No excuses from Bullets coach after ‘arse kicking’

Will Weaver watched the Brisbane Bullets do the exact opposite of their game plan and hand the Cairns Taipans exactly what they thrive on during Thursday night’s loss. Now he wants a response in Adelaide on Sunday.

Weaver went into the Bullets’ second NBL27 meeting with the Snakes with one clear message: look after the ball and don’t let Cairns feed off your mistakes.

Instead, Brisbane coughed up seven turnovers in each of the first two quarters. The Taipans pounced, piling on 57 first-half points and 10 three-pointers to open a 22-point lead.

The Bullets pushed back after the break but never got close enough to strike, finishing with 25 turnovers and conceding 20 made threes on the way to a 22-point defeat.

Weaver’s verdict was blunt.

“(It was an) arse kicking,” Weaver said.

“Full respect to Cairns, they did what they do really well by turning people over, they block shots and they collapse on you.

“Then at the other end, they have great skill and they play for each other, and that’s a testament to those players and that coaching staff.

“They’re a difficult team to play against and we made them look particularly good this evening.

“We’re No. 10 in turnovers in the league playing against the No. 1 steals team in the league, we talked about it pre-game and we talked about it all week. You don’t give yourself a chance to win with the decisions that we made in those environments.”

One heavy loss hasn’t shaken Weaver’s faith in the character and identity of his group, and he wants them to meet the 36ers head-on.

“It’s a simple game for complicated people and we have to keep focused on the boring little details that add up,” Weaver said.

“At this point in the season, we have an identity and at this point in their careers, these players have an identity.

“We’ve gotta reflect and bring that identity to one of, if not the, toughest places to play against a team that’s loaded with superstars.

“We have to embrace and get excited about the challenge of going on the road, and taking care of enough details to give ourselves a chance to win.”

The loss drops Brisbane to 4-5, while Cairns improves to 6-4 and has now won five of its last six.

Jack McVeigh led the Taipans with 23 points, 3 steals and 5/9 from deep in just 27 minutes, with Reyne Smith adding 20 points and Jonah Bolden hauling in 13 rebounds.

Taine Murray top-scored for the Bullets with 20 points on 5/10 three-point shooting, while Nate Hinton chipped in 14 points, 6 rebounds, 3 assists and 3 steals.

Brisbane takes on the 36ers on Sunday at Adelaide Entertainment Centre, live on ESPN from 5pm AEDT.