{"id":361112,"date":"2025-12-20T20:32:09","date_gmt":"2025-12-20T20:32:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/361112\/"},"modified":"2025-12-20T20:32:09","modified_gmt":"2025-12-20T20:32:09","slug":"open-roof-was-pretty-the-rest-of-it-not-so-much","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/361112\/","title":{"rendered":"Open roof was pretty, the rest of it not so much"},"content":{"rendered":"

Phoenix torched injury-hit Bullets 107\u201378 as McDonald preaches unity, effort and ball security.<\/p>\n

The only thing pretty about it was the open roof at John Cain Arena. There was no “new coach bump” only a thud as the South East Melbourne Phoenix<\/a> ripped even deeper wounds into the Brisbane Bullets<\/a> 107-78 in Round 13 of NBL26 on Saturday, December 20, 2025 in Melbourne.<\/p>\n

The Bullets are now last at 5-14. Former head coach Stu Lash stepped down earlier in the week<\/a> and NBL\u00a0legend Darryl McDonald handed the impossible as the interim head coach while Brisbane searches for new coach.<\/p>\n

“Stay \u2013 just try to stay together, man,” Macdonald said.<\/p>\n

“All we can do is just try to stay together. Like, I\u2019m a big believer in body language. Head dropping, you know, technical fouls \u2013 that\u2019s definitely not what we need right now.<\/p>\n

“But you know, we said it before the game: next man, next play mentality. Like, referees are referees, man. They make calls. We can\u2019t worry about that. We gotta get on to the next play.<\/p>\n

“Even early in the game, they\u2019re handing the ball in and our guys ain\u2019t even ready. So we gotta be a little bit quicker and get the ball in. <\/p>\n

“That way we don\u2019t turn it over six times on underneath out-of-bounds or full-court out-of-bounds. Just gotta get through stuff quicker. Get into stuff quicker.”<\/p>\n

\"\"\/Darryl McDonald, interim head coach of the Bullets reacts during the round 13 NBL match between South East Melbourne Phoenix and Brisbane Bullets at John Cain Arena on December 20, 2025 in Melbourne. Photo: Daniel Pockett\/Getty Images<\/p>\n

This was a comprehensive road loss for Brisbane, undone by inefficient offence, turnovers, and Phoenix\u2019s relentless pressure across all four quarters. After trailing 22\u201317 at quarter time, the Bullets were still within reach midway through the second term before South East Melbourne blew the game open with a dominant 33-point second quarter.<\/p>\n

This was a sobering performance for Brisbane against a Phoenix side that controlled pace, space, and physicality from early in the second quarter onward. While the rebounding numbers suggest competitiveness, the underlying metrics \u2013 turnovers, assists, shooting efficiency, and time in control \u2013 paint a clear picture of a game that slipped away quickly and never came back.<\/p>\n

At halftime, Brisbane trailed 55\u201338, having already conceded control of tempo and shot quality. Any hope of a response after the break was extinguished in the third quarter, where the Bullets managed just 12 points, shooting poorly and repeatedly giving Phoenix transition opportunities. The margin ballooned to as many as 35 points, with Brisbane never able to string together sustained stops or scoring runs.<\/p>\n

Brisbane led for just 1:08 of game time, with their largest lead being one point early. From there, it was one-way traffic.<\/p>\n

\"\"\/The half-time light show during the round 13 NBL match between South East Melbourne Phoenix and Brisbane Bullets at John Cain Arena on December 20, 2025 in Melbourne. Photo: Morgan Hancock\/Getty ImagesKey Details<\/p>\n

“I mean, a weird thing is we\u2019re accustomed to change, this playing group,” Bullets veteran Mitch Norton said.<\/p>\n

“We\u2019ve had guys in and out of the roster all year. The biggest thing for me is, like, when you\u2019re going through a really tough period, like, why do you play basketball?<\/p>\n

“Is it the love of the game? Is it for your family? Whatever it is, you need to come back to that. And play for your brother next to you. Look to the left, look to the right.<\/p>\n

“It doesn\u2019t matter who steps foot on the floor. I thought (Jacob Holt)\u00a0Holty, (Jack Purchase) Purch, you know, came and gave us really good energy and effort. <\/p>\n

