Brisbane coach Stu Lash says the Bullets “have to be better” after buckling under late pressure in their 100-85 loss to NBL champions Illawarra.
The Hawks outscored the Bullets 23-7 in the final five minutes of Thursday night’s clash at WIN Entertainment Centre to condemn Brisbane to a 12th loss from 17 games this season.
“I thought our effort was really good all night – our execution down the stretch, not so good,” Lash said.
“You know, 23-7 in the last five minutes, not taking care of the ball, making some key decisions … five for 25 from three, 14 from 20 from the foul line, 14 turnovers, and give up 10 offensive boards – the math tells you you’re not going to win a game.
“We have to be better. We’re working new guys in, there’s a little bit of a learning curve there, but we talked about this, and it was identified early, and we have to be better.”
Lash has dealt with multiple personnel changes this season but hoped the return of import Javon Freeman-Liberty, Sam McDaniel from injury, and the presence of former NBA forward Terry Taylor helps generate more wins in the next two months, starting with Sunday’s home game against Perth.
The Hawks’ victory improved their win-loss record to 6-10, and was a positive response to last Saturday’s embarrassing 93-76 home loss to Cairns.
Fed up with the Hawks’ lack of energy and effort against Cairns, and in the second-half of their 113-109 overtime victory over South East Melbourne two nights earlier, coach Justin Tatum could see the NBL champions’ title defence slipping away without much of a fight.
Tatum regrouped his squad on the training floor in the team’s final two sessions before meeting the Bullets, relegating his starting five to the third-string team usually made up of development players and injured reserves, and gave them a good old-fashioned rocket.
“It’s really (about) challenging the first five,” Tatum explained.
“That’s a challenge to them to find a way to step up and do better, because the other guys are eagerly waiting to find a way to impact the game.
“Our practices were brutal. We’re tired of other teams putting pressure on us or having a defensive mind against us that we’re not doing against ourselves in practice.
“It was a real change of tempo, the guys responded well, and you see the outcome.”
Superstar centre JaVale McGee, who finished with 30 points, 10 rebounds, two blocks and two steals, said Tatum’s “message was received”.
“Practice was extremely hard these past two days, but we deserved it,” McGee said.
“We know what happens when we lose, so we don’t want any smoke with coach. We just want to get wins, have a great December, and ride it out into the rest of the season.”
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