The 31-year-old guard has been crucial for the Kings this season, averaging close to 20 points and more than four assists per game.

As both sides eye a spot in the top four, NBL writer and broadcast Liam Santamaria believes Illawarra must pay close attention to Ware.

"Casper plays a massive role for the Kings, especially with other guys missing from the line-up. Dejan Vasiljevic's out, Didi Louzada has left town and Jarell Martin is battling through injuries," Santamaria told the Mercury.

"He's the key to the Kings, Casper Ware. The ability to limit him and frustrate him into a difficult night I think is the top priority when playing Sydney right now. It is arguably the key to the game. If the Hawks can keep a lid on Casper, it will go a long way to getting the win."

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So who can contain Ware? Santamaria believes coach Brian Goorjian will turn to Justin Simon to do the job.

The Hawks guard has runs on the board, keeping Ware to just six points as the Hawks prevailed 89-69 when the sides met in March.

"Justin did a great job in that role last time. And to be honest, that's why Brian Goorjian signed him and brought him to his team," Santamaria said.

"He looked at the guys that he had on the roster, like Justinian Jessup and Tyler Harvey, and said 'who did I have to guard the Bryce Cottons, the Casper Wares and these types of players around the league'? Justin Simon is that guy. His ability to limit those key perimeter offensive weapons is why he's on the squad.

"He certainly did that terrifically well last time they played at the (NBL) Cup. He was up and in to Casper, making it tough for him to advance the ball, fighting through ball screens and being right up in his stuff. And he really heavily limited his impact. He had a single digits scoring game, really poor efficiency from the field and didn't have a massive amount of assists. So the ability for Simon - with help from Deng Adel doing some work when Justin went to the bench and then bigs like Sam Froling and AJ Ogilvy helping out on pick and roll coverages - was a big factor in getting that win, and will be huge again this weekend."

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Saturday night's game is crucial for both teams, who are scrapping with South East Melbourne, the Bullets and Adelaide for a top four spot. In his weekly captain's column, Ogilvy described it as a "double points game" for the Hawks and Kings.

Despite dealing with an injury crisis, plus the loss of Louzada to the NBA, Santamaria says Ware has been a key reason why Sydney "have been so resilient this year".

"They've had big injuries to their roster, right from the very get-go. But Casper has had a consistent production. He is one of the top 10 scorers, he's one of the top 10 in assists. He has these games where he explodes, like he did when he scored 40 points (against Cairns) - the highest scoring game from any player this season. He's the reason why they get over the line," Santamaria said.

"He's been great. He had a tough finals series last year and we kind of knew he would come back and have another great season as a bounce back, and he's certainly done that. And right now, especially with all of those guys injured or no longer with the team, he has a massive load to carry.

"Casper's really the key to the Kings right now."