New-look Bullets back for return battle

Adelaide 36ers will be looking for a clean sweep of their four-game home stand when Brisbane Bullets come back to town on Thursday night.

The 36ers have won their past three matches at home and will be confident facing a Bullets side they beat by 31 points on December 17.

But this Bullets side on will be much different, it’s going to be at full strength and fresh off of Tuesday night's 97-93 overtime win against Perth Wildcats at home.

Adelaide will also have a new look with Ian Clark in the line-up and set to hit the court for the first time.

Thursday night poses as a great opportunity for the 36ers to make their mark and setup the back end of their NBL23 campaign, but never underestimate the talent Brisbane have on their roster.

THE KEY
Nathan Sobey will be out to prove his last visit to Adelaide was just a once off.

The Tokyo 2021 Boomers bronze medallist scored just five points and went 1/9 from the field two weeks ago and expect a different Sobey come Thursday night.

Sobey has been averaging 14.5 points, 4.8 assists and 3.8 rebounds per night in NBL23 and 36ers fans know all too well the combo guard can take over a game by himself, as he showed with his game-high 30 points and nine assists in the Bullets' victory over the Wildcats.

Expect Sunday Dech to again go to Sobey from the tip off as Adelaide play the balancing act on defence by limiting Sobey’s penetration to the hoop while also trying to shut down his influence from beyond the arc.

Sobey is too much of a talent to have two games with no influence and with the Bullets now back to full strength, a fit and firing Sobey can lead from the front.

THE SECRET
Healthy bodies go a long way in being successful and the Bullets have had their fair share of setbacks so far in NBL23.

When the Bullets visited Adelaide on December 17, the Bullets were missing import guard Tyler Johnson and swingman Tanner Krebs, two vital pieces to their perimeter rotation.

Boomers big man Aron Baynes has missed games, so too has Sobey and livewire forwards Gojork Gak and DJ Mitchell.

Both Johnson and Krebs were instrumental against Perth on Tuesday night and will come into Thursday night’s game full of confidence and Brisbane will be at full strength for the first time in a long time.

A team at full strength is a dangerous proposition, regardless of where they sit on the ladder. A full roster gives head coach Greg Vanderjagt the correct rotations and he can also throw different line-ups at Adelaide throughout the match.

THE FINAL WORD
Adelaide will and should go into this match feeling good, but the 36ers know they need to bring their best every night to keep their winning streak going.

The Bullets have nothing to lose, everyone expects them to lose and that can be a scary prospect for an Adelaide side looking to get their playoff push started.

The 36ers are 3-0 since head coach CJ Bruton’s ‘mini training camp’ and the introduction of Kai Sotto into the stating line-up.

But after Daniel Johnson’s 20-point performance on Christmas Eve, it will be fascinating to see if Bruton goes back to DJ in the starting quintet.

To have the luxury of Johnson and Clark off the bench and the extra rim protection Sotto brings to start the match, Adelaide might just have found the rotations they were searching for.

How Clark goes in his first time on the floor in 36ers blue will be interesting, everyone will be wanting to see the NBL22 version of Clark straight from the opening tip, but expect the 2017 NBA champion to ease his way into the season and rotation.

DEPTH CHART
Cadee | Johnson
Sobey | Bach
White III | Krebs
Mitchell | Gak
Baynes | Froling