R13 Game Preview: Phoenix v Hawks

Opponent: Illawarra Hawks

Where: WIN Entertainment Centre, Wollongong

When: Friday April 9 – 7.30pm AEST

Broadcast: ESPN, SBS On Demand, Twitch, NBL TV

Phoenix NBL21 Record: 12-8 (third on the NBL ladder)

South East Melbourne Phoenix have remarkably still never lost to the Illawarra Hawks in their short history and get the chance to continue their run on Friday night in Wollongong.

The teams met last week when Ryan Broekhoff exploded for 26 points on 7/11 shooting from deep and led a 24-0 run to end the third quarter – the equal best stretch of points by any team this season.

The Phoenix have won six of their past seven games and sit in third position on the NBL ladder.

Their clash with Illawarra is the first of three games in a NSW road trip, then facing the Kings in Sydney on Sunday and Thursday.

SQUAD

Dane Pineau (knee jar) and Kendall Stephens (achilles) will miss.

Keifer Sykes will return.

COACH SIMON MITCHELL:

"We certainly take confidence from our performance last time in Wollongong."

"We get an opportunity to really separate ourselves from that three/four pack and make it really just a fight for fourth position if we can take care of these super important games."

RYAN BROEKHOFF:

"I think they're going to come out fired up and full of energy, and try to get the jump on us like they did in the first quarter last game. They'll really get up, push the tempo and make it a really up-and-down game which suits them well."

"We'll have to absorb some of that and try to dictate the tempo of play to the way we want to play and make sure we're the aggressors, not being the ones hunted."

PLAYER TO WATCH

Yanni Wetzell played two of his best NBL games last week, skyrocketing his name right into the Rookie of the Year calculations.

The Kiwi averaged 18 points, 10.5 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 2.5 blocks over the round.

With Dane Pineau still sidelined, the onus will again be on Wetzell to keep producing at the impressive level of recent weeks.

OPPOSITION REPORT

Illawarra sit sixth on the NBL table with a 10-11 record.

Their most recent fixture was on Wednesday night when they hosted the Bullets and lost a tight game. It was their third consecutive defeat.

Star guard Tyler Harvey has been battling a back niggle but returned on Wednesday night and played 34 minutes. Big man Cam Bairstow remains out through injury.

It’s an important game for the Hawks in front of their home fans to keep pace with the top four so expect a strong showing.

HISTORY VS. OPPOSITION

Head-to-Head Record:

Phoenix 6 Hawks 0

NBL21:

Phoenix def Hawks 98-82

Phoenix def Hawks 93-76

Phoenix def Hawks 95-63

NBL20:

Phoenix def Hawks 106-102

Phoenix def Hawks 112-102

Phoenix def Hawks 90-82

Sam Bunn for Phoenix Media (08/04/2021)