Preview: NBL24 Round 15 v Tasmania JackJumpers at Nissan Arena

The Brisbane Bullets enter Round 15 of NBL24 inside the top six, and take on two teams above them starting Wednesday night with revenge on the mind against the Tasmania JackJumpers at Nissan Arena.

The Bullets have now won their last two games this NBL season to improve to a 9-11 record and to sit in sixth position, but they do need to continue to win to stay there with the South East Melbourne Phoenix, New Zealand Breakers and Cairns Taipans hot on their heels.

Then there are the teams above them which includes their two Round 15 opponents with both games at Nissan Arena starting Wednesday against the JackJumpers then backing up on Sunday against the Illawarra Hawks.

Hostplus Brisbane Bullets Head Coach Justin Schueller was proud of the way his team broke their streak in Sydney on Sunday and hopes now they can make up for a frustrating loss on the road to Tasmania earlier in the season this Wednesday night at Nissan Arena.

"Tasmania since they've been in the competition have been a team that you've got to well prepare for and know they're going to give you their best," Schueller said.

"Obviously Illawarra are having a good patch as well so for us right now it's just about this first game going in against Tassie. We dropped one by two down there last time which we were frustrated on so there's controllables there that we're really looking to rectify to put on a good show."

One concern from Sunday's win in Sydney for the Bullets is on-fire captain Nathan Sobey battling a sore foot. He has been in outstanding form averaging 27.5 points over the last five games, but the foot kept him out of practice in Brisbane on Tuesday.

However, Schueller will be giving him every chance to prove that he is able to play against the JackJumpers on Wednesday night but only if he can show he can play up to his usual level.

"He came down pretty hard on his foot so we're managing him and in all reality he's a game time decision for us," Schueller said.

"We're pretty confident he'll play but it's one we'll review closer to the game to know if he'll be with us or not. We're in a world where we just need to focus on winning the next game, but we're never going to put an athlete at risk either.

"He won't be able to cause more damage so we're good in that space, but it's more about if he'll be able to go to the level he can and we don't want to put people out there if they can't play to the level they can. At this stage we do feel pretty good about him playing."

New signing Casey Prather will be playing his 90th game in the NBL on Wednesday night and his second with the Bullets but it will be a first for the three-time championship winner to play against the Tasmania JackJumpers.

They have only entered the league since Prather's last stint at Melbourne United, but he knows several of the players on the team and is looking forward to taking them on.

"I have seen a bit of them on film the last few days and I actually watched a game they played when I was back home and it surprised me that they were playing because they weren’t around when I was here," Prather said.

"But I know a little bit about them and I know some of the players. I'm familiar with Jordon Crawford's game a little bit, same with Doyle and then guys like Drmic I remember playing against in the league before. I'll do my film and my research, and I'll be good to go."

Prather showed encouraging signs in almost 11 minutes during Sunday's win against Sydney with eight points and two rebounds, but he is only just warming after his first game in two and-a-half years.

Back-to-back knee injuries robbed Prather of playing the past two seasons, but back in 2020/21 he was the MVP in Israel. Not only does he hope to get back to that level with the Bullets, he also has some new tricks that he can't wait to soon show the Brisbane public.

"I got a taste of it a little bit for the first game when I heard the crowd as I first ran out and the energy of the crowd is amazing here so I can't wait to really just give them everything I've got," Prather said.

"They haven't seen nothing yet from me. I was able to go out there and make some shots and run around, but in the off-season I was able to add a lot more to my game than I think the NBL has seen for a while.

"Two years ago I was in Israel and won MVP and I was doing a lot more things that I wasn’t doing in the NBL when I was here. I was kind of young then so I'm just excited to get my legs and show the fans, and the league, what they've been missing."

GAME INFO

Who: Brisbane Bullets vs Tasmania JackJumpers

Tip off: 6:30pm (AEST), Wednesday 10 January, 2024

Where: Nissan Arena

Tickets: Available Here

Watch: ESPN via Foxtel and Kayo

Listen: SEN Q Radio