THEIR shooting woes are well documented so far this season but the Hawks will be looking to address issues at the defensive end when they head across the Tasman to take on the Breakers on Thursday.
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Matt Flinn's side are currently last in the league for defensive efficiency, conceding more than 90 points in all four defeats this season.
Sending opponents to the line has played a major role, with the Hawks giving up the most free-throws in the league. Adelaide made 40 trips to the stripe on Monday, with 31 of their 98 points coming from the charity stripe.
The Breakers haven't been much better, sending Sydney to the line 52 times in two games last round, making just 14 trips themselves, while they're shooting at a dismal 57 per cent from foul-line.
The Hawks are faring much better (71 per cent) but are struggling from downtown, having gone 37-142 from deep at a low clip of 26.1 per cent.
La Melo Ball - who'll come up against fellow projected top 10 NBA draft pick RJ Hampton for the first time - is putting up a healthy 12 points and five assists but is 3-12 from downtown.
Todd Blanchfield (5-22) and Daniel Grida (2-12) have also been uncharacteristically wayward from deep but Flinn is confident that can't last.
"Keep shooting," was Flinn's answer when asked what message he gave his side following Monday's loss to Adelaide.
"We addressed that at halftime and it's not just [Ball] either. With Melo I just want him to be aggressive. That's every other player as well.
"We've got total belief, we've got some of the best shooters in the league in this team. It's about the type of shots and the tempo of the game.
"Sometimes playing a team like Adelaide if you come down and blaze away too quickly they're going to feed off that and run it down your neck."
On the plus side, Flinn believes a 31-point performance from star import Aaron Brooks against the Sixers was merely a "glimpse" of what the NBA veteran can bring.
Brooks is averaging 19 points - 24 if you cast a 27-point loss to Perth aside - with his points coming at a healthy 65 per cent from the field against the Sixers.
It comes as the 34-year-old adjusts to the workload after playing just five minutes a game in his last NBA stint with Minnesota, with Flinn confident his best is still to come.
"He's a hell of a player," Flinn said.
"We've seen it a lot in practice but Aaron hasn't played in two years so he's just finding his feet.
"Even when he did [last] play he was playing a role so it's a different thing for him at the moment to come in and really assert himself and we're working hard with that.
"I think people saw glimpses [on Monday] of just how good he is."
The clash with the Breakers is the third on a grueling stretch of four games in eight days, with the Hawks hosting Pert in Wollongong on Sunday.