BASKETBALL
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In a season where knee injuries have ended Glen Saville's career and sidelined Rhys Martin and Lance Hurdle, Hawks import Malcolm Grant sent a major scare through the camp yesterday.
Preparing for the finals-defining clash with Adelaide at WIN Stadium - which doubles as a farewell evening for the retiring dual Olympian Saville - Grant fell during a warm-up drill and was taken to see a doctor.
He will have another medical assessment this morning, but is expected to recover in time to play.
On Twitter, Grant admitted he feared suffering further injury.
"Had a real SCARE today in practice . . . Thank God I'm OK," he tweeted.
The Hawks are on the verge of guaranteeing a place in the finals series after overpowering bitter rivals Sydney on Friday.
They are currently one game ahead of the Kings and bolters Cairns leading into the final round.
However, a loss would not guarantee a playoff spot.
While the Hawks have the series split advantage over Cairns by a single point, they lost the head-to-head battle with the Kings.
Grant was not the only player to sit out yesterday, with Tim Coenraad and Auryn MacMillan both sidelined with illness.
Coenraad and MacMillan are also expected to play against the lowly 36ers.
The former University of Miami star came to play with the Hawks after close friend Lance Hurdle was ruled out of the season when he suffered an ACL tear and underwent a knee reconstruction.
Martin also had a similar injury, which ruled him out.
Following the injuries, the Hawks lost 10 of 11 games, before winning three of their past five to cling to finals contention.
A loss on Saturday could potentially see them miss the post-season action, with Melbourne and Townsville also still in contention.
Melbourne are playing Cairns and Townsville this weekend and the Crocodiles are facing a double-header against Sydney and the Tigers to decide who would advance.
If Wollongong finish third, they will travel to Perth to take on the Wildcats in games one and three of the semi-final playoffs, a venue where they have struggled for success in recent years.
A fourth-placed finish would put them against defending champions New Zealand, however, the Hawks have come within one and two points of victory against them this season.