Tatum: “No room for complacency”

Despite ending December with a defeat, the Illawarra Hawks are still comfortably at the top of the NBL standings and all eyes are on the championship.

“This month has given us life and hope,” Justin Tatum said after the game against the Phoenix.

“Only within the group can you say that we are one of the best teams in the league.

“We clearly wanted to have an undefeated record in December, but I would rather be undefeated in March.”

The Hawks won five of their six games in December and while the loss to the Phoenix came as a shock to many, Tatum was short and sweet in his message to his team.

“We talked about it in the locker room to try to maintain that and not be complacent,” he said.

“Sometimes we got complacent.”

Tatum dismissed any talk of fatigue among his team, which will play multiple games in quick succession to start the new year.

According to their coach, the challenge for the Hawks is simple.

“(We have to) give full effort for four quarters. We have to do better, and that starts with me.”

Illawarra now welcomes the Taipans to the WIN Entertainment Center as they aim to get back on the winning list and maintain their place as the team to beat in the NBL25.

“I’m glad we’re playing on Friday, so hopefully we can fix our mistakes,” Tatum added.

The Hawks face Cairns on Friday night at 7:30 p.m. live on ESPN.