgy is a difference-maker for us obviously and it's good that we are able to work him back into the group now and into the rotation. The ability to play through him at the offensive end is certainly advantageous for us," Lemanis said.

"He went 9/10 from the field in this game and had nine boards in 23 minutes. In this league he is something to deal with certainly. He is a force at the rim, he is a big target and I'm not sure how many fouls he drew just because he goes for the offensive rebounds and guys have to wrestle with him just to keep him off the offensive glass. And at the defensive end he's a good rim protector for us so Hodgy is a difference-maker for us so we'll continue to enjoy working him into the group and hopefully he stays healthy."

Star Bullets guard Nathan Sobey is in the middle of what could be his best and most consistent NBL season to date, but he's not worried about individual numbers or performance even if it would be natural for him to want to prove a point against Brian Goorjian having been left out of the Boomers squad for the Tokyo Olympics.

But Sobey is just focused on getting the Bullets clicking including import Vic Law.

"We just have to figure out ways to get him involved when they are guarding him certain ways, and using different situations to get him good looks and putting him in good situations to score the basket," Sobey said.

"It's about knuckling down and about some scout execution stuff. If we stay on top of that then they don’t feel as good with the next shot or next play they are running. Then down the other end we just have to start making some shots. It's been pretty consistent with how we've played this year with the three ball but the guys are putting in the work and we've got confidence that they are going to start falling."

Illawarra Hawks coach Brian Goorjian put his hand up for perhaps not getting his rotations right in the NBL Cup opening loss to the Taipans, but he liked more of what he saw against the Breakers and feels the group is now finding their feet with everyone fit and available.

"When we get out and run, that's when we are at our best and hardest to guard. That comes off our D. When we defend and get out and run, we can be pretty good," Goorjian said.

"I've got two guys now that I've added to the rotation and that's DA and Cam, and I've got to get that right. I have to move the bodies right and that falls on me, and I messed up against Cairns by making some big mistakes and it cost us. 

"Through all this process with this team it's the first time a lot of these guys have been in this stadium or in Melbourne. There's a lot of firsts here, it's a brand new group so not only for the players but the staff. Everybody's learning and we are learning together."

Hawks forward Deng Adel was glad to shake off his rough shooting night to open the NBL Cup against the Taipans and to play well against the Breakers which he hope now continues against the Bullets.

"We had a couple of practices so we got in the gym and got some shots up. We didn’t do a lot that was demanding on the body so it was just making sure we got some shots up and then locking in on defence was the focus," Adel said. 

"Once we get stops, you have to find guys in transition and that opens the floor up for me so I didn’t change much about my focus, but it was just about moving onto the next game and not dwelling too much on the last one.

"It's pretty good to see the ball go in especially after the rough play the other night. But my approach has to just be on the defensive end and getting out to run. We have a lot of ball handlers so if I get out and run it's going to open up for the floor for us and we are going to be more dangerous."