I too think the Hawks can earn the win in this one, even with a fired up Childress returning from suspension. Should be an interesting game to watch in any case as the intensity is sure to be very high.

Odds: Hawks - $1.67, Kings – $2.10

I reckon the Hawks by 1 in a thriller.

Preview: King's welcome back Childress in must-win game in the 'Gong’

A toughie I think Sydney will win by 5.

I think the Kings showed quite a bit last week without their best player, whereas Wollongong looked to be falling apart. I'm going with Sydney on that basis and Childress to slice through the Hawks zone, their defence was really disappointing last week.

Think this will be Ervin's last game.

One of the imports has to go and Carson has been putting up nice numbers.

Ervin playing horrible tonight.

Would love to see Tiggs back. I really liked him and he knows the systems.

Carson
Martin
Tiggs
Forman
Davidson

Time for a crisis meeting at the Hawks if they haven't already done that. Go back to the formula that worked in the past and build from that. Scorers at the distributing positions isn't working.

Gordie now under the pump. Many suggested not. Wrong. Gruber now out of a job. Terrible.

It was a bit farcical watching the Hawks get murdered on the boards and they had Martin, Carson and Ervin on the courr at the same time. 5"9, 5"9 and 6"1.

The offloading of Gruber was not only out of tune with the cultural fabric of the club, but it has left the roster terribly unbalanced.

Sorry to Harp On but if your team has Kevin White shooting 3s during a game you are going nowhere.

Sydney got the win but prove they are not going to win any tough clashes with a ridiculous game plan that has not been thought through.

Talent will only get you so far so when you go to a bench you have to use it as efficiently as possible. Having a green light for a guy 7-9 in the rotation who has had a poor record from deep for his whole career is just plain crazy! Use his strengths and park his weaknesses.

Make sure the shots you take are a high percentage chance to get made.

Neville. 8 rbs, 8 points. crap.

You know this Hawks team is in the doldrums when only 2,475 show up for a home game against the Kings who have an ex-NBA player on their roster.

The Hawks are in crisis at this stage. Fourth last year, Gordie the Coach of the Year. So far this year they couldn't win a rigged chook raffle at the local pub.

The attendance looks bigger than 2,475 on the TV (capacity at WIN is 6k), though it wouldn't surprise me if most punters were directed to the lower bowl seats to make it look better for the camera's.

Haven't seen many shots but I'd imagine the upper concourse seats are fairly empty.

Gordie needs to go!!!!!

Didn't feel like a Wollongong performance - very little intensity from the Hawks. Sydney could have won by 40 if they'd shot well.

Perry was much better and Brandt is finding some confidence.

Hawks were woeful. They don't look like a Gordie coached team.

Kings scored 22 points from turnovers and 19 second chance points. The Hawks scored 4 and 6.....

Josh Childress led all rebounders with 13. Luke Nevill was next best with 8.

Nevill Tyson Demos were the only Hawks with an EFF in double figures (both with 10). Sydney had 4 players, 3 of them in the 20's.

Hawks only shot 17% from 3-point land. Ervin was the worst offender hitting 1-6. The Kings shot 24% from outside.

5 points and 4 rebounds in 19:14 for Balls. Is time catching up to him, or are the Hawks playing that badly that he just can't get into a game? First time in a while I haven't seen him put up a 3-pointer in a game.

A dirty night for Larry Davidson. 0 points (0-3) and 2 rebounds in 18:03 on the court.

The Kings hit 17-19 (89%) from the FT line. The Hawks shot 10-11 (91%).

3 Kings (Perry (23), Childress (18) & Brandt (15)) scored more individual points than the best Hawk (Carson - 12).

Former 36er Kyle Adnam scored 2 points (2-2 FT's) in 1:37 for Wollongong.

I wonder if Gary Ervin wishes he was still running the point for the 36ers right about now? 7 points (3-14 @ 21%), 3 rebounds, 2 assists and 2 turn overs in 25:50. According to the stats its a -2 for the game.

The Hawks play this season providing further justification of Rotnei's selection as league MVP last year.

