Round 4 of NBL22 starts on a Thursday night, and we have an intriguing encounter between the Illawarra Hawks and the South East Melbourne Phoenix.
Both sides have looked decent so far in NBL Season 22, but are coming off losses and will be hungry for a win on Thursday Night Hoops.
The Illawarra Hawks are coming off a narrow loss to the Brisbane Bullets, whilst the South East Melbourne Phoenix were beaten by the Sydney Kings last Saturday.
Here are some NBL Tips and NBL Predictions for the Hawks vs Phoenix on Thursday, December 23rd 2021.
Be sure to check back before each NBL22 Match for NBL Previews, NBL Head to Head Predictions, NBL Tips, NBL Picks and NBL Predictions for each match of NBL Season 22.
A Star Rating is used to show the confidence level of each Head to Head NBL Match Prediction.
⭐ = A Tough Match to Pick
⭐⭐ = A Decent Chance
⭐⭐⭐ = Should Get the Win
Illawarra Hawks vs South East Melbourne Phoenix
Venue – WIN Entertainment Centre
Tip Off – 7.30 pm EST
Season Record
| Team | Win/Loss | Home | Away |
|---|---|---|---|
| Illawarra | 3-1 | 1-0 | 2-1 |
| SEM | 3-1 | 2-0 | 1-1 |
Season Team Statistics
| Team | PPG | Opp PPG | Rebs | Assists | Tu |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Illawarra | 90.5 | 86.8 | 42.2 | 15.8 | 9.8 |
| SEM | 87.8 | 80.8 | 37.0 | 15.5 | 10.8 |
Shooting Statistics
| Team | FG % | 3PT % | FT % |
|---|---|---|---|
| Illawarra | 43.6% | 30.9% | 67.9% |
| SEM | 45.8% | 38.4% | 72.6% |
Player Stat Leaders
| Team | Points | Rebs | Assists |
|---|---|---|---|
| Illawarra | D.Reath 19.8 | S.Froling 9.2 | T.Harvey 2.5 |
| SEM | M.Creek 23.2 | Z.Qi 7.8 | X.Munford 3.5 |
Last 3 Head to Head Matches
| Date | Matchup | Score | Margin |
|---|---|---|---|
| 9th April, 21 | Illawarra vs SEM | 82-80 | (Hawks by 2 Pts) |
| 1st April, 21 | Illawarra vs SEM | 63-95 | (Phoenix by 32 Pts) |
| 28th Feb, 21 | SEM vs Illawarra | 93-76 | (Phoenix by 17 Pts) |
Prediction
The Phoenix have won 6 out of 7 against the Hawks, but the Hawks won the last head to head match and have been playing tight defence to start NBL22.
The Phoenix are coming off a poor 34% shooting performance in their loss to the Kings and will need to improve if they are any hope in Illawarra.
Expect Illawarra to crank up the defence in this clash as they usually do, with the last three Hawks homes games averaging just a combined 152 points per match.
If the Hawks can stop Mitch Creek and reduce the impact of Phoenix big man Zhou Qi, they will more than likely win the match, but the Phoenix will be no pushover.