Conjuring such a high level of intensity and urgency is a tough ask for any team a month into the season, but desperate times call for desperate measures.

Diving on the floor for loose balls. Boxing out under the boards on every single possession. Communication, energy and aggression at the defensive end from the opening tip to the full-time siren.

That’s how the Hawks have to play against the Breakers, like 10 Dennis Rodman clones.

Of course, that’s how they should always play.

But first things first.

The Breakers have set the bar high in the early part of the season and the Hawks know they won’t even make it a contest tomorrow if they don’t match their opponents’ work ethic.

Which brings us back to the notion of the Hawks adopting a championship game mindset for the round six clash and preparing as though it’s the last game of the year.

Actually, it isn’t that great a stretch to imagine it is a do-or-die occasion.

Wollongong are seventh with a 2-5 record a quarter of the way into the season and will be another step closer to the point of no return if they lose to the Breakers.

But there’s a flipside to that.

Victory over the league leaders could be a springboard to much greater glory, especially if they dominate the Breakers in what coach Gordie McLeod regularly refers to as the ‘‘effort areas’’.

Hard work can be habit-forming and it might only take a confidence-boosting win over New Zealand to remind the Hawks what they are capable of and start climbing up the ladder.

As Wollongong’s 18th-year veteran Glen Saville pointed out earlier this week, there’s often nothing more satisfying in basketball than knowing your team won by out-working the other team.

Indeed, famous film producer Samuel Goldwyn once said ‘‘The harder I work, the luckier I get.’’

The Hawks should walk off the court convinced they were not out-worked by the home side.

Not for a half, not for three quarters. From start to finish.

Staying positive when the inevitable scoring drought sets in will also be crucial against the Breakers.

Four of Wollongong’s five losses have been decided by late-game scoring explosions by the opposition and they have to keep their heads and quickly stem the tide when their offensive and defensive systems briefly unravel.

Can the Hawks beat the Breakers?

Of course they can. But only their best performance of the season will get them over the line.