Ervin needs to go not Carson plus the hawks needed to use Neville they don't give him the ball enough down low especially when Ervin who is ment to be a great point guard and gets into the key as much as he does he should be looking for him especially against the kings who the centres are not in Nevilles class. Carson is a great player but is not a 2 guard as where they are playing him

Carson looks like the problem to me, over dribbles , teams are leaving him open for the three and he can't shoot. Does not run offence or know where his team mates are , so he is the only player who gets a shot with him out there. Ervin knows how to play pro ball. Right now defences hang back blocking the entry passes to the bigs, can't win with Carson.

Hawks look un-Hawk-like right now.

Kings confine Hawks, edge closer to top-four

Perry starting to find his feet in this league which is a good sign for Sydney.

Sack Gruber, and now an import. Maybe sack the coach may be a better solution unfortunately.

501826 Agree totally.Theres no passion coming from the coach down and there is a lack of leadership. I would be very worried if i was both imports.Letting Gruber go was a very poor call as he was the heart and soul of that group.There spirit went with him.

The local paper in the Gong savages the hawks.
"Clueless might be too harsh a description"
"Wollongong have lost eight straight - one of the longest losing streaks in the club's 35-year history - and need a miracle to turn their season around."
"Based on their inept performance against Sydney, losses will continue to pile up."

http://www.illawarramercury.com.au/story/2682259/hawks-cop-humiliating-drubbing-against-kings/?cs=302

The coach isn't the problem, when he has been calling the shots the Hawks have been successful. All of a sudden he isn't calling the shots and they're 1-8.

Too late to sack imports - may as well save money now

When Demos is your second best scorer with 8 pts you know you're in trouble.

Players have to take some responsibility though. Can't all be on Gordie.

Ervin's performance was horrible end of.

If you want to put blame on anyone for the Gruber incident blame the new owner. He seems to be exerting a lot of control over personnel decisions.

I don't believe Gordie would ever want Gruber to be cut.

A good question might be what is Gordie tired of?

Hawks and Kings both have terrible rosters. I know the FTA TV schedule is set in stone but it's a disgrace this game was showed instead of Taipans vs Breakers.

Not sure what is more annoying... someone who would have a SW nick and not spell it properly, or the constant misspelling of Nevill...

Anyways...

Gordie can only do so much... The new owner is playing fantasy basketball with his very own live team... Apparently made choices on at least one of the imports, and Nevill and cutting Gruber as well... All this really looks like it has demoralised the team, which is a key factor in where effort comes from... As a Kings fan I have no love for the Hawks and while I did take some joy over seeing them fall over last night, I've always still sort of respected their effort and fighting ability... That just wasn't there last night...

The Hawks didn't do themselves any favours, but that's not to take away from the bright spots from the Kings... A confidence game for Perry against lesser competition will hopefully do him the world of good, Childress while not shooting well, showed what he was capable of when he puts his mind to it, plus a great game for Brandt which will hopefully get him on the right foot for some much tougher competition in Petrie and Motum... Will be good to see him go up against these two, the latter his Boomers Sino teammate, hopefully it's a good match up...

So the man who is investing his money as the owner is decision making, can't he do that?
If it means coaches and or players walk so be it. Maybe Brisbane and Tassie need to be talking to Gordie now ;)
Gruber and Gordie. Hmmmm.

I know he hap a hip injury but I honestly think that the Hawks could do a lot worse than to pick up DQ. I mean being realistic, he'd still be a 36er if not for us signing Brock Motum. But who to cut to bring him in?

I can't see Ervin being cut. He's a former league MVP and last year was generally a standout for the 36ers who played in the GF series. I just think he had a bad night last night.

Nor can I see Luke Nevill getting the boot. He's a former Boomer (so at the very least he's no mug), and is 7'2" tall, the tallest in the NBL just shading Schenscher by an inch. I just don't think they are playing at his strengths right now. Agreed that he's not going to put up the same numbers as what our Luke does, but he's still a very valuable player and I think cutting Nevill would be a backwards step for Gordie and his team.

Something needs to change though or the Hawks are going to continue to have a very tough season.

It may be time they started growing Stacker beards.

Hawks have a shit season and the crowds will walk if not already walking.

Wollongong haven't been playing a bad game, but last night they brought a pointed stick, actually a blunt stick, to a gun fight.

