Hawks star Larry Davidson. Picture: KEN ROBERTSON
His shooting has been off for most of the season but Wollongong centre Larry Davidson might be the Hawks' trump card in tonight's road duel with Melbourne.
Davidson is averaging 7.8 points and making just 39 per cent of his field goal attempts for the fourth-placed Hawks.
Normally a reliable perimeter shooter, the 30-year-old has struggled from the three-point line (8/29), while his shot-blocking is down on recent years.
But he still ranks among the NBL's top rebounders (6.1 per game) and remains his team's best talker at the defensive end.
Bottom line, the Hawks generally function more effectively when Davidson is on the floor.
Melbourne coach Chris Anstey made no secret of his admiration for Davidson's talents in the days leading up to tonight's round 21 meeting.
"I really respect Larry Davidson," Anstey said.
"He's one of the best bigs in the league and I think he's underrated. When he and [Hawks forward] Oscar [Forman] play together they really stretch the floor and give [guards Adris] Deleon and [Malcolm] Grant room to penetrate."
Not surprisingly, Hawks forward Tim Coenraad's career-high 28-point haul in last week's overtime loss to Adelaide also caught Anstey's eye.
"I don't think it's any surprise Tim Coenraad has stepped up into that role that Sav's [Glen Saville] left," Anstey said.
"His game against Adelaide was by far the best he's had in the NBL from an offensive point of view.
"Over the course of the season there are games where Deleon gets off and he carries them, but the thing we have to remember when we play Wollongong is that they're a real team in the sense that they don't depend on individuals.
"When they're clicking and the ball's moving they're really tough, so we have to make sure we're disruptive defensively and match them on the boards."
The Tigers hold a 2-1 lead over the Hawks in head-to-head clashes this season.
Melbourne are in third spot with a 10-12 record and have lost their past two games, both of which were to Perth.
"The game we lost in Melbourne, we almost deserved to win it but a couple of untimely errors let us down," Anstey said.
"Over in Perth we weren't at the same level. We found a way to stick around for the better part of three quarters. When the floodgates opened they ran away with it."
The Hawks (10-14) will move into third spot if they win tonight.