Hawks import power forward Brandon Bowman hangs tough between Manawatu Jets players Shane Temara (left) and Jackson Stubbins in Palmerston North tonight. Photo / Photosport
Hawks import power forward Brandon Bowman hangs tough between Manawatu Jets players Shane Temara (left) and Jackson Stubbins in Palmerston North tonight. Photo / Photosport
That the Hawks hijacked the Manawatu Jets in full flight is great news but what are fans supposed to make of the triple-figure scores both sides posted, totalling 241 points in the National Basketball League match tonight?
With captain Jarrod Kenny leading out a more settled Taylor Corporation-sponsored Hawke's Bayfranchise team now, the 134-107 victory at the Central Energy Trust Arena in Palmerston North again confirmed the three-point plan is falling into place quite nicely.
"The Hawks continue on a run that is no doubt making a few sit up and take notice," the NBL website stated in its "talking points".
"The brand of basketball the Hawks have delivered this round has been fun to watch. After blasting the Giants on Thursday night, they didn't give the Jets much of a look-in here either," it read.
The website went on to forecast: "If you love long-range shooting, then you'll love what the Hawks are doing right now."
The Hawks amassed 39 three-pointers from 86 attempts during their two matches in round six.
"Zico's charges have a green light and they are most certainly taking it," the website said of coach Zico Coronel's downtown philosophy. "Surely opposition defences are going to adapt soon, aren't they?"
The visitors had won every quarter — 32-25, 30-25, 38-27 and 34-30 — although the final quarter smacks of nobility in taking the foot off the throat of the opposition so as not to totally humiliate them.
Power forward Brandon Bowman shared a match-high 29 points with fellow American import and small forward EJ Singler although the former claimed a double-double 10 rebounds and chucked in five assists for the road.
Singler, who claimed 10 MVP match points to Bowman's eight, was one rebound shy of a double-double while Ethan Rusbatch and Dion Prewster contributed 24 and 20 points each, respectively, to the collective. Aussie import centre Daniel Kickert scored 12 points and collected nine rebounds.
Collectively the Hawks dropped 20 bombs from the carpark, Rusbatch showing the way with five.
Hawks sharp shooter Ethan Rusbatch was back in his element as Manawatu Jets guard Jackson Stubbins found out tonight. Photo / Photosport
But well before the euphoria subsides, you tend to ask questions with the same plausibility as one wanting to know how the Hawks (birds) can possibly outpace Jets (machines)?
Do such results smack of the best form of defence is attackand, if so, whatever happened to hanging one's hat on the cornerstone of defence?
Will oppositions eventually find a way to clip the Hawks' wings?
Firstly, Coronel suspected it was the highest total probably registered in the NBL.
"I think opposition know [about the high-percentage offensive tactics] but it's really difficult to stop because there are obviously some high-profile teams who we'll still have to do it against," he said.
Coronel relished the idea of putting that theory to the test when the Hawks hit the road twice again on the road this week in round seven, playing the Southland Sharks in Invercargill on Thursday before jetting north to face the Supercity Rangers (Auckland) on Saturday.
"I mean what a great challenge," he said. "We're in the middle of six games within 18 days and this one's going to be huge in Invercargill to play in a great environment where it's always exciting."
The long bus rides and flights were ideal times for the players to bond and have fun before hosting four games in Napier next month.
"It's not like that's all we're trying to do," Coronel explained. "We kind of take what's open so they'll expand out to mark people way out beyond the court so there'll be a lot of space at the basket."
That, he said, would require them to gravitate more towards the baskets to eke out points.
"Right now every team's got the habit of protecting the basket side ... and we're proficient in scoring threes so their habits will now adapt to the game styles."
James Levings marks another trey as teammates on the Hawks' bench feel the pain of the Manawatu Jets in Palmerston North tonight. Photo / Photosport
Coronel, at the helm of the Hawks in just the second season after more than a decade of assistant coaching roles, said the triple-figure scores teams posted were more aligned with the furious pace at which sides competed rather than indicative of a porous defence.
"We like to play fast and so do the Jets so with two teams doing that there are more chances to score."
He said the court-savvy types didn't scrutinise points per game but points per game under possession to eliminate the speed of the game for a better picture of how good a team's defence or offence was.
"Defensively, coming into the weekend, I think, we were in the top four and higher than that on offence so we're going to look high if you look at points per game.
"If you look at our points conceded it's going to be high as well because part of it is that we're playing quite fast."
However, Coronel was quick to point out that keeping the Nelson Giants on a leash in the 103-83 victory on Thursday was a solid defensive effort.
So does that mean the Hawks are forcing their oppositions to play a game of truth or dare — front up with sharp shooters or go down trying?
Coronel said Kickert was exceptional defensively, especially in putting up screens that kept Jets import Daishon Knight on check with 26 points and six assists.
"You'll see that reflected on Daniel Kickert's pluses and minuses on how dominant we were when he was on the court so we had some passages of very good defence played."
He said although Knight was efficient he hadn't got close to his 35 points a game average because the Hawks had limited him.
In the high-tempo matches, he emphasised all the statistics would be inflated.
"They'll be more turnovers, more steals, more blocks, more fouls and more of everything," he said, in explaining why scoring from the charity line was imperative.
Coronel revealed referees from major centres, such as Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch, were controlling most matches this season.
"The Wellington-based referees tend to control the game quite differently from the Auckland and Christchurch-based ones so one of the challenges in these games has been to adjust to those differences."
Nevertheless, he emphasised the Hawks needed to keep making incremental improvements as they faced stiffer oppositions who would be conjuring ways to counter them.
Manawatu Jets import Daishon Knight got into double figures but the Hawks, by his 30-plus points average standards, had him on a leash today. Photo / Photosport
RESULT
Manawatu Jets 107 (Daishon Knight 26pts, 6 asts; Wallace Ellenson 19pts, Kuran Iverson 17pts, 11 reb; Shane Temara 11 reb) Taylor Corp Hawks 134 (Brandon Bowman 29pts, 10reb, 5 asts; EJ Singler 29pts, 9 reb, 3 asts; Ethan Rusbatch 24pts; Dion Prewster 20pts; Daniel Kickert 12pts, 9 reb).
