After being largely sidelined for the first chunk of the season, the 25-year-old's defensive grit and full-court hustle qualities have become so prized in hawks camp that coach Justin Tatum deployed him from the jump in Monday's tense victory over the Breakers.

It was his first start of the season and came in response to a lacklustre opening to his team's first post-season outing against Tasmania last week, one that sent them back to Wollongong for a do-or-die clash with New Zealand.

A tag-team with fellow defensive ace Wani Swaka Lo Buluk kept a solid clamp on Breakers star Parker Jackson-Cartwright, the All-NBL First Team member going for 19 points at a lowly 5-17 from the field and coughing up six turnovers.

It remains to be seen whether Tatum takes the same approach to Thursday's semi-final series opener against United in Melbourne, but there's no question Hickey has become indispensable to the first-year coach.

While he's admittedly riding high, Hickey says he's not letting a late-season rebirth run away with him despite a rich vein of form.

"As an athlete you've got to be able to keep your cool in the good times as much as you do in the bad times," Hickey said.

"As much as I am happy and I'm trying to be as grateful as I can for the situation I'm in, it's still about just trying to keep it cool and on an even keel about it.

"I'm not getting too ahead of myself and I think that's how I've been able to continue the momentum I've been building.

"I think the key to me starting [against the Breakers] was just bringing energy and hustle to the game because we wanted to have a really good start. That was the key for us, especially coming after that Tassie game.

"They wanted me to be really defensive-minded and be a pest, but also have a look and attack certain guys to keep pressure on the rim. Just my energy and my hustle was the main reason for that.

"It's definitely cool and I'm very proud of myself for sticking it out and staying with it, but I'm just trying to keep cool and make sure I'm riding this thing out the right way."

The dramatic shift from a sluggish effort against the JackJumpers to the stunning first-quarter against the Breakers was the type of quick form reversal the Hawks have made a habit of under Tatum, with Hickey saying the key was brutal honesty in the aftermath.

"I feel like the biggest change was just within ourselves," Hickey said.

"I really do believe that we lost that JackJumpers game, they didn't win it. As good a team as they are, and respect to them, they're a great team, they played well, but we had a lot of self-inflicted wounds.

"We came together and spoke about whatever we needed to speak about, cleared the air, and came into that [Breakers] game locked in ready to go from the start. That was our plan and I had a lot of confidence in our group as a whole, even late when we were in a bit of trouble.

"Especially towards the back end of the season, we've had a couple of close games that we had to close out and we did a good job of doing that in the fourth quarter."

Tatum called Jackson-Cartwright the "head of the snake" for an undermanned Breakers missing some of its other primary focal points, but United present a comparative Medusa when it comes to offensive weapons.

Hickey will again be key in putting whatever clamps on the formidable offensive unit the Hawks can muster, but he said it will require a locked in effort from top to bottom in Melbourne.

"They're a talented team Melbourne, they've got all the pieces and they've won multiple championships" Hickey said.

"It's definitely a different type of team that you've got to scout for and go up against. JLA's (Jo Lual Acuil) a great shot blocker, Ariel Hukporti's a great shot blocker, you've got (Luke) Travers who is really long and Ian Clark who's a great defender.

"They've got Delly (Matthew Dellavedova) and you've obviously got to worry about CG (Chris Goulding). Their talent across the board is obviously very good, but I think our group can definitely surprise a lot of people.

"As long as we do what we know we can do and stick together in doing that, I genuinely believe in this group."