Hawks confidence sky high ahead of NBL Cup road stretch

"I know it's going up, and I know it's going in," Simon said.

That shot, which Harvey dropped as a go-ahead bucket with 53 seconds left in Sunday's nail-biting win over Sydney, would be ill-advised for 99 per cent of players. For Harvey, it's bread and butter, just like offensive boards and steals are for Simon.

Both can be clutch and Simon proved that on Sunday with a put-back bucket on his own shot for the lead with 19 seconds left, and a steal on Kings star Casper Ware to keep it with only seven seconds on the clock. Having fallen just short of Melbourne United three days earlier, Simon said he wasn't about to let another slip down the stretch.

"My teammates trust in me in those situations, Cam [Bairstow] gave me the pass, and it's a shot I normally make," Simon said.

"I was unhappy to miss, but with that competitive nature, I had to get that rebound and put it back up. To come up huge and get stops like that, the steal, the jump-ball, that's big-time for me. That's where I can leave my stamp, making plays for my team.

"I just play to win. If it's guarding the best player, if it's getting offensive rebounds and scrapping for second possessions, I'm going to do whatever it takes. We all do, we've got hungry guys that play to win.

"Tyler kept us in it with big shots down the stretch and collectively on the defensive end I thought we were locked in and getting stops. We had two tough losses [going in] where we felt we weren't ourselves and we definitely wanted to come out there and be ourselves that night."

The Hawks lost few fans, least of all home fans, in their three-point defeat to Melbourne United in what was a debut home outing for the bulk of Brian Goorjian's roster, including Simon. With the month-long NBL Cup looming, Simon said it was a welcome taste of what's waiting for them on the other side of the tournament.

Read more: Unfinished business driving old friends at Illawarra Hawks

"We were playing on the road and we had guys making crazy plays and we didn't hear anything, it's golf claps," Simon said.

"Then we get home, we're making big plays, the guys are showing out we've got the fans got behind us. I feel the love, I feel the buzz, not just for me but for this whole team.

"It's all the way down the line and it starts from the top with our coach, he makes this process a whole lot better day to day. He was making that statement as far as getting that Illawarra name back and we got it back.

"We let them down as far as the outcome but they really showed out and showed up. It was great to have them there getting loud and getting rowdy and I expect more the next time because next time we play there it'll be a different outcome as far as the W."

Illawarra flew south on Thursday and will tip-off the Cup against Cairns in Melbourne on Saturday, with Simon preparing for the very best version of the Taipans.

"We are a new-look Hawks team and we're going to have a target on our backs," Simon said.

"We're 5-2 so we're going to get everybody's best shot. We got Phoenix's best shot at their place [last week] and, no matter who we play, they're going to come out swinging."