Brisbane's chances just got better. I hadn't read that Javon FL may also be missing.

At this rate, we are going to get pumped, double pumped.

See, our chances of a win are so unlikely that I might put some money on it. What do you think?

Finally our season begins!

Not as confident about the Sixers hopes now with Trez gone but with all the outs for the Bullets a good win should be expected at home.

Is Rakocevic playing for the Sixers today? If JFL is out for the Bullets will Lamar Patterson be playing instead?

I know I'm a pessimist so to continue in that flavour, please see below 4 points as to why Brisbane can win:

1. Recent record the last 6 or so games suggests Adelaide really don’t like playing Brisbane.
2. Prather also loves playing against Adelaide (he can win it off his own back)
3. Adelaide hasn’t played much together with the proper team (1 game total).
4. This whole Trez situation could drain the team energy as what tends to happen when drama strikes.

The rust could be real

Didn't think I would live to see the day where Bryce Cotton debuts for Adelaide.

Brisbane are a worry. But really, there are no excuses for Adelaide not winning this unless Brisbane play the game of their lives. Brisbane have a bit of an injury crisis and so far have travelled to NZ, Cairns and now Adelaide. But it also makes them dangerous.

I don't think we can just say Adelaide are better by subtraction. We haven't even see the new import play. We don't know how much Trez actually propped us up last year. He averaged 20 and 10. For me, Adelaide have fallen down a bit after seeing Tasmania and Melbourne because they were only favourites because of talent and nothing else.

Also, what is the go with Stu Lash? Looks like he is being nursed by the assistants. Somehow it hasn't stopped Brisbane looking reasonable. But surely this is a dreadful appointment.

The new import isn't playing today as far as I have read.

They have said, I think, that they are rolling with the team as is and then the new import arrives early in the week.

Agreed re Trez.

I don't even think the new import is in the country yet. Probably unlikely for the Cairns trip too you'd assume because of the way they like to ease new imports in.

All signs point to BNE getting trounced today but this league who knows I hope its somewhat competitive.

I don't see 36ers as clear chip faves. Certainly BC is the biggest signing of the off season but zero chips in 5 years with several similar looking supporting casts in Perth - is the rest of the 36ers roster that much better than any Cats roster of the last 5 years, I don't see it? The dude absolutely cannot do it alone despite his magic, however I'm happy to be proven wrong and would thoroughly enjoy a 70 piece over dinner today.

I would've thought the preference would be to ease Rakocevic in against a Waardenburg-less Taipans than against a much better team like Tassie with Magnay down low.

Sixers then daylight. The only chance bullets have got is I think they will lose by 20.

Even though only two key players, and three overall without Griscti, have returned we did go 0-3 against the Bullets last season. But there were other teams we struggled against too we went 0-4 against Perth.

This is arguably the most anticipated game of the whole day.

Luuuc, behave!

Wow, now I am worried, I suspect a little bit of support for the Bullets.

No Bryce hate from me. My gut feeling is usually to barrack for the underdog, but if Bryce goes for 40 that works for me too.

Cotton on fire early.

Just Bryce things

Love it

36ers D doesn't seem much better, but Cotton getting so hot it might not matter.

I know Brisbane are undermanned but also keep in mind Adelaide are two players down, I suppose

Bullets hanging tough, so undermanned. Oh my Cotton, how good, Aussie Bryce.

36ers gonna get exposed for height until Rakocevic arrives.

Cheatham looks like a good "glue" guy early though. Doing a lot of the dirty work, not forcing anything the other way to get his point either.

Erin Phillips working for the 36ers now. That's a good move by them.

Jaylen Adams and DJV both looking completely uninterested in playing any sort of defense.

That big mismatch is killing Adelaide geez

Not a lot D being played by either side.

Had this feeling Brisbane would play well and Adelaide would make hard work of it looking clunky.

Let's hope Bryce gets us home for this one.

36ers playing D is gonna be so important this year because Cotton can just cause so much trouble on a fast break where he can force guys to play him 1-1.

I know it's only half time but I'll take a 48/47 defifit against this team. Please don't say, "Yeah, but that's 'cos Bryce took a break" I concede that with BC on-court, we are sunk. Maybe, when we have a full squad too.

BC back on in 2nd q and they're up 8 in a minute and a half. Later!

Cotton gives Sixers class, plus have some smart players, have to improve D but certainly should be top four. Bullets already so many injuries, certainly having a go but just lack a bit quality.

It's Bryce Cottons world we’re all just living in it

Can't help but love Bryce...Arena and Mills will cement their place in NBL history with the biggest fumble of all time

Well, I was entertained

36ers showed they were a work in progress still at times. Some sloppy turnovers where it was just a case of two players being on different pages on what they were going to do.

