Preview: Round 8 at Sydney Kings

The Brisbane Bullets will be looking to make it two wins from two against the Sydney Kings this Sunday, when they meet again at Qudos Bank Arena.

Brisbane got off to a slow start against the Kings at Nissan Arena on Friday night, with the visitors leading 30-15 at the quarter time break.

However, the Bullets continued to fight their way back into the contest, before reaping the rewards for their resilience in the fourth quarter.

Going into the final term, the Bullets trailed Sydney by seven-point. But an 8-0 run to start Q4 saw Brisbane take a lead very quickly into the half. Another impressive run without conceding soon after saw the hosts take control of the match, which they ended up winning by nine.

After four straight games at home, the Bullets are set to take the road for the first time since mid-December, where they had two-games in Perth. After hosting the Kings, they’ll now visit Sydney’s Qudos Bank Arena for the reverse fixture of this matchup.

Match Details

Tip-off: Saturday, January 23 at 12:00pm AEST

Venue: Qudos Bank Arena

Broadcast: Live on ESPN, Kayo Freebies and on 10 Peach

Tale of the Tape

While the Bullets have bragging rights over the Kings until Sunday’s matchup, Qudos Bank Arena has been a fortress against the Bullets in the past.

Sydney have won their past six meetings at the venue, but the last meeting in Sydney was a one-point win in the Kings’ favour, so the Bullets have been close in the past.

The Kings also lead the all-time head-to-head matchup between the two teams, having won 47 games from the 84 clashes.

The most recent meeting on Friday will give the Bullets plenty of confidence heading into Sunday’s match.

Recent Form

Bullets: L-W-L-W-W

Kings: W-L-L-L-L

The win over the Kings on Friday was an important marker for the Bullets, who won consecutive NBL games for the first time this season.

As well as a win over the Kings, Brisbane have won games against the Perth Wildcats, Illawarra Hawks and South East Melbourne Phoenix. They now have a 4-3 record, and have jumped to fourth on the League standings after their most recent win.

The Sydney Kings have lost four NBL games in a row for the first time since November 2017.

Fourth-quarter blowouts seem to be the Achilles heel for the Sydney-outfit, who have had double digit leads before losing in their last three outings.

Players to Watch

Nathan Sobey – Brisbane Bullets

Nathan Sobey will suit up for his 200^th NBL game on Sunday. As he often does, Sobey led by example in the win over the Kings on Friday night. When the team needed him the most, the guard stood up, on his way to a season-high 30-points.

He was incredible in the performance, also notching up his 300^th assist with the Bullets in the win on Friday night. Sobey drained three three-pointers and added 11 free throws from 13 attempts.

Last season Sobey averaged a League-high 26.6 points per game against the Kings, and he was well and truly in a vein of form to start round eight. If he can continue this impressive streak in, then expect plenty of fireworks from the 31-year-old.

Another player to watch out for is Robert Franks, who notched up his second double-double in as many games during the win over the Kings. He’s proven lethal from beyond the arc, and he’s also a consistent rebounder for the Bullets.

Captain Jason Cadee has also been a standout over the last two wins, with his +/- in both of those games especially impressive. In the game against Sydney, he had a plus/minus of 24 off the bench – also adding 18 points.

Jaylen Adams – Sydney Kings

Adams was the standout for the Kings on Friday night, shooting 50% from beyond the arc on his way to a 33-point haul.

The guard also had six assists and four rebounds, in what was a strong all-round performance.

Centre Jarell Martin was another key player for the Kings once again, scoring 18-points of his own. He also had 12 rebounds on his way to a double-double.