THE Albury-Wodonga Bandits’ best lineup is still a number of weeks away from hitting the floor, but coach Brad Chalmers doesn't believe it will seriously dent the team's title hopes.
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Shooting guard Daniel Sepokas hasn’t seen a minute of action this season after requiring surgery to re-inflate one of his lungs, and is still unlikely to play for three to four weeks.
Sawyer Dearborn will also miss a similar amount of time as he recovers from a broken wrist.
Despite the key absences, the Bandits have a 2-1 record after splitting a tough road trip last weekend, and Chalmers believes the likes of Mitch Donovan and Bailey Lloyd getting early minutes is a welcome upside to the injuries.
“It's a case of the next man up at the moment, I still feel like we've got some good depth,” he said.
“The positive of all this has been court time for the kids, we've played three 17-year-olds and they've played really well.
“It's not a large sample size and we'll still lean heavily on the starters, but Bailey, Harry (Gibbs) and Mitch will carry some of the load.”
Though the pressure has been fairly high early on, the starters have responded in kind.
Deba George has been on fire in the first three games, Lamar Mallory has picked up from where he left off last time he was on the Border, and Rashad Hassan has been the steady hand at centre the team needs.
Tevin Jackson has show he can be something of an x-factor as well, which Chalmers hinting at some ball handling responsibilities for the Queensland forward.
“We're trying to give him a fair bit of scope, put the ball in his hands a bit, have him initiate the offence,” Chalmers said.
“It'll be similar to a Donte Nicholas role, he's got a capability to get triple-doubles, but he's got some areas to work on in terms of poise.”
The Bandits will take on North-West Tasmania on Saturday for their Heritage Night, with tip-off from 6pm.