The team does look unbalanced and that may be the key. Cutting Gruber got the Illawarra Mercury fired up (let's face it, they are the Media Watch favourite)

Maybe having two import guards has stuffed the mix up.

Their starting 5 last night: Irvin; Carson; Hill; Forman; Nevill. Coennraad normally starts so whether him missing has stuffed up the mix as well.

If there's going to be a shuffling of deck chairs, you would expect Nevill to stay. As HoldenV8 notes, he's a Boomer and the tallest dude in the NBL. That has to be something. The deficiency is in scoring.

Irvin (14.1 ppg @ 40.7%) & Carson (18.5 @ 45.2%) are the leading scorers, but it drops away after that. Martin (6.5 ppg @ 30.8%) and Demos (1 ppg @ 13%) round out the guards, then Forman (9.3) and Hill (5.9) are the 3 men. Coennraad (8.8), Ballinger (6.6) and Davidson (4.6). Nevill (8.3).

Cutting the leading scorer in Carson would be risky. Cutting Irvin the same, but if they are similar styles, then you would think one should go. You wouldn't cut Forman or Coennraad, so if there is a sacrifice to be placed on the basketball alter, it would have to be Hill, Ballinger, Davidson, or Demos. Demos is the obvious one, but if his role is to give the imports a rest, then he might be doing his job.

Time to go into the room of mirrors naked for a good hard look. Maybe its the rotations that need to be tweaked

Make an offer to Gordie right now. Sacked he may be but walk into a new franchise where ever that may be.

Wow the guys a bust cos he cant dunk!!!

They just need to be clear on who the leader on the floor is, Martin, Ervin and Davidson should be the guys directing this team. Cutting Gordie would be a step backwards, and would only demoralise the team further. Go and find Rotnei and get him back, balance out the bigs with a top quality shooter. They can turn this around.

Bring in a SG who can shoot and defend in place of Carson and things might start to look better quickly, because if they don't start defending it will continue to look ugly.

Having said that, if someone who doesn't know basketball keeps making the decisions it's hard to see morale improving. The past three games the Hawks couldn't really be accused of trying too hard.

For me Ervin is the problem.

Anon's scathing attack of Carson is harsh for a guy putting up 18.2 ppg.

Ervin's been good but he has been found out in the league now.

I don't know what you've been watching but Carson is an elite PG defender.

Sure he can't defend SGs but neither can Ervin so what is your point?

so funny the people blaming the owner, guess he is the one shooting 30% on court and also the one incapable of getting the guys set in even half decent plays, oh and of course not to mention his total lack lustre defence

hahahaha

it's really clear now that Rotnei saved Gordie's ass last season

no-one yet is saving his ass this year, carson looks like he could but if only he can play the first 3 like he plays the last quarter

Oscar Forman is clearly overrated just the one good game so far.
I think Ervin needs to go.

Ervin is a former MVP but that counts for nothing now.

Carson over Ervin.

it's really clear now that Rotnei saved Gordie's ass last season

Can someone explain why there is a huge outlash with the releasing of Gruber when they replaced him for one of the Hawks favourite players in Martin?

Wouldn't this be the same as Anthony being released for say Creek (If Creek had gone to Europe to test the waters)?

Or is it a case of they should have released someone else in the team, for example Ballinger? I think Ballinger is a better player so they would be disadvantaging the Hawks by doing that.

What is your opinion of a better solution to get Martin?

"What is your opinion of a better solution to get Martin?"
Sack Nevill.
Sack Ballinger.
Sack Carson.

There's three options. Apparently it had to be Gruber for points reasons, but Gruber's worth two fewer points than Ballinger. No idea what Nevill's worth, but it's surely more than five. Carson is obviously a 10.

If there is any truth to Hawks owner making the decision to sack Gruber and sign Novell that is a clear sign he has lost confidence and respect for Gordie as the coach which could only mean one thing at the end of the season..if he last that long.

His interior defence has been good this year, and his rebounding has been good too. I think Gordie needs to utilise his mid-range game, which has been almost completely dormant.

He can either can on the move and dunk or hit from mid-range, he doesnt have much of a post game and lacks the balance to seal around the bucket on smaller guys.