Preview: Brisbane vs Illawarra - Round 9, NBL24

Saturday, December 2, 2023

Can Brisbane take momentum from their Friday win over Cairns, or will Illawarra finally win back-to-back?

Sunday, December 3 at 2pm AEDT | John Cain Arena

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The Bullets emerged victorious in a heated clash against Cairns on Friday night. A fourth quarter comeback from the Taipans was quelled, but did little to dispel Brisbane’s current woes in closing out games.

Each of Josh Bannan, Mitch Norton and Aron Baynes copped heavy knocks in the win, but Justin Schueller said despite the eight stitches, Baynes would be fine from a concussion standpoint.

Justin Tatum has indicated he wants to shorten Illawarra’s rotation to a key eight or nine players, starting with this game. The Hawks’ propensity for using 11 or 12 players per game has earned criticism from some circles during this season.

Trevor Gleeson has all but officially ruled himself out of the running for the Hawks’ full-time head coaching job, following Brian Goorjian’s almost immediate dispelling of any rumours he was set to take over.

Brisbane
84-79 win over Cairns
76-79 loss to Perth
95-104 loss to Sydney

Illawarra
69-65 win over Brisbane
71-81 loss to Cairns
83-103 loss to Sydney

Aron Baynes
As well as being on of the most decorated and high-profile players in the NBL this season, it’s hard to argue Aron Baynes makes for great theatre.

The former NBA champion is world-renowned for what he can do on the court, and as he exited Friday’s game against Cairns following a stray elbow, he was sure to let the Taipans crowd know exactly which team was in front.

The thumbs down to the crowd and the grab at his Bullet blue jersey would have made every fan – bar the Taipans faithful – smile, in what is the latest chapter in an emerging rivalry between not just the Queensland sides, but Baynes and the Snakes’ fans.

Aside from the theatrics, Baynes had eight points and three boards in 13 minutes of action, in what was a solid outing in a clash where Brisbane shared the scoring load around.

He might be battered and bruised for Sunday’s clash against the Hawks, but Baynes is going to continue beating to the sound of his own drum, and Aussie hoops fans should love him for it.

“Any time a player gets booed it’s a sign of how great they are. If people want to go out of their way to do that it just shows you’re an important piece to that team. We carry that as a sign of respect ... with Baynesy there was a lot spoken about in this game with him. What I love is he’s a pro and he gave us what we needed tonight.” – Justin Schueller following the win over Cairns.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Aron Baynes had a message for the Cairns locals ? <a href="https://t.co/ZBaCWynPr0">pic.twitter.com/ZBaCWynPr0</a></p>— NBL (@NBL) <a href="https://twitter.com/NBL/status/1730546933633302607?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 1, 2023</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Sam Froling
Where Illawarra’s hopes lived and died by Tyler Harvey last season, they seem to be riding heavily on the performances of established center Sam Froling in NBL24.

It can be easy to forget Froling is still just 23, but with over 120 games of experience in the NBL already, Hawks legend Damon Lowery issued a challenge to the fringe Boomer to take his game from good, to great.

Interim head coach Justin Tatum has been bullish on the Hawks shortening their primary rotation in this second half of the season, and Froling is one of a handful of players who looks to benefit massively from the change given he’ll likely earn an uptick in minutes.

The former Most Improved Player is averaging a career-high 14.1 points and 8.9 rebounds per game this season, but could a clash with Brisbane’s three-headed monster indicate the start of that transition from good to great?

“Sam is good enough and athletic enough to get 14 and seven in this league. He’s also only playing maybe 25, 26 minutes a game ... Sam should be playing 30-plus minutes a game ... I need you to be great, but to go from good to great you have to do some things in between.” – Damon Lowery on NBL Now.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Don't let Sam Froling get to the rim ?<br><br>The <a href="https://twitter.com/illawarrahawks?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@IllawarraHawks</a> big man has been going to WORK down low in NBL24 ?<br><br>Sign up to NBL+ for FREE ?? <a href="https://t.co/QOE06FhwzT">https://t.co/QOE06FhwzT</a> <a href="https://t.co/F2apRVbNVq">pic.twitter.com/F2apRVbNVq</a></p>— NBL (@NBL) <a href="https://twitter.com/NBL/status/1727845531685433754?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 24, 2023</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Chris Smith vs Tyler Harvey
It may have taken him a few weeks to adapt, but Chris Smith has well and truly arrived in the NBL now, and Justin Schueller’s moving of the import to the bench looks to be more of a masterstroke with each passing week.

Smith was named Foot Locker Player of the Game for the heated Queensland rivalry clash on Friday night, thanks to his 17 points from the bench, and is firming as the Bullets’ second deep scoring option behind linchpin Nathan Sobey.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">The <a href="https://twitter.com/BrisbaneBullets?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@BrisbaneBullets</a> have narrowly saved the win after the Taipans gave them a fourth-quarter scare ? <br><br>Chris Smith takes home the Foot Locker Player of the Game ? <a href="https://t.co/tWNtJjEJ6b">pic.twitter.com/tWNtJjEJ6b</a></p>— NBL (@NBL) <a href="https://twitter.com/NBL/status/1730540556512829927?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 1, 2023</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Those types of performances are reminiscent of an in-form Tyler Harvey, however we’ve only seen Harvey at his best in fits and spurts this season.

The 2021 MVP runner-up just hasn’t consistently found his groove this season, but has put in a few performances that have offered a stark reminder to just how good he can be. Just look as his 20 points in the one-point win over Cairns as inspiration.

Both sharpshooters are still somewhat looking to find their feet in NBL24, and while Smith is rapidly improving, the Hawks will be looking to Harvey to provide some inspiration as they chase their first back-to-back win in almost two calendar years.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">TYLER. HARVEY.<br><br>THAT'S GAME. <a href="https://t.co/axjDhicK6r">pic.twitter.com/axjDhicK6r</a></p>— NBL (@NBL) <a href="https://twitter.com/NBL/status/1717489800482328587?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 26, 2023</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>