Bullets fall short of Great Expectations

Pre-season favourites, the Brisbane Bullets failed to meet the high expectations placed on them, losing their second game in as many days to the Melbourne Tigers 83-85 at the Brisbane Convention Centre last night.

The Bullets got out to a commanding 9-2 lead at the outset with a strong display from Sam Mackinnon on the floor.

But this run was halted by strong defensive rebounding by Melbourne’s Neil Mottram and the dominance of former NBA centre, Chris Anstey, who converted numerous shots under the post to help the Tigers reduce the margin to 20-15 at quarter time.

In the second term, Melbourne pressured key Bullets players to great effect. The Tigers double-teamed Brisbane play-maker Derek Rucker around the perimeter and Mark Bradtke under the basket forcing the home side out of their offensive pattern.

By the third quarter break, the Tigers had moved past an error-ridden Brisbane side to lead 65-56.

In the last quarter the Bullets fought back. Former Melbourne Tiger, Lanard Copeland, who shot an impressive five 3-point shots for Brisbane and ended the game with 19 points, netted important goals from the perimeter, while his teammate Mark Bradtke (20 points, 9 rebounds) netted four shots from the field to keep the Bullets in the game.

The Brisbane crowd went wild as the Tigers’ lead was reduced to 83-80 with 30 seconds to go. Brisbane got a defensive rebound and stormed down the court, only for Mick Hill to narrowly miss a 3-point attempt.

The Tigers brought the ball down to their end and increased their lead to 85-80, until Copeland scored an exciting 3-point shot on the buzzer to bring the final score to 85-83 to the Tigers.

Despite the stellar shooting performance of the former Melbourne Tigers, it was the organisation and consistent defensive pressure from the new guard of Melbourne Tigers, and the dominance of Anstey (23 points, 10 rebounds), that won the game.

While the Bullets have an enviable roster filled with star recruits, the side lacked cohesion and coughed up 23 turnovers throughout the game. Coach Joey Wright has put the Bullets disappointing start to the season down to the weight of these pre-season predictions.

He said “Every team I played on were supposed to be no good and we had to prove them wrong. We’ve got players who are very good, only they’re not responding.”

Brisbane will take on the Wollongong Hawks on Friday night at the Wollongong Entertainment Centre.

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