Seasons will be on the line, but Hawks coach Justin Tatum isn't feeling any added pressure ahead of Monday's clash with New Zealand in Wollongong, suggesting both teams are playing with house money in the eyes of experts.
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That an injury ravaged Breakers, or a Hawks outfit reeling from the in-season sacking of a coach would be facing off in the post-season seemed decidedly far-fetched in November.
The Breakers were reeling on injury front at 3-6 through nine games, while the disaster of last season carried over for the Hawks in the form of a 2-7 start that saw the axe fall on Jacob Jackomas and Tatum installed as a stop-gap to merely restore pride.
Through roller coaster campaigns, both have managed to reach the second week of the post-season, the Breakers doing so despite losing All-NBL First Team big Anthony Lamb to a season-ending achilles injury just weeks out from the playoffs.
Coach Mody Maor was quick to claim underdog status heading into Wednesday's road clash with Sydney, one that saw the Breakers produce an 83-76 boil-over to send the Kings packing and advance to Monday's elimination play-in against the Hawks in Wollongong.
Being once again on the road, it shapes as something of a free swing for the Breakers despite the Hawks coming off disappointing loss to Tasmania, but Tatum hasn't forgotten how readily his own team was written off, even midway through his dramatic tenure.
"They definitely have a free swing, but we do as well" Tatum said.
"These are two confident teams that were both not supposed to be here, one because of injuries and one because of reputation. I feel that we've both exceeded that [expectation].
"They have nothing really to lose. If they do lose a game it can be 'hey, we were minus this, minus that'. If they win, they go back to their underdog mentality, but it's like I told my guys, we were in the mud [as well]. We came out and saw the sunshine, so now we don't want to go back in the mud.
"I definitely feel confident coming in on Monday, I think we match up real well. We've got to worry about cutting the head of the snake off, that's PJC (Parker Jackson-Cartwright) and not allowing him to get to his 30-35-point game and allow the other guys to be a significant part of it.
"Once we show different bodies to PJC and use our depth in our bench, I feel that we have the advantage in that aspect. We've just got to see who's going to be the best team on Monday."
They may have exceeded expectations to this point, but a straight sets exit from the post-season would be a tough pill to swallow for Illawarra after finishing fourth on the ladder on the back of an impressive run home.
That reaching the playoffs coincided with the club's appointment of Tatum for the next three seasons saw much rejoicing among the Hawks faithful, but the newly appointed head coach denies Wednesday's loss was the result of any let-down.
"I think it was just us getting the experience of playoff basketball," Tatum said.
"That's all it was, in a road environment. We've got guys who've been in that situation before, but they might not have been 'the man' on those teams and things like that.
"Then we have a lot of guys who've never been in it, including myself. That was it, I don't think it was about all the extra news and stuff outside of that. I think it was just about feeling a playoff atmosphere on the road and we have to adjust to it.
"I felt that we were prepared enough, we knew what Tas was going to do, we had everything countered for, we knew what plays we were going to run, but we just didn't come out there and set the tone.
"That's where I was really ticked off about our team, being unable to have that fight and match Tas's intensity. I think we were very lethargic coming out and it kind of dictated the whole rest of the game, and we were still in the game for 90 per cent of it.
"That's why I'm happy that we were able to take the fourth place and have two games instead of one, otherwise we would be talking right now."
They may have admittedly copped a lesson in playoff basketball, but Tatum feels no team has done a better job learning on the run than the Hawks.
"Today's film session was all about the negatives of what happened against Tas and me challenging the team and individuals and let them know that this can't happen again on Monday, otherwise our season will be wrapped up," Tatum said.
"The adjustments have been made since that game, and the guys already know what the adjustments were. It was good to hear that from their point of view, knowing that they made mistakes and then also seeing it called out in front of the team.
"Now everybody is locked in, everybody's engaged and I'm a hundred per cent confident that these guys will be ready for Monday."
Mitch Jennings
Sports writer. Sport is my passion, rugby league my first love.
Sports writer. Sport is my passion, rugby league my first love.
