Exciting signs but no time to let up for Bullets

Hostplus Brisbane Bullets Head Coach Justin Schueller is seeing exciting signs that his team's hard work is paying off and they have moved into sixth spot in the NBL, but he knows the last thing they can afford now is complacency.

The Bullets produced a strong all-round performance in Sydney on Sunday to beat the two-time defending champion Kings 101-93 for the first time in the last eight attempts, and also to record a first victory at Qudos Bank Arena since 2017.

It gave Brisbane consecutive wins this NBL season to improve to a 9-11 record and to move up into sixth position which would mean they would take part in a play-in game if the season ended now.

There has been plenty to like in what the Bullets have done in the last two wins to close 2023 and open 2024 against the South East Melbourne Phoenix and Kings, but the challenges keep going.

Next up is hosting the third placed Tasmania JackJumpers at Nissan Arena on Wednesdaynight and that's where Schueller's focus is.

"That's the pressure we need as a club and level of expectation has to be there that we can get there, but you've got to go through those steps to understand what it looks like," Schueller said.

"I'm looking forward to playing Tassie. They're a great team, really well coached and a class act across the board. To come into our building and have that challenge that we have to go against a team that we may see in the playoffs is great at this point in the season."

While Sunday's game didn’t start ideally for the Bullets against the Kings who got out to a 20-10 lead, what Schueller liked was the immediate adjustments following a timeout.

Casey Prather came out and hit a three on his Bullets debut, Aron Baynes gave important minutes and then Rocco Zikarsky came on to make back-to-back baskets down low, and from there Brisbane went on to claim the eight-point win.

"It was just about speaking about everything we'd worked on this week and I thought there was a little bit of air of turning down some looks, and playing a little bit too safe at the offensive end," Schueller said.

"Then defensively we weren’t getting done what we talked about and then there was a significant change. I thought Rocco came in and really impacted the game with his rim protection and Baynsey's minutes in that period were great.

"Casey came in and had an instant impact and I felt it was the type of night where no matter where we went, everyone came in and gave us something."

The Bullets did a great job behind the three-point line at both ends of the floor on Sunday as well.

Outside shooting has been a strength of the Kings but Brisbane did well limiting them to 6/20 for the night while themselves, the Bullets made 11/24 from downtown including 3/8 from Nathan Sobey, 2/3 from Shannon Scott, 2/3 from Prather and 2/5 from Isaac White.

While the Bullets haven’t taken, or made, a whole lot of three-point shots a lot of the season, Schueller does want his players to continue to back in their outside shots.

"We're doing the work and I keep talking about the habits that are in place being outstanding," he said.

"Isaac White's a great example, his percentage on the year isn’t great but the kid doesn’t miss at practice and we've got confidence in the shots the guys are taking.

"We know they are doing the work and we keep saying that if we keep pounding the rock and staying with our habits, things will go our way.

"I just felt with this game that there was the confidence there that whether the shot went in or not, they would keep taking the shots and finding each other in good spots."

It's no surprise to see Prather come in and have an immediate impact for the Bullets in his first game despite not having played a game for two and-a-half years since being an MVP winner in Israel back in 2021.

He is a three-time NBL championship winner, but it's a combination of what he can provide on the court and showing the rest of the team what a winning attitude and professionalism is all about that is impressive Schueller the most.

"From the second Case turned up he has been impacting winning just with how he sees things, what his habits are and all the things that we're really trying to become as a club he possesses," he said.

"All year when we've been talking it's been about if an opportunity comes you have to come in and impact that, and he did that right off the bat.

"Then to come in for his first game, he turned down a dunk and it could have been 10 points in 10 minutes and it's probably the impact we have been missing at times to get that instant offence.

"He's been great in practice already and it's still going to be a slow build, and we understand it's been two years, but that's good for Case as well that he knows he's in a place that will do right by him and he'll do right by us.

"What's most exciting is that when he gets back to full strength he knows what this league is about and what winning looks like."

Bullets captain Sobey is in a brilliant vein of form too averaging 27.6 points over the last five games, but he could very well be playing the best all-round basketball of his 255-game career too which Schueller is delighted about.

"I think he's having an outstanding month and really starting to understand what winning looks like for him individually and then for him collectively," Schueller said.

"We're asking a lot of him and in this game it was great that we had a lot more support him, and that's we expect. He's getting better and better at making the right play almost every time, and the thing I love about him is his defensive impact.

"His leadership with this group when he goes about it that way on the defensive end, it's easy for everyone else to follow. He wants that challenge and he wants to be a winner, and what I'm enjoying seeing is his growth in that area."

The Brisbane offence is improving all the time as the season unfolds and scoring 196 points over these last two wins illustrates that, but Schueller still wants his team to bank on their defence.

With outstanding individual defenders like Scott, Mitch Norton and Sam McDaniel along with the rim protection provided by Rocco Zikarsky, and strong big men Tyrell Harrison and Aron Baynes, naturally the Bullets can be strong defensively.

At the end of Round 14, Brisbane are the third best defensively rated team in the league at 111.1 only marginally behind Wednesday's opponents, Tasmania at 110.8, and it's something Schueller will continue to make a focus.

"I've felt all year that we're good enough to go and have an impact in the league," Schueller said.

"We sit second in defensive rating right now which is something we want to hang our hat on and historically if you're around that mark you're always a chance.

"That's where we start always and early in the game that timeout was about if we can be better at the things we know we can do, and having that consistency.

"It's about that possession by possession mentality, we knew where our advantages were on the floor and it was about if we could get there enough.

"I'm proud of the boys for being able to stay the course and we found our own way on the floor which is huge growth for us, and there's an exciting feeling as we move forward."