Outside the obvious about Cotton, Cheatham was great on the boards and super unselfish out there where he could have taken a shot but made the extra pass to someone in a better position. 5 assists is great for a big like that. I liked the hustle of Harris and Kenyon, White needs to play within his limitations just a tiny bit more, 3 turnovers in 20 minutes is a big gross. DJV didn't shoot well, but this is probably what he's getting now. 10-12 shots instead of 16-18 shots, so needs to be happy with that going forward.

I'm a big Jaylen Adams fan, but he looked very disinterested at times, but Tyrell Harrison was fantastic and exploited the match-ups terrifically.

Certainly, the 36ers are going to need a few more games to get in synch. They also need to run a few sets for DJ to ease the pressure on Cotton. The lack of a backup centre was very evident today and Rakocevic will certainly assist. Too many small forwards, than big guys. It's a pity about Harrell as I think he would have worked in well with this team. Defence is dragged out to stop Cotton making more room inside to work.

Not one for the vault but thankfully we never looked in real danger of losing that one. My worst fear of it being the Bryce Cotton show and everyone else trying to fit in around him was realised.

DJV was disappointing can't fit in when not the man on the team, either not shooting at all or the opposite jacking up bad shots, fumbling, the works. Two seasons in and I've still got no idea how we can use him effectively. Humphries had his colours lowered by Harrison. Cheatham was good on the boards but hard hands and a lot of fumbling, reminded my of his time at NZB limited skill set despite the hype. For a supposed super smart player Isaac White makes a lot of ordinary decisions.

Anyway looked like we probably couldn't play much worse than that but got the win.

Cotton amazingness aside it was a very average game.

I liked Camerons game and the way he linked up with Ice. Cheatham will work really well as the effort guy.

The more they move the ball the better life will be DJV. Im wondering if they should go with a PG import?

Sixers are stacked with guards, huge salary locals and a big money import... if they can't win with this roster some people should be out of a job.

They look best when they play through cameron. Other than just feeding cotton isoball that is. He is just too good.

Not sure what DJV spent his off season working on but it clearly wasn't his defence or shot selection. It's this the final year of his sixers contract or does he have another year?

KET, I am starting to think the same. Do they need a bigger guard who can maybe also spend some time at the 3? Playmaking and D should be the priority. Maybe that sends DJ to the bench. Not to demote him, just to improve the balance. Then DJ can be a spark combo off the bench. I just think using an import spot on another role playing big would be a waste. I honestly think DJ could work as a scoring and playmaking 6th man this season. And that's not to judge him for one quiet game, i just think we need someone else who can defend in that starting 5.

Despite the Cotton show, it was a not great but not terrible kind of performance, but they got the job done.

Brisbane actually have a pretty deep team and have been reasonable over their first 3 games. I don't know if this coaching situation is going to end well though. I get the feeling Adams and Prather don't like it. Harrison is turning into a handful.

The glaring problem I see is size - when you put Humphries on the bench you've got basically nothing. So many times we got caught on bad rotations and Harrison had sealed one of our guards in the post. I am not sure whether this Serbian guy helps cure that, or if we need two big men. And then there's questions around if we need another point guard. I don't think Cotton should have to both play point AND find his own shot. In a perfect world one of White-DJ or Harris would go for us to pick up a point guard - I'd like the look of an Aussie like Armstrong on this team and then two import forwards and centers.

Either way Bryce Cotton is a freak and would be a freak in any league in the world. Even in the NBA I think he would still get buckets given minutes. You have to appreciate seeing him live and in person and knowing this is a world class basketball player. He does make everyone else on the court look pretty ordinary.

As far as fears about the team being built around him too much - it will be. Perth did it for basically a decade, and with some level of success. Bryce Cotton is the most bankable player in the league so I am not worried about us doing that. We just need the right supporting cast around him, and I am not entirely sure if we've got that just yet. Players will find their roles and improve and get better but I think every team in the league would make it the Cotton show.

Firstly, congratulations to Bryce Cotton. He was magnificent with 39 pts at 68%. Beat us (Bullets), on his own. His supporting cast (his team-mates) must have been horrible to have contributed so little towards their win. I didn't see them play terribly, I just did not see them do anything of consequence. The other starters combined score was less than BC's. For Adelaide to reach any heights this season his team-mates better decide to play. Otherwise, plenty of teams will smack them over the coming season.

Secondly, Tonight's commentators were all talking up Stu Lash. Happens often but tonight, late in the game, it was the main thing they spoke of. I am certainly not a coach and I don't pretend to be one. Maybe that's why I can't see what he does well as a coach. But I don't think that many others can see what he is so good at, either. Am I alone in thinking that he is horrendous?

