The key to Bullets' newfound resilience

Will Weaver has enormous faith in his players, and those same players are fully invested in what he’s building already at the Brisbane Bullets.

The Bullets have already been thrown their fair share of adversity again to start NBL27.

They started the season without Taine Murray and Sam McDaniel before Lithuanian star Arnas Velička sustained a lower leg injury after five games.

Then last Thursday night in a victory over the South East Melbourne Phoenix, centre pair Tyrell Harrison and Jacob Holt injured their ankles.

Despite all this, there’s a big difference in the Hungry Jack’s NBL27 version of the Bullets.

They have pulled together as a unit, putting in a strong showing in Tasmania on Wednesday, before backing it up with a standout performance to beat the Illawarra Hawks in Wollongong 98-81 on Saturday.

There’s a lot about what his group is doing that Weaver likes, but the way their replacements have come in to make an immediate impact is at the top of the list.

“It’s a credit to Archie Woodhill, Raul Neto, Mawot Mag – those guys not signed to a roster anywhere is pretty nuts,” Weaver said.

“The impact they have on our team is the impact that they will have on any team that they’re a part of in the future.

“I’m grateful to have them for as long as we do, but I appreciate what a rare luxury it is to be able to bring people in after the free agency period ends and you’ve signed your 11, but have them be this quality of player and people.”

A big reason the Bullets look like such a cohesive unit just eight games into Weaver’s coaching tenure is the confidence they are playing with.

That all comes back to the faith and trust their coach has in them.

Listen to Weaver talk once, and it’s easy to understand why the players hang on to his every word and want to carry out his instructions.

What Weaver likes, in turn, is how his group continues to reward the trust he has in them.

“I get no credit; those guys get all the credit whether it’s Archie, Tyrell, Nate, Mitch, Raul, Max, you just trust them,” Weaver said.

“You’d trust them to look after your dog, you’d trust them to do your taxes, actually maybe not that, but their level of commitment and the way they’re oriented toward winning shows how clear we are about roles on our team, and what people’s strengths are.

“You’ve gotta trust the players to do what they do well, and those guys have a really clear set of skills that we’re lucky to be able to combine into a team that can present some challenges.”

Brisbane will host Cairns next on Thursday night from 8pm AEDT, live on ESPN.