Bullets hit most targets to open NBL26

As far as first games in charge go, Stu Lash couldn’t have asked for much more from the Brisbane Bullets aside from losing Mitch Norton but the three imports fired, and Sam McDaniel, Tyrell Harrison and Alex Ducas came up huge.

The Bullets opened NBL26 with an impressive 104-95 road victory against the New Zealand Breakers on Friday night with Casey Prather (27 points, 4/8 from three), Javon Freeman-Liberty (17 points, six rebounds, five assists, three steals) and Jaylen Adams (14 points, seven assists, five steals) starring.

Then there were leaders Harrison and McDaniel who had tremendous nights and showed great leadership in the absence of 374-game captain Norton who went down with a knee injury in the second quarter.

Lash is hoping to not lose his inspirational captain one game into his coaching career but isn’t sure of the prognosis yet.

"We don't know a lot yet but my heart goes out to him because he's just an absolute warrior, but we'll assess that tonight and tomorrow," Lash said.

"We'll get back to Brisbane and see where we're at but if there's anybody that's going to fight through and figure it out, it's going to be Norto."

Harrison was dominant inside with 24 points and 15 rebounds while McDaniel contributed 10 points, five rebounds and two assists but it was his effort defending Parker Jackson-Cartwright that was particularly important.

By the end of the game, there was a lot to like from Lash after his first outing as coach.

"Going 16/16 from the foul line in the second half was big time and I thought Tyrell's presence in the paint on both ends of the floor really levelled us up," Lash added.

"And Sam McDaniel was just out there making Parker work and he is so good, but he tried to make it as hard as possible as he could for him and seeing as much physicality as he could.

"Assists-to-turnovers is a big thing for us and we want to protect the ball and pass the ball, and we did a great job with that with 24 assists to eight turnovers. Usually if you're getting over 20 assists and under 10 turnovers your probability of winning the game is really high.

"Winning quarters is another one so to go 4-0 was a big one and then having six guys in double-figures, when you share the ball and play for each other, and sacrificing for your teammates then good things happen."

Before a concussion sidelined Harrison in the back end of NBL25, he was having the best season of his career and has only continued to improve this off-season to be ready to carry a significant burden for the Bullets.

He delivered that in spades on Friday night in his 32:23 on the floor. It wasn’t just the 24 points and 15 rebounds, but he had a massive block late, he dove for loose balls and his presence was immense.

"I'd take that every game and I tell him all the time that he's the baddest guy on the block and that's got to be his mindset and his mentality," Lash said.

"That's just the next evolution of where he is in his career is having that self-confidence and belief that if he just plays his game, it's hard to stop and that's a big body he's got."

In one game on Friday night, the Bullets were reminded how much McDaniel was missed when he injured a shoulder in the opening game of NBL25 and was sidelined for the rest of the season.

Lash was happy to trust him with the defensive job on Jackson-Cartwright and couldn’t be happier with how he helped restrict him to 16 points on 7/15 shooting with six turnovers.

"He's the tone setter for us and we chatted in the locker room as a group, and we go down the list of all the positives there and the last one is him," Lash said.

"We don't win this game without him, I mean just his level of connection and physicality and attention to the game plan that we're putting forth, it's second to none.

"Parker is unbelievable and such a talented player, and he's so quick, so just for him to be able to contain him and make him work, is all you can hope for and Sam was just phenomenal in that way."

Another player making his NBL debut on Friday night was Alex Ducas but he had a significant impact in his 19 minutes despite having a limited preparation in the pre-season. He finished with 10 points and three assists with the Bullets +21 in the 19:27 he was out there.

Lash was anything but surprised given the championship calibre he brings from the NBA with the Oklahoma City Thunder and even back when he was a teenager in the NBL1 West at the Geraldton Buccaneers.

"Through our recruitment process we said that guys with championship experience was very high on our list of attributes with a player, and to get somebody who has an NBA championship it doesn't get much better than that," Lash said.

"Just his presence for a young player is a one-and-one and his leadership, his talk and his energy, there's a gravitas to that guy. I couldn’t be happier that he's part of our program."