Lastly. Congrats to Brisbane. With injuries to key players (Norton, McDaniel, Javon FL and Holt) starting to be a worry again, and with a HC (Lash) who isn't, an Assistant (Vandy) who should be, the Bullets faced one of the league's highly fancied teams Adelaide 36ers and best offensive player in Bryce Cotton. 36ers won 87/80.

Next Sat, Bullets are at home to the JJ's. Will be tough, even at full strength. Be good if some of the above can be fixed by then. At least some recoveries and, until Lash is gone, Vandy can stay in charge.

"Secondly, Tonight's commentators were all talking up Stu Lash."

The Bullets firing of Schueller to hire Lash was always a mistake. Schueller was blamed for the rash of injuries which are now continuing, and seemingly gathering pace under the coach.

Lash is good mates with the owner he was some sort of special advisor last season and then tasked with finding Schueller's replacement. It was said to be a global search that ammounted to Lash nominating himself and the Bullets, unbelievably, hiring him despite no coaching experience outside of high school. He looks clueless on the sidelines, genuinely sheapish, like a bloke that's snuck on to the court and declared himself the head coach.

To be frank NBL commentary has probably never been worse than it is now. They just go too hard trying to polish turds.

Just another BC clinic, bow down! He really is a cut above and doesnt look bad in blue to be fair.

However, lets see if the "give it to BC he will save us" offence works against good teams just like it hasnt for years, I hope there is a plan B.

Rob T, it just looks like Lash has no coaching experience at any level let alone professional. He probably knows his shit, but he doesn't even know what to say during the time outs. For some reason, his position just seems performative.

Kolzee, yes Vasiljevic has another year left on his contract after this season.

Drexler, I know it looks like that. But this is also just the nature of having Cotton isn't it? Basing an offence around Bryce also just looks Bryce is bailing a team out. But this is just how he plays. I agreed with your earlier post though about Adelaide not necessarily being any more talented than previous Perth teams, and yet are/were favourites.

MC I was thinking about that too, a bigger guard would be a good option.

Thursday will be interesting - Cairns is a hard place to play and they always play smart with Forde. Adelaide will need to be better than today, and it's not an easy way to ease in a new import.

I’m hoping the new import fits in really well as the 36ers did look seriously undersized tonight and that only gets harder against Melbourne, Hawks, Perth in particular.

One of the biggest questions kicking off this season was how Cotton and DJ would manage playing together in the backcourt, and how Cameron would handle starting as the 3-man. After just one game, it really seems like DJ might be the odd man out. Sure, he might get hot some nights and make a few tough shots, but overall, he just doesn't mesh well with Cotton. Meanwhile, Cameron looked sharp running the offense early on, feeding Humphries the ball like a true point guard.

Honestly, the best move (though it probably won’t happen) would be to slide DJ to the bench. That way, he can bring some scoring punch with the second unit and keep the scoreboard ticking while Cotton takes a breather. Running the offense with two ball-dominant shooters is tough, and Cameron showed he’s better suited as the facilitator.

Then, the team could use their last import spot on a real 3. They could go for a lockdown defender or a reliable scorer—someone they can throw on a guy like Prather if he heats up or have as a consistent weapon when Cotton is off or getting double-teamed. They really don’t need another player like DJ who’ll just force shots when he feels left out.

Absolutely MC,if he's on your team you want him on deck for 40 mins no matter what. I thought i'd be more bummed out seeing him playing for the opposition but just makes me realise how damn good he is and how lucky we are to be watching him tear it up. 36ers are now my 2nd fave team I must admit such is the gravity of BC!

Spot on, thats exactly what I'd do- 2 spots left- get some size and muscle to support Humphries, and get a 3 man who's low-ish usage but plays good D and can shoot well enough that the defense can't sag off.

Vickerman changes his starting 5 regularly, and there was even a season CG43 came off the bench - it should be about fit, so DJ should suck it up and become the 6th man and it'll work out better for the 36ers

Adelaide have one spot left now. Rakocevic is the size and muscle (hopefully) plus one more import.

So it's only been, what, a handful of games? But already I’m watching Brisbane and thinking: oh no... this feels like last year all over again. Adams out there — just brutal body language. He’s got the exact same "I don’t want to be here" vibe we saw last season. Lazy fouls, no urgency, looking like he’s half asleep while everyone else is sprinting. And if your supposed star import is giving you that? Forget it. The Bullets hung around with Adelaide until the fourth, but there was never a real sense they could steal it. If Adams had shown even, like, 20 percent more responsibility? Maybe it gets interesting. Instead, Adelaide’s defense — which, let’s be clear, is not the '04 Pistons — is handling this guy like he’s on cruise control.

