ONE OF the form teams of the competition in Sydney Kings will play host to Brisbane Bullets tonight in a huge contest as Qudos Bank Arena. The Kings have racked up five wins on the bounce and find themselves back in NBL Finals contention, sitting fourth on the table, with the potential to move up to third.

Strong favourites against a wounded Bullets outfit that has looked better since interim coach Darryl McDonald took over, Brisbane upset New Zealand Breakers before pushing Melbourne United all the way in a spirited performance. Now the Bullets face another formidable opponent in the Kings for their last game of the calendar year.

Sydney Kings vs. Brisbane Bullets

Qudos Bank Arena
Tuesday, December 30 @ 7:30pm

The last time these sides met was back in Round 7 on November 1 when the Kings blitzed the out-of-sorts Bullets 116-79. On that day, a 35-17 first quarter opened the game up, and aside from a rare blip in the second term (22-28), the Kings controlled the match with a 59-34 second half as well. Xavier Cooks (24 points, 10 rebounds) starred, though Kendric Davis (19 points, seven assists and five rebounds) was also brilliant. The now-injured Casey Prather managed 24 points and six rebounds.

Sydney has found its scoring the past two weeks with totals of 119 and 108, the latest coming off a 24-point Christmas Day win over Illawarra Hawks. The Bullets have struggled to score the ton, but they did get close against the Breakers with 99, and still managed 87 in the tight loss to United. All eyes will be on Tyrell Harrison as he looks to quell the influence of Cooks, having put up some terrific numbers of late.

Another Bullet to watch will be Javon Freeman-Liberty who looms as the next biggest threat for Sydney coach Brian Goorjian, though the Kings’ mentor has plenty of plans in place to work both ways up the court. Davis is averaging 23.6 points, 5.6 assists and 4.2 rebounds, while slick veteran Matthew Dellavedova has leaned into his more playmaker role by dishing off 4.8 assists per match.

Without Prather, the Bullets have lost their star, and it has come down to the work of Harrison and Freeman-Liberty, while Terry Taylor has been a welcome addition to the squad. Jaylen Adams has not quite been at his best for the Bullets that had been for the Kings in the past, but if he can find it, then watch out. It is a shame the Bullets are also without Lamar Patterson who would have been a brilliant one-two punch with Prather, which opens the door for others.

After tonight’s game, Brisbane next play on Thursday with a home match against Perth Wildcats, while Sydney travels to Adelaide to face the 36ers on Friday.