Heartland Hustle: Phoenix Look to Keep Momentum Going Against Hawks

South East Melbourne Phoenix head to New South Wales for their first interstate trip for NBL23 to take on the Illawarra Hawks. The Phoenix will look to start their season with back-to-back wins, while the Hawks look for their first win for the NBL23 season. 

Key Details
ILLAWARRA HAWKS 0-1 (7th) v SOUTH EAST MELBOURNE PHOENIX 1-0 (4th)
Where: WIN Entertainment Centre
When: Thursday, October 6 at 7:30 pm AEDT
Watch on ESPN via Kayo or Foxtel

(Adnam had a big game in Round 1 and will be looking to follow it up in Round 2.)

The Line-Up

Phoenix

Phoenix will go into Thursday night's game as it was from their Round 1 win. Ryan Broekhoff (hamstring), Trey Kell (rib), and Gary Browne (knee) are all still recovering from their respective injuries and will not fly to Sydney.

Hawks

The Hawks will go into Round 2 minus import guard Justin Robinson who will miss with knee soreness. Daniel Grida, recovering from a hamstring injury in the pre-season, missed game one and will again be on the sidelines for this one.

The Key Match Up

Kyle Adnam v. Tyler Harvey

Adnam had a night out in Round 1, dropping a 30-piece.

One of the Hawk's key offensive weapons, Harvey had 18 points in the loss to the Kings; with the absence of Robinson, much of the scoring load will fall to Harvey.

(Phoenix will be looking to get back-to-back wins to start their NBL23 season.)

The History

Regular Season Head-to-Head: 
South East Melbourne Phoenix 8 – 4 Illawarra Hawks

Last time out – Rd 16, NBL22
Phoenix 97 – 103 Hawks

Phoenix
Zhou 25p
Creek 15
Munford 13

Hawks
Harvey 22p
Reath 22p
Deng 16p

The Difference Makers

Phoenix's Bigs

In the Round 1 win over the JackJumpers, Phoenix's bigs dominated the glass, combining for 43 rebounds, with Alan Williams and Grant Anticevich pulling down seven each. 

Sam Froling

Froling is the Hawk's best big man; he'll need to be on his game to limit the Phoenix on the boards; the rebounding battle will go a long way to deciding the outcome of this one.

(Keep an eye on Phoenix's bigs.)

Quote

"Just continuing defensively, they've got some great scorers, some great guards, great bigs, and a fast-paced team. So, our defence is going to be important, our defensive trans, defending the ball screen and the three-point line is going to be important for us." – Kyle Adnam

CLICK HERE to get your tickets for Saturday's home game against the Cairns Taipans

Phoenix Media (6/10/22)