Preview: Illawarra vs Adelaide - Round 16, NBL24

Friday, January 19, 2024

Illawarra is being challenged after two straight losses for the first time under Justin Tatum. Can the Hawks steady the ship against a fearless and resurgent 36ers?

Saturday, January 20 at 8pm AEDT | WIN Entertainment Centre

Watch: Live on ESPN via Kayo | International viewership details
Box scores: Download the free NBL App

Illawarra suffered a heartbreaking one-point loss to Cairns on Thursday night, following a three-point buzzer beater from an offensive rebound by Lat Mayen.

The defeat is the Hawks’ second in a row and pushed them back outside the top six.

Last time these two sides met, Adelaide’s Trey Kell registered the only triple-double of the NBL24 season so far, however Illawarra emerged as the victor by seven points.

ESPN’s Olgun Uluc reported on NBL Overtime the Hawks have started to open discussions with interim head coach Justin Tatum for a contract extension.

Kyrin Galloway had a career-night in Adelaide’s Wednesday night victory over South East Melbourne, following which head coach Scott Ninnis declared the 36ers no longer fear anyone else in the competition.

Illawarra
92-93 loss to Cairns
103-110 loss to Brisbane
108-107 win over Brisbane

Adelaide
110-85 win over South East Melbourne
101-111 loss to Cairns
95-82 win over Sydney

AJ Johnson
As one of the youngest players in the NBL, it was always going to take time for AJ Johnson to adapt from high school hoops to the physical rigour of professional Australian basketball, but he’s showing great signs of being a strong influence for Illawarra in the run in to Finals.

Illawarra have faltered and lost to Cairns by a solitary point on Thursday night, but Johnson was remarkably productive in just under 11 minutes on the court with eight points and six rebounds.

Johnson has consistently credited interim head coach Justin Tatum for continuing to push him to be aggressive and get to the basket, and that confidence was in full show in what was a tight, high pressure game.

GM of Next Stars Recruitment Liam Santamaria revealed a number of NBA scouts were in attendance for the clash between Cairns and Illawarra, and will watch Johnson in Saturday’s clash with Adelaide.

The Next Star himself asserted he doesn’t care who is in attendance to watch him following the loss to Cairns, but that being said, he’s picking a good time to get into his groove.

“They were in Wollongong last night – Indiana, Utah, Phoenix, Charlotte – a whole bunch of teams saw AJ Johnson play really well, there’s a real uptick of interest in AJ Johnson, because he’s playing a key role on a winning team right now. They lost last night but they’ve been good.” – Liam Santamaria on NBL Now.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">AJ Johnson, the high-flying Hawk ?<br><br>The <a href="https://twitter.com/illawarrahawks?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@illawarrahawks</a> Next Star lives above the rim in his best plays of NBL24 so far ??<br><br>Catch Johnson and the Hawks in action tonight at 7:30pm AEDT, live on ESPN via Kayo ? <a href="https://t.co/1QyMd5PtoB">pic.twitter.com/1QyMd5PtoB</a></p>— NBL Next Stars (@NBLNextStars) <a href="https://twitter.com/NBLNextStars/status/1747833616942637534?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 18, 2024</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Isaac Humphries
Isaac Humphries, All-NBL nominee? Isaac Humphries, Boomers Olympic smokey? Isaac Humphries, best local center in the NBL?

When Isaac Humphries arrived in Melbourne last season, and even in Adelaide this season, he made it very public that he wanted to shake the ‘injury-prone’ tag that had been stuck to him, and he’s not only done that this season having played all of Adelaide’s 22 games, he’s returned to the level that convinced the Atlanta Hawks to give him an NBA opportunity back in 2019.

Almost every big player on the 36ers roster has experienced an uptick in the side’s recent positive run under Scott Ninnis, but Humphries has been made a key component of the offence under the interim coach, and he’s absolutely thriving on both ends of the floor.

He’s scored fewer than 15 points just once since Ninnis’ appointment, and has surpassed 20 points in a game five times in the same time period, while still maintaining his dominance on the glass and his shot-blocking prowess.

We saw a remarkable NBL20 help elevate Nathan Sobey into Boomers calculations for the Olympics, are we seeing history repeat itself, but this time with Humphries?

“The way Isaac Humphries is finishing off this season you have to argue he’s going to be leading that [All-NBL] charge if that’s the way they want to vote. It’s also the way he’s been playing all season long, but they’re starting to use him more and realise he has shaken off this injury cloud ... he’s still only 25 years old and the way he’s playing is exactly what a lot of people expected from Isaac Humphries.” – Peter Hooley on NBL Now.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Jason Cadee had him looking the wrong way! ? <br><br>Cadee threads the needle to Isaac Humphries behind the backs of the SEM Phoenix defence!<br><br>Watch the <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/NBL?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#NBL</a> live on ESPN! ? <a href="https://t.co/qRLn1rkILa">pic.twitter.com/qRLn1rkILa</a></p>— ESPN Australia & NZ (@ESPNAusNZ) <a href="https://twitter.com/ESPNAusNZ/status/1747562865236844615?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 17, 2024</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Justin Robinson vs Trey Kell III
Adelaide’s lack of a traditional point guard in its starting five makes it difficult to ascertain exactly who is going to likely go head to head with Justin Robinson, but given Trey Kell’s massively increased ball-handling responsibilities under Scott Ninnis, it will likely be an import battle at the one spot.

Robinson had another tough shooting night in Thursday’s loss to Cairns. Games like his two-point 0-7 showing against the Taipans have been intersected with remarkable performances like his 21-point, five assist night against the JackJumpers last week.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Justin Robinson flew by everyone ?<br><br>Catch the action live on ESPN via Kayo ? <a href="https://t.co/Rm9uoqcnHQ">pic.twitter.com/Rm9uoqcnHQ</a></p>— NBL (@NBL) <a href="https://twitter.com/NBL/status/1745752496801194406?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 12, 2024</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Kell was in a similar, inconsistent boat of leaving fans not knowing what they were going to get earlier this season, but he’s thriving with more shot-creating responsibility under Ninnis, and has been one of a handful of crucial contributors in Adelaide’s three in four winning run.

In fact, his 21 points in the big win over South East Melbourne last week is his lowest individual scoring mark since his 16-point triple-double against Illawarra last time they met.

We know Robinson has the ability to play to a similar level to what Kell is at the moment, but the big question that continues to surround his game isn’t ‘can he?’, it’s ‘will he?’.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">That's tough ?<br><br>Trey Kell III drains the triple against his former side ?<br><br>Catch the action live on ESPN via Kayo ? <a href="https://t.co/RrabImYV7D">pic.twitter.com/RrabImYV7D</a></p>— NBL (@NBL) <a href="https://twitter.com/NBL/status/1747554475911381240?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 17, 2024</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>