IT shapes as a blessing, but Illawarra's favourable home run to start the season could prove a curse if the Hawks can't make it count with early wins.
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Brian Goorjian's side will open their campaign on the road to South East Melbourne and Sydney before playing their subsequent seven games in Wollongong.
It's an obvious contrast to last season that saw the Hawks play 16 of 17 games on the road due to the Northern Beaches COVID outbreak and the inaugural NBL Cup.
It's also a dramatic departure from preceding seasons. The Hawks opened 2019-20 with seven of 13 games on the road and eight of 15 away from Wollongong in 2018-19.
In 2017-18 the Hawks were dealt a brutal schedule, opening their season with nine of their first 12 games on the road - including two trips to Perth and Cairns.
The Hawks were atop the ladder through three rounds for the first time in their history on the back of a 4-0 road start last season before hitting a mid-season slump.
Goorjian's side ultimately rode a back-ended home schedule into a third-place finish and finals appearance.
The fast start proved a key factor down the stretch and veteran sharpshooter Tim Coenraad says it will be even more important to make the friendly schedule count from tip-off.
"I haven't had a season where we haven't looked back and thought 'man if we had have got this one or that one'," Coenraad said.
"A lot of teams like to come home with a wet sail with those games at home because you want to chip away at teams early on in the season when they're still trying to put some pieces together.
"You can try and sneak a few early wins on the road. The flip side is you want to take care of home court and we're at home for a whole month.
"When you see that home run it looks great, but there's a lot of pressure on that stretch now."
While season tip-off has been pushed back, the traditional NBL Blitz is again on the pre-season calendar.
The Hawks will be part of a NSW-Victoria conference with United, the Phoenix and Kings for the tournament tipping off on November 13.
It's a welcome return, but pre-season outings will be limited compared to previous campaigns.
It makes a hot start doubly important, but Coenraad has seen enough on the practice floor to be confident his side will be quick out of the gates.
"I'm pretty sure we can because I see what happens every day at practice," Coenraad said.
"[The start's] important for every team because it's not an 82-game season like the NBA. We're not going to have this massive pre-season that we've had in the past where we play a lot of teams.
"That home stretch will be pivotal for how we set ourselves up for the back-end."
What spot Coenraad fills on the final roster is yet to be locked in but Goorjian - who has repeatedly labeled his call not to offer the stalwart a contract before last season ''a mistake'' - has promised publicly that he'll have a "huge" role.
"Whatever decision Goorj and coaching staff make I'll support," Coenraad said.
"It's great Goorj has faith in me and keeps me around the team.
''I'm incredibly excited about the season but I don't want to be there to make up the numbers.
"I want to be an important part of the team and do whatever I can to make the team better."
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Mitch Jennings
Sports writer. Sport is my passion, rugby league my first love.
Sports writer. Sport is my passion, rugby league my first love.
