Bullets players rewarding Weaver's trust

Will Weaver's impact with what is building at the Brisbane Bullets is already obvious and he credits his players for overcoming early adversity whether that's an underrated star like Nate Hinton or replacements like Archie Woodhill, Mawot Mag and Raul Neto.

The Bullets have already been thrown their fair share of adversity again to start NBL27. That saw them start the season without Taine Murray and Sam McDaniel before Lithuanian star Arnas Velička injured a calf after five games.

Then last Thursday night despite beating the South East Melbourne Phoenix, centre pair Tyrell Harrison and Jacob Holt injured ankles, but there's a big difference in this Bullets team of NBL27.

They have pulled together as a unit and they put in a strong showing in Tasmania on Wednesday and backed up with a standout performance to beat the Illawarra Hawks in Wollongong 98-81 on Saturday.

There's a lot about what his group is doing that Weaver likes, but the way replacements Woodhill, Neto and Mag have come in to make an immediate impact is at the top of the list.

"It's a credit to Archie Woodhill, Raul Neto, Mawot Mag – those guys not signed to a roster anywhere is pretty nuts," Weaver said.

"The impact they have on our team is the impact that they will have on any team that they're a part of in the future.

"I'm grateful to have them for as long as we do, but I appreciate what a rare luxury it is to be able to bring people in after the free agency period ends and you've signed your 11, but have them be this quality of player and people."

Another player that Weaver shakes his head over how he continues to fly under the radar not only with how he's viewed in the NBL so far, but back in the NBA is Hinton.

A big reason Weaver was so excited to sign him was because he sees Hinton as an NBA talent, and he continues to show that in the way he might very well be able to do so many things better than anyone else in the NBL.

That was on show again against the Hawks where he finished with 21 points, six assists, three rebounds, three steals and being a +23 in his 30 minutes.

"There's no might be about it, the dude is leading us in scoring, leading us in steals, draws the point of attack offensive player almost every night, rebounds like a mad man," Weaver said.

"Yeah, he's a hell of a good guy and I can't say enough good things about him, and I'm not the least bit surprised at the impact he's having.

"NBA teams should do their homework on what this guy is like and what kind of impact he has on your team, every team that he's a part of."

Weaver knew that the Bullets were walking into a hostile environment on Saturday night against a Hawks team needing a win, but what he saw from the first possession from his team was perfect.

He couldn’t fault their energy or focus and all 11 players hit the court in the first quarter, and made an impact, and were instrumental in building a 20-point half-time lead before then withstanding a third quarter Illawarra fightback and winning by 17.

"I thought the energy and focus to start the game was just perfect," Weaver said.

"We had all 11 guys that really approached it with the mentality about making plays for others, playing with a level of focus and physicality and connectedness that helped us to establish a lead.

"Of course, in the second half there were some things for us to learn from, but with a lot of adversity for our basketball team these group of guys played their arses off."

Crucial to the Bullets looking like such a cohesive unit just eight games into Weaver's coaching tenure is the confidence they are playing with. That all comes back to the faith and trust their coach has in them.

Listen to Weaver talk once and it's easy to understand why the players hang on to his every word and want to carry out his instructions. What Weaver likes in turn is how his group continues to reward the trust he has in them.

"I get no credit, those guys get all the credit whether it's Archie, Tyrell, Nate, Mitch, Raul, Max, you just trust them," Weaver said.

"You'd trust them to look after your dog, you'd trust them to do your taxes, actually maybe not that, but their level of commitment and the way they're oriented toward winning shows how clear we are about roles on our team, and what people's strengths are.

"You've gotta trust the players to do what they do well and those guys have a really clear set of skills that we're lucky to be able to combine into a team that can present some challenges."

Triple Olympian and 464-game NBA veteran point guard Raul Neto continues to show what an intuitive signing he has been to cover for the injured Velička.

In just his second game with the Bullets and having only arrived in Brisbane last Monday before flying to Hobart on Tuesday, playing on Wednesday, flying to Sydney and then getting the bus to Wollongong on Thursday, and playing again on Saturday, he showed his class again.

Neto finished with 11 points, four rebounds and four assists in 25 minutes in his first NBL start and Weaver can't be more impressed.

"He's a pro, man, he's a total vet with total leadership from the moment he stepped off the plane," Weaver said.

"You can just feel it and he's got that aura, and he's a hell of a good guy. He fits in great with this group."