Harbour Heat come up against one of the form teams in the Bartercard National Basketball League this Friday night when they host the 0800 Easy LPG Bay Hawks at the North Shore Events Centre and Judd Flavell’s side knows that nothing less than a victory will keep their top two hopes alive and with it a home semi final.

There is no way to describe the Heat’s recent run other than to say they have hit a slump after a best ever start to the season, aided by a favourable home run draw. With their 4 losses coming in their most recent 5 games, Flavell knows he must light a fire under his side to resurrect a season that still holds so much promise.

“While we are not panicking, there can be no doubt that confidence levels are down from where they were at the start of the season. Momentum is a crazy thing in sport, when it is with you it seems like you can’t lose but the smallest thing can change that and you find yourself on the losing end of some close matches and close calls. At the moment we are looking to turn that around and get some momentum back behind us as the play offs approach.

“But I have every faith in this group of players and the ability of the senior guys to turn this around and ensure we go into the play offs in a good frame of mind. In Dillon Boucher, Rick Rickert, Daryl Cartwright we have some great scrappers, players who can lift others around them with their desire and passion to get the job done. The key for us is to combine that energy with sensible decision making and the ability to run the right plays and stay true to our strengths. We have gone away from what we do best a few times of late and must get that focus back on Friday.”

The Hawks are certainly one of the form teams as they have averaged 90 points in their last three games. With Burger King Breaker Paul Henare returning last week from an ankle injury the Hawks are further strengthened in the back court and must now boast a bench the equal of anyone in the league. That is backed up by the league best 23.5 points that Shawn Dennis is getting from his pine riders, something that will be further boosted with the arrival of Henare into the roster with guards the quality of Jarrod Kenny and Nat Connell (both former Heat players) providing back up.

The match up of the big men will again be crucial with Rick Rickert coming up against in form Jon Rogers in the paint. Rickert has been solid all year averaging 18 points and 10 rebounds but was off the pace a little in the most recent loss against the Pistons, he will look for another big showing on Friday.

The Heat won the R7 encounter between the two sides in the Bay 94-82 but know that this is a vastly improved Hawks side with key personnel either on form or returned from injury. With the Hawks right in the play off mix and still hopeful of home court advantage in the post season, there will be no room for below par performances from either side.

So with nothing less than a win and a good one at that enough to satisfy Flavell and his Heat side, the North Shore Events Centre could well be the place to be for basketball fans this Friday night.

Head to Head*: Heat 6 Hawks 2

Last Meeting: Heat 94-82 (Round 7: 16/04/2010)