Preview: NBL24 Round 4 v SE Melbourne at John Cain Arena

The Brisbane Bullets are back to Melbourne this Saturday to take on the South East Melbourne Phoenix with Hostplus Head Coach Justin Schueller confident his team is back ready to fire with the additional boost of Josh Bannan added to the lineup.

After starting his coaching tenure in the best possible note with victories against the Adelaide 36ers and New Zealand Breakers, things have hit a bit of a speed bump since for Schueller and the Bullets with the losses to the Cairns Taipans, Sydney Kings and Melbourne United.

Last Sunday's loss at John Cain Arena against Melbourne was a tough one and Brisbane will be back in the same building  on Saturday night to take on the Phoenix. Despite a tough loss, the Bullets can build on their fourth quarter success where they were able to stifle Melbourn'e offence through defensive pressure, while also finding some offensive flow to put up 33 points.

Brisbane will now play South East Melbourne on Saturday night with the Phoenix having a short turnaround from playing in Adelaide on Thursday where they defeated the 36ers.

The Bullets will come into Saturday night's game the fresher of the two teams having not played since last Sunday and with the boost of Bannan coming in to strengthen the front court and to make his NBL debut in his hometown.

For coach Schueller, he hopes his team has taken plenty from the lessons learned in the losses last weekend to the Kings and United. After a good week on the training floor, he is looking forward to what they can produce against the Phoenix.

"For us we had a rough weekend where we played two of the good teams in this league, and got a lot of lessons out of it," Schueller said.

"The frustrating thing for me was that we allowed ourselves to get in big holes, but this week we've just spoken about having an expectation on ourselves. It doesn’t matter who's on the floor or not, but we need to expect to do well and not just hope to.

"I felt last week when Banger went out, we got into a bit of a hope space and I definitely feel the way we've practiced this week that we're back to where we were before those losses. I'm looking forward to seeing if we can turn this thing around starting this Saturday night."

Schueller is under of no illusions of the importance of the game as well and knowing you certainly don't want to accrue a fourth consecutive defeat this early in the season, but he is confident and comfortable with the way things are coming together.

"There's no jumping away from it, we absolutely want a win and need a win, but it is a long journey for us and we know the games are coming quick," he said.

"That's where as long as we're taking constant steps forward, we know this thing is really going to go our way and that's how we've been approaching it with our habits daily. I'm excited to see some reward for that this weekend."

While the Bullets will again be without Baynes against South East Melbourne, he has been back at practice this week with the team. The timing for that is perfect because he allows them to get good practice up against someone with a similar build and skillset to Phoenix big man Alan Williams.

"We're doing preparation for Alan Williams this week and Baynesy is the other guy like him," Schueller said.

"So he's been able to help our prep in a really great way this week, and that's how he can impact winning for us this week so I'm excited to see what the impact will be."

The other bonus for the Brisbane frontcourt is that Bannan will make his debut in the NBL on Saturday night having overcome a knee complaint suffered during the pre-season.

Bannan is in his first season as a professional coming out of the University of Montana and Schueller is not only excited to have him back, but also for him to get to make his debut in his hometown.

"It's massive for us. Obviously with Baynesy out for a little bit longer, just to be able to add another big who gives us so much versatility at the four and four is really exciting," he said.

"I'm excited for him, it's his first pro game and he gets to do it in Melbourne and he's a Melbourne so there's something about that as well to be able to have his family and friends there. It will be a great thing for him."

While Tyrell Harrison, Rocco Zikarsky, DJ Mitchell and Matthew Johns have done well holding down the fort over the last two and-a-half games without Bannan and Baynes, Schueller is excited by what Bannan can now bring to the Bullets.

He is capable of playing both the four and five spot, is a strong defender and rebounder, and has a nice shooting touch and is a good passer of the ball, so he certainly brings plenty with him.

"People are going to see what he brings to this group and it's the reason we made him an absolute target for us in recruitment," Schueller said.

"I'm just excited to see what he can do for us on the court. He'll come in and have an impact, we really believe that.

"Whether the game rust is there or not will be something we have to wait and see, but as far as his habits and how he approaches it at the defensive end especially will add another layer to us. I'm excited to his impact."

GAME INFO

Who: Brisbane Bullets vs South East Melbourne Phoenix

Tip off: 4:30pm (AEST), Saturday 21 October, 2023

Where: John Cain Arena

Watch: ESPN via Foxtel and Kayo