Hawks can still be “10-times better”

After dispatching the defending champions by 33-points, Justin Tatum believes his Illawarra Hawks can still be “10-times better”.

Illawarra was firing on both ends on its way to a 4-1 start, holding the JackJumpers to a season-low 76 points while running up 109 themselves, the fourth time in five games the Hawks have hit the ton.

“Even though it’s nowhere near the playoffs yet, we are happy where we (are) at and we know we can get 10-times better,” Tatum said.

“They should (be respecting us). We're the highest scoring team in the league, and we are one of the deepest teams in the league.

“We have most of our guys coming back so there should be some respect factor there with how well we're playing right now.”

Tatum credited attention to detail as a key driver to his team’s hot start to the season.

“Our depth and our talent is really good when we are on point and when we are unselfish,” he said.

“We just have to pay attention to the details, Tassie is an unbelievable team. So we had to find a way to put them down, and the way we put them down is paying attention to our details and sticking to the scout.”

One of the standouts for Tatum was Will Hickey. His tenacity has been unmatched all season, reflected on Saturday with his eight rebounds (seven offensive) in 20 minutes.

“That’s what he does in practice,” Tatum said.

“At the end of the day, he pushes us physically and mentally at practice, and then it shows on the court.”

The Hawks will take on the Taipans in Cairns on Saturday, live from 8:00pm AEDT on ESPN.