Four wins off the pace for the top six and a brutal five-game road swing leaves the reigning champions barely clinging to their Finals hopes.<\/p>\n
Sunday\u2019s five-point defeat to New Zealand delivered another bitter hit to Illawarra\u2019s title defence, and Justin Tatum didn\u2019t mince words about why.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey just want it more. They just want it more,\u201d he said of the Hawks’ opposition.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s unfortunate my team doesn\u2019t show the same resilience, against anyone, not just New Zealand.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t think they\u2019re overly more talented or found more shots, they just find ways to win a game, and that\u2019s what they\u2019ve done.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
In search of answers, the Hawks tinkered with their rotations, even benching JaVale McGee to start, yet the story stayed the same in NBL26 \u2014 another loss.<\/p>\n
They now sit precariously in eighth position, with two games in hand, but four wins to make up on the sixth-placed JackJumpers.<\/p>\n
Even with the incredible talent at their disposal, it looks an uphill battle to challenge for a Play-In spot.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re going to keep playing these next 10 games as \u2018we have a chance\u2019 and guys show up to work and my coaching staff and myself keep preparing as we have an ability to defend our title,\u201d Tatum said.<\/p>\n
\u201cUntil it\u2019s statistically all the way out, I\u2019ll never say never.\u201d<\/p>\n
Illawarra has now lost five of its last seven games and, with an underwhelming road record (2-8), the next fortnight doesn\u2019t get any easier.<\/p>\n
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