Playoff pain driving star Hawks guard Tyler Harvey in NBL semi-finals

The Illawarra Hawks letting a 1-0 NBL semi-final lead slip through their hands, the side falling to Perth at home before losing the decider in Western Australia to see their championship hopes evaporate.

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The result has motivated Harvey throughout this season and now the star guard is determined to make amends when the Hawks return to the play-offs this weekend.

"That feeling of losing in the semis last year, it hurt," Harvey said. "It still stings.

"You're up a game, we have a chance to close out at home, I still think about that. That's definitely driving me.

"This week is a big week to prepare. That experience of last year and talking to guys in the side, talking about how important these games are. It comes quick, it's a three-game series. It's not like we're playing seven games, it shows the importance of each possession."

Harvey was the bedrock of the team's success last season, an MVP finalist and the Hawks' primary scoring option.

This year has seen the club build around the guard, with the likes of Antonius Cleveland and Xavier Rathan-Mayes providing new weapons to what was, at times, a predictable offence.

NBL Next Star Justinian Jessup has also continued to grow and develop in his second season with the team, averaging 13.5 points a game.

The arrival of new recruits and development of Jessup has taken the load off Harvey and freed up the guard to act as a playmaker for his talented teammates.

Sometimes they're playing so well that Harvey just wants to sit back and take it in.

"Whenever JJ gets hot, we just kind of stand out of his way and watch him work," Harvey said. "It's amazing to see, he's a great shooter.

"He puts the work in day in, day out, so it doesn't surprise me when he gets hot like that. I just sit back and enjoy the show."

This weekend's series against the Kings is shaping as a fiery affair, the rivals chasing a place in the NBL grand final.

The two sides have found form throughout the past month, the Kings winning 14 of their past 16 and Illawarra 11 of their past 13 matches.

The Hawks host game one on Friday night, before game two in Sydney on Sunday and a potential decider back at WIN Entertainment Centre on Tuesday.

For coach Brian Goorjian, the experience of last season will prove crucial this weekend and he said Harvey and Jessup are driving home the importance of this series.

"You can see in the games the guys that have stuck out," Goorjian said.

"Tyler got 35 in the one [against the Kings] here, JJ stepped up from where he was in the past.

"Those guys got a taste of it last year and the ones that are new, those guys want a hand in that. It's better coming from them than me and I saw it first hand with the Boomers.

"With (Matisse) Thybulle, Josh Green, Josh Giddey, with Patty Mills and Joe Ingles, I keep my mouth shut and it's much more powerful coming from them.

"We didn't have that last year, now we've got two that get this, and understand this, and it's going to help us with this preparation."

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