Bullets show heart in two games in three days

Brisbane Bullets coach Stu Lash was happy to see the fire ignited underneath Jaylen Adams but in the big picture, is delighted with the whole group over two games in three days on opposite sides of the country.

While still missing Sam McDaniel, Mitch Norton and Jacob Holt, having lost four straight matches including by 27 points to the Illawarra Hawks, and facing two top teams in three days across the country, the odds were stacked against the Bullets.

However, in the end they went ever so close to come away with two miraculous wins having started off in Perth on Wednesday with a brilliant all-round performance to beat the Wildcats 110-93.

They were then straight back to the Brisbane Entertainment Centre on Friday night to host a fresh and undefeated Melbourne United, and then suffered another blow with the loss of Alex Ducas two minutes into the game with an ankle injury.

And the Bullets even found themselves down 20 with 6:35 to play, but then went on an 18-1 run inspired by Adams and it was just a three-point ball game with a minute to play.

They couldn’t quite complete what would have been a stunning two-win display in three days, but across the eight quarters this week, Lash couldn’t have been prouder of what his team produced despite what the outside noise might be saying.

"A lot of it is a credit to the players and the staff with what we're doing here every day, and for people to continue to question that on the outside that aren’t here, I know there's a narrative out there," Lash said.

"Quite frankly it's bullshit and our guys come to work every day with the right attitude, the right effort and there's a total buy in with what we're doing.

"For certain people to question our culture, you don't even know what the culture is unless you're with us every day. Culture's not a thing you see, it's a thing you feel and I know what these guys are about.

"You don’t give that kind of effort if you're not all in. If there's problems, we lose by 30 tonight and other teams in this league are losing by that night in and night out.

"We've probably had two bad quarters of basketball this season so I challenge anyone on that and I believe in what we're doing, and I know our guys do."

Coming off a season of mixed fortunes at the Sydney Kings in NBL25 where he showed flashes of his brilliant best but also battled a back complaint, it's been a rocky start to Adams' time at the Bullets so far in NBL26.

That saw him end up coming off the bench for both games they played in the space of three days on either side of the country this week after a passive 13 points and four assists last Saturday.

He might not have been looking for his shot much in his 17 minutes on Wednesday in Perth, but still performed well with six assists and then showed no signs of disenchantment coming off the bench again on Friday.

Adams then started to build in the third quarter including hitting an early second half three-pointer. Then with 6:35 to go in the game and Brisbane down 20 after a timeout, the 2022 MVP turned the game like few players can.

He ended scoring 15 points as part of an 18-1 run and made three triples and scored 20 points in total in the fourth quarter. He finished with 29 points, five assists, three rebounds and two blocks on 10/15 shooting from the field and 4/6 from deep.

While it didn’t quite lead to a win, Lash was happy for Adams to deliver that type of performance.

"Sometimes people forget this is a former MVP of this league and he knows what big moments are, and when players need to step up," Lash said.

"I had a really good chat with Jaylen before the game just about where his mindset was and what we needed from him, and he's a rhythm player.

"He just hadn’t really found that yet and it's no excuses, but we've had so many line-up changes and guys in and out, and guys playing different roles.

"While he's a baller, he's not this uber alpha who always wants to do it himself, and his natural inclination is to make plays for others and then seize the moment when he needs to.

"We saw flashes of this at home against Tassie where he had a command of the game, and even the first game against New Zealand when he was spreading the ball all over the place.

"Like anybody, confidence is important and hopefully he takes that from tonight that this is what we need from him.

"I'm happy for Jaylen because it's been a tough couple of weeks for him just finding his footing with everything we're doing, but he responded big time."

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Patterson is also embracing his opportunities at the Bullets in a starting role stepping up since the departure of Javon Freeman-Liberty, and feels Adams is now only just getting started in Brisbane.

"I was very happy with our fight and even during the game when we were down, it didn’t feel like they were just better than us," Patterson said.

"It just felt like we weren’t playing good and when that happens, it just takes one quick run to turn this thing around.

"That's what I was trying to preach to the guys and as for JA, I think he's here now. It woke up a beast in him and it's going to be good going forward."