Preview: NBL26 R20 Away v Tasmania JackJumpers

The Brisbane Bullets have had some time to gear up for the last four games of NBL26 beginning this Friday night on the road to the Tasmania JackJumpers before returning home to host the Cairns Taipans on Sunday.

The Bullets took part in their last game this NBL season last Wednesday night on the Gold Coast against the Adelaide 36ers and now will be back in action this Friday night against the JackJumpers at MyState Bank Arena in Hobart.

It's the first of a double-header weekend for the Bullets with them then returning home to the Brisbane Entertainment Centre for the final Sunshine Stoush of NBL26 against the Cairns Taipans.

The Bullets now have four matches in the season remaining and it begins on Friday night against the JackJumpers the third and final meeting between the two teams.

The first encounter was at the Brisbane Entertainment Centre back on October 4 where the JackJumpers won a thriller 84-82 before the Bullets won the return encounter in Hobart 83-81 on November 8.

So given both previous encounters this season were only decided by two points either way, there's every reason to suggest something similar this Friday night.

The JackJumpers come into the game sitting in sixth position with a 13-17 record but after the win on Friday night to the Illawarra Hawks that improved them to 11-18, Tasmania do need to win maintain their hold on a spot in the finals.

The JackJumpers, like the Bullets, are also suffering on the injury front with Will Magnay, Ben Ayre, Sean Macdonald and Bryce Hamilton all ruled out through the rest of the season.

There's little relief on that front for Brisbane too with only Alex Ducas cleared to return from the players who were missing last Wednesday night against the 36ers with Terry Taylor going out with a one-game suspension.

That leaves the Bullets still without Javon Freeman-Liberty, Lamar Patterson, Casey Prather, Sam McDaniel, Tyrell Harrison and Dakota Mathias.

Bullets guard Taine Murray is one of a host of players in the team who have enjoyed the chance to take a breath after playing some big minutes in the two games in 48 hours last week ahead of taking on the JackJumpers now on Friday night in Hobart.

"I think we're good coming into this game and obviously last week we had two games in three days so it was kind of a bit of a whirlwind to be honest," Murray said.

"And obviously there was a bit of backlash that came from that second game so it's just been good to have a bit of a stretch here for everyone to digest everything, get healthy and get ready to finish out these last four games we way we want to."

Having played nine games over the course of a month by the time last Wednesday night's game finished with an average of just over three days between matches, it was a welcome week long preparation for Murray and the Bullets ahead of travelling to Hobart for Friday's game with the JackJumpers.

"I think we're all really excited for these next four games that are coming up despite not technically being in contention still for the playoffs," Murray said.

"We're all really excited and we all want to finish the right way, and even though we might not be playing for the playoffs, there's a lot of positives that can come in terms of building for next year and obviously the reality is that people are playing for their jobs.

"I think we're all just really trying to play hard for each other and I think we know we're capable of getting some wins here, and are just excited for that starting on Friday night before getting home for that game on Sunday."

GAME INFO

Who: Brisbane Bullets vs Tasmania JackJumpers

Tip off: 4:30pm (AEST), Thursday 6 February, 2026

Where: MyState Bank Arena, Hobart

Watch: ESPN via Foxtel, Disney+, Kayo and Fetch