Preview: NBL24 Round 7 v Sydney Kings at Qudos Bank Arena

The Brisbane Bullets have been on a charge since last playing the Sydney Kings and now get a chance to show how far they've come against the defending champions on Sunday at Qudos Bank Arena.

The Bullets will be playing their first game on Sunday since last Saturday's heart stoppingloss in Launceston to the Tasmania JackJumpers which ended a hectic run of four games in nine days.

Brisbane had won the previous three matches in that stretch as well and now head to Sydney for this clash in Round 7 of NBL24 confident of winning on the road having already won in New Zealand and Perth this season.

The Bullets come into the match up with the champions of the past two seasons with a 5-5 record with Sydney 6-3 with both teams playing their only matches of Round 7.

Last time the two teams played was back on October 13 at Nissan Arena and it was a high-scoring affair with the sides combining for 215 points with the Kings prevailing over the Bullets 113-102.

However, that was a Brisbane team minus Aron Baynes and Josh Bannan so it's a significantly looking front court now that the Bullets possess this time around alongside Tyrell Harrison, DJ Mitchell and Rocco Zikarsky to battle the likes of Jordan Hunter, Jonah Bolden, Denzel Valentine and Kouat Noi.

Brisbane will be attempting to beat Sydney for the first time since January 21, 2022 but it's a longer run at Qudos Bank Arena with the Bullets having not won in the venue since December 9, 2017 with the Kings having won nine consecutive home matches.

Brisbane will be looking to change that run on Sunday and with a full playing squad available this time around outside of point guard Shannon Scott and Hostplus Brisbane Bullets Head Coach Justin Schueller is looking forward to seeing what his team can produce.

"I mean last time we played Sydney we didn’t have Bannan or Baynes so we'll definitely have a different look about us in how we can go about it," Schueller said.

"But what I like since we last played them is that we've definitely learned what winning habits look like so I think it's a great challenge to go into Sydney.

"It's a tough place to get wins but we've had that scenario a couple of times this year already and come out the right way, so the group is really looking forward to this one."

It has been a good week for the Bullets to refresh and recharge after playing those four games in nine days which included a road win in Perth and home victories against Tasmania and South East Melbourne before that narrow away defeat to the JackJumpers last Saturday.

A full week of practice as well can only be a good thing coming into a clash with the Kings on Sunday and Schueller is looking forward to the challenge the defending champions present.

"We asked a lot of the boys and there was definitely some tired boys coming out of that Tassie game," Schueller said.

"So just to be able to freshen up a little bit is a good thing with one game now for the next two weeks and that's definitely something that allows us to get great prep in to get ready for those games.

"It's a nice change and I'm happy with how we went in those nine days, but now we really get to lock in and move forward."

Speaking of Bannan, he is now five games into his NBL career and has been tremendously impressive in his first professional season after his college career at the University of Montana averaging 10.7 points and 6.7 rebounds a game.

His presence in the front court has been a big reason why the Bullets have won three of the five games he's taken part in, and now he's looking forward to his first chance in his career to play against the Kings on Sunday.

"It was a good couple of weeks going 3-1 in that four-game stretch over nine days so that was pretty successful, but it's always a little bit hard when you lose the last one of the four and you sort of feel like you could have got them all," Bannan said.

"That kind of sours it a little bit but we're really excited to try and bounce back this week against Sydney.

"We've grown a lot as a team since we played them the last time and we feel like that was a bit of a turning point for us. We responded really well as a team after that, got some guys back and we're excited to see where we're at on Sunday."

GAME INFO

Who: Brisbane Bullets vs Sydney Kings

Tip off: 3:00pm (AEST), Sunday 12 November, 2023

Where: Qudos Bank Arena, Sydney

Watch: 10 Peach, ESPN via Foxtel and Kayo