Sunday afternoon’s game at WIN Entertainment Centre was all about eighteen year old LaMelo Ball’s NBL debut, and he lost no followers with a twelve point, eight rebound and four assist effort in 32 minutes of game time. But ultimately, the new-look Queenslanders stole the show in front of a disappointing crowd of just 3677. The 90-81 result may not have seemed as convincing as the likes of South East Melbourne Pheonix in their inaugural game or the Perth Wildcats, both enjoying impressive wins over Melbourne United. Make no mistake though, Brisbane Bullets are still 1-0 up and with the new-found depth in their squad, are every chance to push for another playoff assault in 2019/20.
The Bullets have gone through a major shift in their line-up heading into this season, with the likes of two-time NBL champion Adam Gibson, injury-prone Jeremy Kendle, Cameron Bairstow and AJ Davis all departing. All four were capable of putting scores on the board, they needed replacement forwards and achieved it in spades. They acquired the scoring prowess of proven NBL and Boomers talent, former Adelaide captain Nathan Sobey, Taylor Braun (as recommended by Utah Jazz’s Joe Ingles) and import EJ Singler. All four will cover the scoring depth and energy for Andrej Lemanis.
It wasn’t the prettiest game of basketball, but the Bullets did what they needed to do and found a way to win on the road against a confident Illawarra outfit that showed character and fight, trailing by just one point at half time. Interestingly, the Bullets lost the count in multiple areas including points from turnovers (15-12), fast break points (10-9) and their highest scoring run was the same as the Hawks (8). Illawarra are not expected to play finals this season, so for the Bullets to be breaking even or losing in these pivotals points of the game are concern to Lemanis, but it’s typically to be rusty first up. Melbourne United are after the opening weekend, and no one is expecting them to fall away by season’s end.
The Bullets were the better side with their three pointers though, going at 38% beyond the paint where the Hawks went at a shocking 18%. This is due to their multiple scoring options, and against a team which is not overly strong in this area, they were able to expose the Hawks. Beside Aaron Brooks with a superb 23, no one on the Illawarra team scored any higher than twelve points. The major benefit for the Bullets is their depth. Their starting five is still under question, Cameron Gliddon, Nathan Sobey and Taylor Braun all played over thirty minutes, with Jason Cadee, Lamar Patterson and Matthew Hodgson playing over twenty, and EJ Singler player just over fifteen. Captain Mika Vikona, a four time championship player, was sidelined for most of the affair.
The issue for Brisbane is their ability to win against quality opposition, with no disrespect to the Hawks, they are not likely to make an assault on the finals this season. The Bullets have a few too many players with the same strengths. As mentioned earlier, their scoring ability is possibly the strongest it has been since the Joey Wright days of the 2007 championship. But what about their defence? Boomers duo Cameron Gliddon and Nathan Sobey have received criticism in the past, particularly Sobey, for not running out games until the very end. How would they fare against a Melbourne United, Perth Wildcats or even an Adelaide 36ers who have multi-dimensional players ie. Chris Goulding, Damian Martin and Daniel Dillon who not only out the scores on the board, but run back and defend their own. The Bullets are lacking the accountability to play two-ways, and that is why they found themselves fully at the penultimate series in 2018/19 against eventual champion Perth.
It’s only early days, they have gotten the first of 28 ticks on the board and will be looking to make it two from two when they face a Cairns outfit on Friday, who despite pushing the Kings right to the end, are expected to claim their second consecutive wooden spoon this season. All the Bullets can do is continue winning, because winning is what gets you to the play-offs.
Dan is a self-confessed Aussie hoops tragic from Adelaide, South Australia. He is a young sports broadcaster and journalist with a passion for the NBL and Australian Boomers. Also hosts his own sports podcast; Amato's 5th Quarter.
