Hawks set to swoop

The Illawarra Hawks will be looking to avoid going down 0-2 at John Cain Arena on Wednesday night, in a game where Brad Rosen thinks the Hawks can pounce.

“It’s a five game series, yes they lost one at home, but let’s not make this bigger than it is,” he said on NBL Now.

“The fact they lost Game 1, their first Grand Final for a lot of these guys ... Melbourne were there last year, they know what is going on.”

The Hawks lost on Saturday night after holding a double-digit lead at half-time, before struggling to contain an experienced United outfit.

“It’s a huge learning curve and I expect Illawarra to come out tonight with an absolute cricket bat against Melbourne United and whack them hard,” Rosen said.

“But do I expect Melbourne to be ready for that? Absolutely.”

Rosen says Justin Tatum wasn't reactive enough when United started to taking control in Game 1.

“I thought Illawarra didn’t make the changes that they needed to during that game,” Rosen said.

“Dean Vickerman completely out-coached Tatum.

“But I love the fact that Tatum is an outstanding coach and he’ll come back big and hard for Game 2.”

In the previous two seasons, teams who lost Game 1 still went on to win the Championship, however in the eight seasons prior to that, whoever claimed the series opener went on to secure the trophy.

That leaves a lot of pressure on the Hawks ahead of Wednesday night’s blockbuster at John Cain Arena.

“This is a must win game for them. They have to get this one going back to Illawarra on Sunday.”

Illawarra travels to Melbourne to take on United on Wednesday night at John Cain Arena, with tip-off at 7.30pm AEDT, live on ESPN.