Preview: NBL24 Round 1 v Adelaide 36ers

There's great excitement this week in Brisbane and the Bullets have the chance to get things off to the perfect start in the opening of the NBL24 season on Friday night hosting the Adelaide 36ers.

A new era at the Bullets begins on Friday night at Nissan Arena with the first game of the 2023/24 season against the 36ers with tip-off to take place at 7.30pm and a huge crowd expected.

There's a lot to be excited about coming into the new season for the Bullets with Aron Baynes, new captain Nathan Sobey, DJ Mitchell, Ty Harrison and Development Player Matt Johns the only returning players.

The new faces are headed up by Hostplus Head Coach Justin Schueller, along with new imports Shannon Scott and Chris Smith, in addition to new player arrivals, Mitch Norton, Isaac White, Josh Bannan, Sam McDaniel, Gabe Hadley, Next Star Rocco Zikarsky and Development Player Tristan Devers.

The Bullets now come into the new season having produced some impressive basketball last week at the NBL Blitz on the Gold Coast including a last up win against the defending champion Sydney Kings.

Schueller is now looking forward to Friday night to put all the hard work over the off-season into the reality of playing the first game.

"We're excited to finally get it off the ground. We've taken all our learnings from the pre-season and we believe that we can really make some noise in the season ahead," Schueller said.

"We're going to be a team who it's about our actions and not our words, and we're looking forward to showing that now tomorrow night."

With a new coach and so many new faces in the Bullets team for this season, there's naturally going to be differences in what they do on court as well.

Schueller wants his team to be known for their defence and that's a big focus coming into NBL24, but he also wants Nissan Arena to become a fortress for the Bullets starting on Friday night.

"Everyone's going to be excited with the way that we play. We're going to be a hardnosed defensive team and we want Nissan Arena to be one of the hardest venues to come in and try to get a win," Schueller said.

"For us it starts at the defensive end, but offensively we're going to share the ball and play for each other. We've got some real talent on the group where individuals can shine but it's going to be the collective that gets it done and gets us to where we want to get to."

The Sixers might not have quite had the build up to the NBL season they were hoping including having already parted ways with import guard Jamaal Franklin, but there'll be no sense of anyone at the Bullets taking them lightly.

There's added intrigue with Jason Cadee lining up against his old team for the first time after returning to Adelaide in the off-season, and given they are coached by a Bullets championship winner CJ Bruton, Schueller expects a tough challenge from them.

"We expect a really hard game from Adelaide. That's a great team over there and I have a lot of respect for CJ and what he's about, but really honestly it's about us this one," he said.

"This is our first time together and anytime you get to experience a first it's exciting. For us this is our first time in front of all our home fans to show our new way, and that's all we've been talking about.

"It could be any team coming in, it's really about what we want to do, who we're going to be and what we can show."

While preparing to coach his first official NBL game on Friday night, Schueller has felt at home since his first day joining the Bullets and a big part in that is being so familiar with the majority of the players he is coaching.

"There's a bit of a luxury in that a lot of the guys have played for me before in various levels so the familiarity is there," he said.

"But what I love about our group is a willingness to want to get better every day, and the connections we've got within the group. That's where we feel it puts us in good shape for the season."

There's great depth in every area of this Bullets team coming into NBL24 including Baynes, Harrison and Zikarsky up front, and then Mitchell, Bannan and McDaniel all capable of filling multiple positions and playing a variety of roles.

Then there is the backcourt with Scott and Norton arriving to take a lot of the pressure of Sobey to let him spend more time in the two position, and then with the offensive threat of White as well as new import Smith.

It's that back court that Schueller is especially excited to now see in action starting Friday night.

"Shannon showed last year that he's one of the best point guards in the league and continued to be that guy throughout the Blitz," Schueller said.

"For us he's our floor leader and Mitch Norton backs him up and we feel really confident that at any stage of the game we're going to be able to organise and set the standard for what we need to do.

"Then there's Chris Smith and he's a talented shooter. That's what we needed alongside Sobes to open up the laneways and what I love about him the most is that he's a player who plays both ends.

"It's not just the way he shoots it, but the way he defends and holds his position is pretty exciting, and adds to the depth we've got."

GAME INFO

Who: Brisbane Bullets vs Adelaide 36ers

Tip off: 7:30pm (AEST), Friday 29 September, 2023

Where: Nissan Arena

Tickets: Available Here

Watch: ESPN via Foxtel and Kayo

Listen: SEN Q Radio