Self-respect matters more than reputation to the Brisbane Bullets as they continue to rattle the NBL's more fancied rivals.
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Neither the top-ranked Perth Wildcats nor Thursday night's victims the Adelaide 36ers thought much of the Bullets' offence before their trips to Brisbane.
That much was obvious based on both visiting coaches lamenting their teams' capacity to keep the lowest scoring side in the league to less than 50 points per half.
"You can't give up 60 points in a half to a team that's not a high scoring team," 36ers coach Joey Wright said of Adelaide's 108-98 loss to Brisbane on Thursday night.
The lack of respect from either Wright or Perth coach Trevor Gleeson failed to bother Bullets coach Andrej Lemanis whose team averages less than 85 points per game after six outings.
Regardless of the imminent on-court impact of new import Lamar Patterson, Lemanis is happy with the growing chemistry between his players.
"We're really not too fussed about what others are saying about us," Lemanis said.
"None of that matters. The only thing that matters is how we continue to move forwards.
"We know that we're a good basketball team. We've got an import coming but he's not the saviour."
Brisbane have underperformed in their past two seasons. But this season's roster, featuring Olympians (Adam Gibson and Cameron Bairstow), Boomers (Jason Cadee and Cameron Gliddon) and Tall Blacks (Mika Vukona and Reuben Te Rangi) is capable of more.
"We've got talent. We're starting to figure out how we all fit together," Lemanis said.
"I'm proud of our ability to weather a storm, stay together (and) stay united ... we've got a really smart basketball team.
"It's fun working with guys who care, they're passionate and they figure stuff out. They understand who we want to go at at certain times and they were able to get that done."
In recent games it was Bairstow and Gliddon who carried the scoring load.
Against the 36ers, Gibson and Vukona made some tough shots when it mattered.
Te Rangi stepped up with a career-high 29 points, including 6-9 from three-point range. The New Zealand forward has shone since he replaced departed import Alonzo Gee in the starting five.
"The biggest thing has been the coach giving me confidence," Te Rangi said.
The Bullets now have three wins from six games and can push closer to the top four when they meet the 36ers (3-4) again in Adelaide on Sunday.
Australian Associated Press
