PERRY Lakes Hawks coach Charles Nix knows desperate basketball is required for them to make the Men's SBL playoffs in 2016 and he is now looking forward to finally getting to see how the big man-little man duo of Brian Carlwell and Bryton Hobbs now come together.

Hobbs returned from a wrist injury that sidelined him for the previous 15 games last Friday night and while it didn’t result in a win against the in-form Perth Redbacks, it provides some hope for Nix and the Hawks that they can get on a roll.

Understandably Hobbs was rusty last Friday night especially early on with Redbacks captain Joel Wagner taking full advantage, but he got better in the second half and now will only continue to get better with another week under his belt ahead of Friday's clash with the Cockburn Cougars.

The Hawks remain in eighth position on the Men's SBL standings despite losing their past three matches and they do need to start winning to hold off the charging East Perth Eagles.

Nix had great hopes of seeing how the potentially dominant combination of Carlwell and Hobbs would work from the start of the season.

He has had precious little time to see that yet with Carlwell still working into fitness when Hobbs played the opening three games and then the point guard only returning last Friday.

But now with Hobbs back and Carlwell in some good form, Nix is looking forward to seeing what they can do.

"They're both dynamic players in their own way and for us we haven’t been fortunate enough to have them on the floor for long periods of time. Hopefully over the next few weeks they can build that chemistry and become the dynamic duo that we expected them to be at the start of the year," Nix said.

"Everywhere he's (Carlwell) been he has won and he's always made an impact. He is a great locker room guy, he brings energy and with his sheer size he demands attention. We expected him to get to the level and I still think he has another level to get to. But he's getting there."

Coming off two tough losses the previous week to the South West Slammers and Joondalup Wolves, The Hawks needed to find a way to bounce back against the on-fire Redbacks last Friday.

They were boosted with the return of Hobbs but the Redbacks got on top and after building an early lead, the Hawks couldn’t ever get the margin to single-figures despite continuing to fight hard.

That leaves the Hawks in eighth position with an 8-11 record to only be narrowly head of an East Perth team that is eyeing off that playoff spot.

It gets no easier with the Hawks taking on the league-leading Cougars this Friday night but Nix is hopeful and confident that things will start coming together.

"Our intensity just wasn’t there at the start. It took us a quarter and-a-half to get into the mindset that's desperate. We are in a desperate situation at the moment but we aren't playing desperate basketball," he said.

"We've had a rough run with injuries and we've had players in and out all year. Most coaches will know it's all about chemistry and if you haven’t got the players on the floor consistently together that takes a while to build.

"Hopefully over this next stretch we have this same group on the floor building together and we can turn the tide."

Nix is grateful to Matthew Sellers for stepping in to play for the Hawks during Hobbs' absence and making a solid contribution averaging 10.2 points and 9.7 rebounds in his 13 appearances.

The Hawks also are unlikely to be get Rob Cassir back this season after he suffered another injury setback.

"Matty's a fantastic character. He's a hard worker and we expect him to be bigger and better in the future. We love the fact that he was willing to sacrifice to play for us for that period of time," Nix said.

"He is still around and still a part of what we're doing so hopefully we can help him in the future.

"At this stage this will be the group. Rob's unfortunately suffered another injury and he's had a really tough last couple of years. We've given him a little bit of time off so hopefully he can come back bigger and stronger."

While the Hawks will be looking Carlwell and Hobbs to spark the push to qualify for the playoffs, the continued leadership and growth of Ben Purser and Ben Dixon has impressed Nix particularly with how they stepped up without Hobbs.

"Ben's (Dixon) still young and people forget he's been around the league a long time, but he's still a young kid and he's developing his leadership skills and ability to run offences," he said.

"We're really happy with his development and Ben Purser is another guy who handled the ball a lot when Bryton was out so that's another string to his bow. We think we have enough weapons going forward, it's just about making the adjustment to the intensity and realising the situation we're in."

The Hawks are obviously aiming to make the playoffs and will be disappointed not to do so, but the great positive of the season is that there is a definite plan for the future in place on the back of the development of the likes of Jordan Hickert, Jackson Simkovic, Ryan O'Sullivan, Josh Garlepp, Ryan Smith and Dixon.

"It's always disappointing not to make the playoffs and that's definitely our goal. At the start of the season we set to make the playoffs and we've been unfortunate with injuries, but all clubs have to go through that. We are fighting for that playoff spot and we'll end up where we deserve to be," Nix said.

"We have a really strong focus on developing younger kids. You see Jackson Simkovic playing more minutes this year and we are really happy with his progression.

"He could be a really solid player at this level, Jordan Hickert has been a really good addition for us and every year Ben Dixon is growing and developing.

"We've also got some other kids coming through and getting a taste of it really helps. We are pretty buoyant about our future but that doesn’t help us right now necessarily."

Article by Chris Pike
Photo by Sebpix Photography