Then you layer in Ducas. Lovely shooter. Strokes it clean. But Brisbane? They didn’t run a single damn thing for him. You bring in a guy with NBA shooter pedigree, and his big contribution is... some casual spacing that barely even matters because no one’s driving-and-kicking anyway. Is that a system? Or just, “Eh, we’ll see what develops?” Because I’ll tell you right now, when that dude runs into Tasmania’s defense, we’re gonna see some horror-movie box scores.

And this is where you pivot to the coaching. Lash. Yikes. Look, there’s a difference between “laid-back players’ coach” and “this guy looks like he wandered in from the crowd.” Lash looked lost. Zero sense of control. Zero structure. And this whole experiment of Goorjean farming out real responsibilities to assistants? On paper it sounds progressive. In reality it looks like a high school practice where everyone’s just calling drills. Too many voices, no hierarchy. It’s like they’re cosplaying a staff meeting. Spoiler: it’s not working.

Then you flip it. Adelaide. Let’s talk about Wells for a second — what are we watching with him? Defense, still questionable. Offense, just relying on individual shotmakers doing their thing. There’s no system that makes you sit up and say “okay, this is replicable in the playoffs.” What happens when DJ decides, “Hey, it’s DJ time” and Wells has to pull him? Does he even have the guts to do it? Because Cameron is starting to look like the guy you actually want playing next to Cotton in crunch time. Add in the very real possibility of another import, which Weston keeps teasing — that’s a lot of fires for Wells to juggle.

So I’m slapping grades on this game. Brisbane? D-minus. Ugly. Adelaide? C-plus. Because yeah, they won, but they should’ve buried Brisbane by halftime. Instead, we had to sit through 40 minutes that felt way closer than it needed to.

Frisbee 14, well presented critique (re Brisbane, anyway).

1st Para. Spot on, even if a bit too tough on Adams. I do agree with what you say about his body language but maybe he just isn't an outgoing, expressive character. I really haven't seen him much different, ever. Seems to be doing ok, so far.

2nd Para. Ducas' performance, as you rightly stated, "They didn't run a single damn thing for him.", so was more of a coaching miss. IMO, he shows good potential and will fit in well with a few more reps.

3rd Para. "And this is where you pivot to the coaching. ..." etc. A brilliant piece of literature!

4th Para. I know little about Adelaide (and any of the other teams) so will go with what you say.

"this guy looks like he wandered in from the crowd"

He sounds like it too.

The appointment of Stu Lash has to be one of the more bizarre things I've seen in 25+ years of following NBL.

Adams just does not look right. Didn't for most of last season either. Watch the clip of him throwing down the game winning dunk off a missed FT in the Sydney Kings championship year and try and imagine him doing that today. Feels like he's playing at 50% pace and about 70% fitness.

Jaylen Adams playing like he got the sniffles from North Wollongong still.

"Jaylen Adams playing like he got the sniffles from North Wollongong still." Hope that that's all it is, Lobby, and not the sh*t I wrote above.

The Bullets really need his leadership on court. All of the starters, except for Harrison, can cover for him in spells, but Jaylen is the one who runs the team and he is a constant scoring threat for us, too.

So the only way to make sense of Adam's whole "meh, I’m not interested" vibe is this: last year, he had Gorg. And when you compare Lash to Gorg, it’s like going from Phil Jackson to... I don’t even know… Norman Dale after the drunk assistant coach showed up late in Hoosiers. That’s the drop-off. At least McDaniel could have thrown out some hustle-and-defensive-energy-guy vibes, but right now, this whole thing feels like a reboot of last year’s Phoenix—lots of questionable energy, lots of “maybe it’ll click later,” and we’re literally two games into the Lash era. Honestly, Lash might need to do that classic coaching move where he schedules a fake meeting with himself, sits at the desk, stares in the mirror, and says: “You know what, you’re fired.”

And look, there were at least a couple of silver linings. Harrison? I think he actually leveled up again. At this point, isn’t he quietly playing like he’s the best true five-man in the entire league? Without him, Brisbane would have been in more trouble than George Custer backing himself into that “maybe we can take on 5,000 Lakota warriors” corner. And then there’s Patterson. And I can’t believe I’m saying this, but… Patterson actually looked hungry. And not in buffet mode. Actual basketball hunger. He had a couple of mini-moments, including bringing the ball up like he was Rich Man’s Draymond in disguise. If he can string that together for a few more games, this could turn into one of those sneaky good naturalisation stories down the line, the kind of thing that makes you say, “Wait, how the hell did this guy end up playing for the Boomers?”

Oh, and speaking of sneaky-bad moments—did anyone else immediately dry-heave when GK and Wells hijacked Cotton’s ceremony with their weird little photobomb act? It was like watching your ex-girlfriend’s new boyfriend stand next to you in the family wedding pictures. Totally unnecessary, deeply uncomfortable, and yet… somehow inevitable.

Frisbee14 do us a favour by posting more often.