IT HAS been an eventful season to date in the NBL for the Brisbane Bullets to say the least, especially over the past month where the team has been forced to make some significant roster changes in a bid to remain in the hunt for a finals spot.

Coming into the season, the Bullets were tipped as a dark horse for the championship, having cultivated a star import trio of former MVP Jaylen Adams, returning gun Casey Prather and incoming offensive weapon Javon Freeman-Liberty, as well as local talent in Tyrell Harrison and Alex Ducas.

Now 10 rounds into the season, and it is a very different looking outfit for Brisbane, and the team is slowly slipping away from the top four in the standings. Freeman-Liberty returned to the United States, Prather suffered a season-ending knee injury and the team parted ways with Adams after an underwhelming campaign.

After 10 weeks of play, the Bullets sit in eighth spot with five wins and 10 losses from their 15 outings, and are slipping behind the eight-ball in what is a competitive season. Currently on a three-game losing streak, Brisbane will be eager to get back on the winners’ list after the international break.

However, the Bullets still have the tools to make some noise, with Freeman-Liberty returning to the team as an injury replacement for Prather and Lamar Patterson donning the blue and yellow for the remainder of the season. Although the picture looks a bit less clear, there is still a path to make the play-in at the very least if their import duo can fire.

Prather was undoubtedly the team’s best performer over the first half of the fixture, which makes his loss an even more devastating blow. He was second in the competition for scoring at 24.4 points per game, and had single-handedly dragged the team to victory on several occasions with his top-tier shotmaking.

The Bullets will need someone to step up, so it will be intriguing to see if Freeman-Liberty can live up to the hype when he returns to the NBL. He has the scoring ability to be among the best in the competition, and could thrive with the added responsibility, so the import is certainly worth keeping an eye on in the second half of the fixture.

The Bullets are actually the most efficient scoring team of the competition, making a league-best 47 per cent of their shots from the field, with Harrison’s reliable efficiency having a big part in this. However, they do not get up enough shots to be among the contenders, as they commit the second-most turnovers in the NBL at 14.1 per game, so tidying up their game with the ball is a key to success moving forward.

Coming out of the international break, the Bullets have a matchup with the championship-contending Adelaide 36ers, so they will have their backs against the wall from the jump. However, if Freeman-Liberty can reach top form and they can knock off one of the heavyweight sides of the competition, it could spark Brisbane for the remainder of the season.