Basketball On The Internet.

Teamwork. Aggression. Smarts. Milton. Altruism. Never-say-die. Integrity. Attitude. Yeah, it spells Tasmania and after the way they dismantled Illawarra last night, the Hawks should look seriously at continuing the club’s future in NBL1 East. They were so awful, TV viewers were listening to bed-making stories from the commentary team.

The Hawks’ insistence on one-pass or no-pass hero offence, token defence and beaten body language should have upset their long-suffering but always hopeful fans in Wollongong and beyond.

It was pathetic. And it certainly is NOT because the Hawks lack in talent. They have it in abundance. Coach Jacob Jackomas just doesn’t appear to know how to use it, what his best combinations are and spends too much time searching for answers instead of believing in some.

The JackJumpers’ 3-point barrage, selfless play, give up the good shot for the better shot attitude, and commitment to that plan made this game look like another in the NBA-NBL Preseason debacles, with Tasmania taking the role of the guys from The Show.

It was show-and-tell time as the Jackies showed Illawarra how to play team basketball, genuinely work defensively and simply make a mockery of the futile one-man shows the Hawks offered in return.

Only time will tell if Illawarra learnt anything, other than the fact their game style does not work against an organised opponent. That still gives them hope for Adelaide tomorrow. But not a lot.

TASMANIA JACKJUMPERS 103 (Doyle 19, Crawford 17, McVeigh 15, Deng 14, Lee 10; Doyle 9 rebs; Crawford 6 assts) d ILLAWARRA HAWKS 73 (Clark 16, Robinson 13, Harvey 9; Froling 10 rebs; Robinson 6 assts) at MyState Bank Arena. Crowd: 4,340

PS
Aron Baynes five-match suspension strongly suggests Brisbane Bullets official Stu Lash owes Cairns coach Adam Forde at least as great an apology as his now proven to be unfounded accusation post-game.
And while there is some bleating about the “one person tribunal”, for decades the NBL had one man, Ken Madsen, hearing all incidents and it was rarely questioned.