The Hawks have an unblemished "seven and oh" at home this season and just two losses - on the road in extra-time to the Wellington Saints and Otago Nuggets - for an enviable 12-2 record in the NBL.
Because of his religious beliefs, Winitana won't be playing tomorrow against coach Paul Henare's defending champions, who lost 101-88 to the Hawks in Invercargill in April.
If the form book is anything to go by then the Hawks should return from Palmy with a win, maintaining their six-point buffer in the march towards the minor premiership title.
But previous seasons' experiences suggest the other side of the gorge can be a slippery banana skin for the Hawks.
Ex-coach Shawn Dennis, who led the Hawks to their only NBL crown in 2006, sent two US imports packing after defeats there in successive winters.
That aside, it is imperative to note power forward Nick Horvath didn't play in the first encounter here because he was recovering from surgery.
"The Jets' big thing is that Horvath is back because they didn't have much size with [captain] Jeremiah Trueman not having much coming behind him," Baldwin says of the centre, who is coming off an individual high of 19 in rebounds from the last round in their 91-83 loss to the Sharks in Invercargill.
Hawks US import Dustin Scott is third, behind Taranaki Mountainairs import Suleiman Braimoh.
Throw in Jets import power forward Paul Jones and, Baldwin reckons, trying to contain three big men can be a handful.
As for track records, the five-time NBL title-winning coach prefers to focus on this season and starting with a clean sheet.
"The last time we played them there last year it came down to the end and we missed a shot," says Baldwin, emphasising he isn't superstitious about any preconceived sense of a hoodoo against the Jets.
The Hawks are on an eight-win streak while the Jets are desperate to keep their slim playoff hopes alive.
Individuals don't stand out as such for the visitors in the weekly stocktake with Scott and fellow US import Kareem Johnson (field goals) featuring in the league leaders' stats.
That has been a testimony to a Hawks outfit who have played as a unit and are benefiting from adopting such a philosophy.
Shooting guard Everard Bartlett stepped up in the win against Waitakere Rangers with 10 assists in the last round after point guard Jarrod Kenny found himself in early foul trouble.
Kenny will be captain tomorrow with Winitana not playing because of his Mormon beliefs, although the latter will be alongside Baldwin on the bench.
Larsen, who was Dennis' assistant coach (2008-09) and whose wife Toni hails from Taradale, says Horvath has been playing 40 minutes and is fit and healthy.
He says the Jets aren't lacking motivation in a two-fold attempt to knock the Hawks off their top-of-the-table perch as well as the traditional rivalry between the provinces in just about any code with Manawatu habitually wearing the underdog's collar.
"They [the Hawks] are playing very well and sticking to their systems and Tab's doing a great job," Larsen says.
The Hawks work will be cut out against homeboy Henare's Sharks, who have grappled with their share of demons with criminal charges against three players.
That prompted coach Henare, a former Tall Black, to slip on a strip to help them through the doldrum phase.
"I've had a chat with Paulie and he really doesn't want to play because he feels he needs to be on the sidelines to do his job better as a coach," Baldwin says of his former disciple and two-time New Zealand Breakers champion Henare.
Coaching the second-placed Sharks to their first NBL title last year, he says, reflects Henare's steely resolve.
