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The high-flying Wollongong Hawks plan to make life miserable for Kings captain Ben Madgen tomorrow night in Sydney.
Days after boosting their record to a perfect 5-0 with a 33-point mauling of the Perth Wildcats, the Hawks venture up the freeway for their second clash this season with their NSW rivals.
Wollongong beat the Kings 79-76 when they met in the opening round at WIN Entertainment Centre.
The Kings have won three of seven games and are coming off losses to reigning champions New Zealand (away) and Adelaide (home).
Madgen's superb form is one of the main reasons Sydney have been far more competitive than most pundits expected.
The third-year guard dropped 30 points on the Breakers last Friday and is averaging a league-best 20.4 per game.
According to Hawks guard Tyson Demos, Sydney's guards are playing well and Madgen's been one of the best players in the league so far.
"He's leading the league in scoring and is a frontrunner for the MVP at the moment.
"He's been a leader for them and he's definitely someone we'll try and disrupt," Demos said.
Two or three hundred Wollongong fans are expected to make the short trip to Sydney and make themselves heard.
While the Hawks are favoured to notch their sixth straight win, avoiding complacency is paramount.
"[Coach] Gordie's [McLeod] really good at that, making sure we keep our feet on the ground and don't get ahead of ourselves," Demos said.
"We're still working hard at practice, we've had a good week and we're ready for a tough game against Sydney."
If the Hawks beat Sydney they will be one win shy of equalling the club record for most consecutive victories to start a season.
That record belongs to the 1987 Hawks side which reached the semifinals.
"That was before I was born," 24-year-old Demos said.