The Brisbane Bullets take on the Illawarra Hawks in a National Basketball League (NBL) pre-season match at the Logan Metro Centre on Friday night in what will be a key game in both teams’ preparations for the upcoming NBL season.
With a trip to the United States to play the Phoenix Suns on the schedule next month, Brisbane is likely to give plenty of minutes to their bench and development players.
Star signings such as Americans Stephen Holt, Travis Trice and Perrin Buford will make an appearance as will the likes of Aussie stars Daniel Kickert and Adam Gibson, but unless the game is super close don’t expect them to play heavy minutes.
That’s not to say the Bullets’ bench is not worth watching, far from it.
New Zealand representative Reuben Te Rangi will bring his hustle and intensity on both ends and Australian under 19s star Matt Kenyon will also get a chance to show what he is capable of.
Veterans such as Anthony Petrie and Tom Jervis will be keen to impress coach Andrej Lemanis as they fight for minutes on what is a talented Bullets’ roster this season.
One man who will get plenty of court time will be Logan Thunder Queensland Basketball League (QBL) player Mitch Young who is coming of a solid first year as a Bullet and an impressive QBL campaign.
Illawarra are a perennially underrated team who made last year’s finals series, upsetting minor premiers the Adelaide 36ers in the preliminary finals before losing to NBL powerhouse Perth.
They have returned practically the same team that almost won the competition last year.
Sharp shooting American guard Rotnei Clarke will again be one to watch, as will young Australians Nick Kay, Mitch Norton and AJ Ogilvy.
The Hawks other import players are still an unknown quantity in the NBL so there is a real chance both Demetrius Conger and Delvon Johnson will see heavy minutes on Friday night if healthy, as Hawks coach Rob Beveridge will be keen to give them time to gel with their new teammates.
With Brisbane looking to rebound from a last placed finish last year and Illawarra keen to go one step further and claim the title, Friday night’s pre-season clash will be an intriguing affair.
The game tips off at 7pm with doors open from 6pm.