ADELAIDE’S Brett Maher Court was once a graveyard for visiting Illawarra teams, but it’s fast becoming a happy hunting ground for the Hawks if recent history is anything to go by.
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Rob Beveridge’s men have won eight of their past 11 games against the 36ers, including a game-three semi-final boil-over last season that bundled the minor premiers out of the playoffs.
The Hawks also came from 15 points down to win one of two regular season clashes in Adelaide last season.
They took the air right out of Titanium Security Arena once again in November, turning a nine-point three-quarter time deficit into a nine-point win with a 33-15 final term.
It puts them within reach of a third consecutive road win in Adelaide for the first time in the club’s history.
Joey Wright’s men have won six of seven games on their home floor since that round-six defeat, but veteran Hawks guard Rhys Martin said his side will head to Adelaide high on belief.
“It’s definitely a gym that we’ve had some success in recently,” Martin said.
“There are some teams you can struggle with but I think our style of game can match up pretty well with them.
“At certain times we’ve definitely struggled with how they play as well but overall we match up pretty well with them. We’ve got to make sure we play at two different paces with them.
“You really do have to slow them down on defence because they want to shoot the ball in the first five or six seconds.
“If it turns into that sort of game the whole way, they’re probably going to win because they’ve got youth on their side.”
Friday’s clash, and the return match in Wollongong on Sunday, shape as a showdown between two of the league’s hottest offensive units.
The 36ers are the league’s highest scoring team averaging 92.3 points a game while the Hawks are second at 88.9 points per outing.
They are also the only two teams who’ve put together back-to-back 100-plus scorelines this season, while Illawarra have averaged 99 points in four wins from their past five games.
The bench has produced an average 31 points across those four victories to back up the regularly high output of stars Rotnei Clarke and Demitrius Conger.
Martin has averaged eight points and three assists during that stretch and said the second unit has made concerted effort to attack the game whenever they’re on the floor.
“I think it’s just a case of [people] getting involved in the game a bit more,” he said.
“Rotty and Meech are obviously producing really good numbers and when you’ve got great scorers around you you can take a back seat to them.
“I think most of us have thought we just need to get them the ball but if you go and look at the losses we’ve had, it’s because we weren’t getting that bench contribution and not sharing the basketball.
“I think it comes down to everyone being a little bit more aggressive for themselves and getting involved.”