“Purch got his opportunity, knocked down shots, had a couple of blocks at the rim. And Holty is just a workhorse, man. <\/p>\n

“He brings energy and effort, something that at times we\u2019ve lacked.”<\/p>\n

Amid all the doom and gloom, the Bullets are last but just three games back of sixth. But the window is closing quickly.<\/p>\n

“Just putting it all out there, man,” McDonald said of what the Bullets needed to do the rest of the season. <\/p>\n

“Putting it all out there on the floor. Play every possession like it\u2019s your last.<\/p>\n

And it\u2019s easy for me to say that, right? But we need bodies to play the way we want to play. It\u2019s hard. Going into this next game, we may have seven or eight guys.<\/p>\n

But when your opportunity comes, take advantage of it. Like he talked about Jack \u2013 this is your opportunity. Holt\u2019s gotta play more. Tohi (Smith-Milner)\u00a0gave us good minutes.<\/p>\n

“So again, stay together. But when your opportunity comes, take full advantage of it. Give me a reason to play you. That\u2019s gonna be the main thing.”<\/p>\n

Key Team TakeawaysTurnovers were decisive: Brisbane committed 28 turnovers, directly fuelling Phoenix\u2019s transition offence and ballooning the margin.Ball movement stalled: Just 12 assists on 25 made field goals highlights stagnant half-court offence.Shooting inefficiency: Sub-37% shooting overall and limited paint efficiency made it impossible to keep pace.Rebounding wasn\u2019t the issue: Brisbane actually won the rebound count (+5), but failed to convert second-chance looks into momentum.Brisbane Bullets \u2013 Player BreakdownTop ScorersJavon Freeman-Liberty \u2013 17 points (5\u201319 FG), 5\u20136 FT
High-usage night but struggled for efficiency, committing 5 turnovers under pressure.Jacob Holt \u2013 10 points, 6 rebounds
Perfect 3\u20133 FG, provided energy off the bench but limited minutes in a game that was already breaking open.Jack Purchase \u2013 9 points (3\u20135 FG, 2\u20134 3PT)
One of the few perimeter players to find rhythm.Starting Unit AnalysisAlex Ducas \u2013 7 points, 2 rebounds, \u201321
Couldn\u2019t impact the game offensively and was stretched defensively.Mitch Norton (C) \u2013 6 points, 5 assists, 5 turnovers, \u201322
Heavy defensive pressure disrupted Brisbane\u2019s primary organiser.Tyrell Harrison \u2013 9 points, 12 rebounds, 3 blocks
Strong interior presence statistically, but limited offensive touches.Sam McDaniel \u2013 7 points in 13 minutes
Efficient shooting, but minimal overall influence due to reduced minutes.Terry Taylor \u2013 7 points, 6 rebounds, \u201329
Couldn\u2019t impose himself physically against Phoenix\u2019s frontline depth.Bench ImpactTohi Smith-Milner \u2013 6 points, 4 rebounds
Drew fouls but struggled finishing (1\u20134 FG).Taine Murray \u2013 Scoreless in 11 minutes
Limited impact as Brisbane searched for scoring sparks.Tactical & Structural Issues<\/p>\n

1. Ball Security
Phoenix\u2019s perimeter pressure (14 steals) completely dismantled Brisbane\u2019s offensive flow. Entry passes, dribble handoffs, and weak-side reads were repeatedly disrupted.<\/p>\n

2. Half-Court Creation
Without consistent paint touches or advantage creation, Brisbane settled for late-clock attempts and contested jumpers.<\/p>\n

3. Transition Defence
Live-ball turnovers translated into easy Phoenix scores, preventing Brisbane from ever setting its defence.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Phoenix torched injury-hit Bullets 107\u201378 as McDonald preaches unity, effort and ball security. The only thing pretty about…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":361113,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[574],"tags":[64,63,726,85],"class_list":{"0":"post-361112","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-basketball","8":"tag-au","9":"tag-australia","10":"tag-basketball","11":"tag-sports"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/361112","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=361112"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/361112\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/361113"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=361112"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=361112"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=361112"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}