Bullets have Kings in crosshairs

And the key to any success will be the age-old saying, “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it’’.

The resurgent Brisbane will be aiming for their four-straight win – a feat the club has not achieved since its rebirth at the start of the 2016-17 NBL season.

Away victories over Sydney, Cairns and Perth in the past fortnight have shot the Bullets from seventh on the ladder to fifth place with a 7-8 win-loss record.

The Bullets have triumphed in four of their past five outings with their last home game on December 3 sparking the rich vein of form when Brisbane beat then league-leaders New Zealand.

Despite transforming from underdog road warriors to heavy home favourites, Bullets coach Andrej Lemanis insists Brisbane’s approach will remain the same.

“For us, nothing changes. We don’t get too high on the highs or too low on the lows. Each day is the same, you come to work and try to get better,’’ Lemanis said.

“It is still all about the process. It’s been nice to get rewarded with a few wins to validate the work we have been doing and the confidence that comes with those wins certainly helps.

“We feel like we’ve been playing well the past month without getting the results but we always believed if we stayed on the right path that things would turn.

“But the competition is so tight and every team is so talented so we have to keep doing what we’ve been doing which is play well.’’

Sydney is last on the ladder at 4-13 but the Kings pushed New Zealand to the limit on Thursday night after beating Cairns last Sunday.

Brisbane also had to dig deep to come away with a hard-fought 85-77 win in Sydney in Round 9.

Lemanis has the utmost respect for the star-power at Gaze’s disposal with the likes of reigning NBL MVP Jerome Randle, explosive imports Jeremy Tyler and Perry Ellis and Boomers duo Brad Newley and Jason Cadee all presenting threats to Brisbane.

“When you look at their roster, they have tremendous talent. It always amuses me when people talk about a team at the top of the ladder playing against a team at the bottom because there’s not much difference between the two,’’ Lemanis said.

“They are a bit like us in that they’ve had their disruptions due to injury and have taken their time to find some rhythm.

“We absolutely need to come out and play well. Absolutely we do.’’

Lemanis said the way the entire Bullets squad had bought in to their roles had been central to their climb up the ladder while the return of guard Adam Gibson from a calf injury had given Brisbane invaluable poise along with good defence and the ability to hit a timely bucket.

“We missed Gibbo when he was out. He has such a great understanding of the game and such a high basketball IQ that he gets everyone on the same page quickly out there. He just knows what needs to be done,’’ Lemanis said.

BRISBANE BULLETS (5th, 7-8) v SYDNEY KINGS (8th, 4-13)

Brisbane Convention Centre

Saturday. 4.30pm

TV: Fox Sports