On his day Tyler Harvey is clutch.
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Time and time again when the game is on the line Harvey has hit big shots to secure unlikely victories for the Illawarra Hawks.
Sunday wasn't his day, with Harvey making just one of 11 shots he put up in Illawarra's 78-77 loss to the Bullets in Brisbane.
Hawks interim coach Justin Tatum knows unlocking Harvey's best would be ideal for Illawarra heading into their clash with the Perth Wildcats at WIN Entertainment Centre on Friday night.
"It would be nothing but positive," he said about what a firing Harvey would bring to the Hawks.
"'Tyler's ceiling is extremely high and we're not really worried about him not being efficient today because when we play Perth on Friday he can be 11 for 11.
"I think Tyler is a great professional and he knows what he did and didn't do today and at the end of the day he is not the reason why we lost."
Tatum also offered his advice on how Harvey can get his 'mojo' back.
"My message is keep finding a better [shot] or come back on the defensive end, make sure you communicate on that end, just give us effort because the shots you're taking, we see you making 100 times in practise or in other games," he said.
"We just keep encouraging them because at the end of the day they're hard on themselves already.
"My job is to uplift them and keep giving them confidence to keep taking the shots that he is taking...... but at the end of the day keep your eyes open because somebody else might be open."
The coach also had no qualms with the shot Gary Clark put up in the dying seconds of the Brisbane loss.
"I'm extremely happy with the shot. You know we couldn't get a better shot.
"At the end of the day Gary makes that nine out of 10 times, you know it could have gone either way but at the end of the day I'm happy with how it ended."
The Hawks have slumped to a 3-8 win/loss record but forward Todd Blanchfield said the team had shown signs of improvement in the last two outings under interim coach Tatum.
Blanchfield, who played a touch over 12 minutes against the Bullets and contributed five points and five rebounds, added the players were also responding well to their new coach.
"The group is in a really good spot. There is a really good aura around the group at practice. Everybody comes in every day, works hard, does their extra work and guys get after it," he said.
"I think we made really good progression during that FIBA break.
"We had a lot of time to practice and focus on a few areas we wanted to polish up on and get better at and I think we were better again than what we were against New Zealand and that's the steps we wanted to take.
"I love being back out there. It would have been nice to come away with the win but at the same time I think we took steps forward, which is what we want."
Agron Latifi
Wollongong born and bred. I love reporting about the Illawarra region and have been doing it for more than 20 years. I've moved into sport recently after covering the education round for the last five plus years for the Illawarra Mercury. It's been a great pleasure.
Wollongong born and bred. I love reporting about the Illawarra region and have been doing it for more than 20 years. I've moved into sport recently after covering the education round for the last five plus years for the Illawarra Mercury. It's been a great pleasure.
