15
Dec
Opinion & Analysis
Bullets unravel as Stu Lash faces brutal reality
Brisbane Bullets head coach Stu Lash. Photo: James Worsfold/Getty Images
Highlights
Brisbane Bullets unravel under Stu Lash as losses mount and NBL26 season slips away.
- Bullets 5–13, six straight losses and league-worst average losing margin
- Injuries and roster churn expose lack of structure and identity
- Lash faces scrutiny over inexperience and huddle command
- Effort, defence and cohesion questioned publicly by commentators as Brisbane staring at another bottom-two finish
Brisbane Bullets head coach Stu Lash told basketball.com.au’s Banjo Tucker when he was appointed: "You can’t skip steps".
The irony is the Brisbane Bullets and Lash have and it’s becoming more and more evident as each game of the NBL26 season passes.
The Bullets are 5-13, have lost six straight, 10 of their last 11 at home, have been blown out by more than 20 six times this season and have an averaging losing margin of 17.8 points.
Brisbane has been devastated by injuries, losing star forward Casey Prather and Lamar Patterson for the season, import Javon Freeman-Liberty departed early but has since returned, import and former NBL MVP Jaylen Adams released after being asked to come off the bench, veteran Mitch Norton missed a large chunk of the season as well as Sam McDaniel.
For an experienced, gnarled head coach these are tough challenges to overcome.
Lash, 47, is a first time head coach at senior level.
It’s not to say he isn’t an exceptional basketball mind. He was the Memphis Grizzlies director of player personnel and basketball development from 2012 to 2014, he worked with Brisbane Bullets chairman Jason Levien at the Grizzlies and Levien Sports Representatives prior to his NBA appointment. He reunited with Levien, who was the Grizzlies CEO, in Brisbane in January 2023 as an basketball advisor.
These roles don’t just happen but missing from Lash’s resume are “head coach” and “assistant coach”.
Last week at a Bullets members’ forum in Brisbane, Lash was asked two pointed questions: Was he the right man for the job and would consider stepping aside?
“I understand the question, and as we said earlier, we as an organisation are evaluating everything right now,” Lash said.
“I have a deep care and love for this club, and I’m willing to do whatever needs to be done to put this club in a position to be successful.
“Those are conversations that are actively happening right now.
“I can’t get into all the granular details, but I understand the question and why it’s being asked.”
The Bullets scored just 62 points against the Perth Wildcats in the last game of Round 12. The loss was made even worse by the body language and effort given by many Bullets players with NBL sideline commentator Ariana Prather, who is the wife of Casey Prather, pointing out there was "too much bickering" and not enough "brotherhood" within the Bullets group.
Lash has been criticised – a lot – for the way he defers to assistant coaches Darryl McDonald and Greg Vanderjagt during timeouts. Damon Lowery criticised Lash’s instructions out of a time out against the Wildcats as being not pointed enough while Prather said he should be concentrating on the defensive side of the ball instead of offensive execution.
Being a professional head coach is a brutal game. Players are lauded in wins and coaches left holding the bag in losses. It’s not fair but it’s the reality of the gig.
There is no question that Lash’s command of the huddle is different to 40-year and six-time NBL champion head coach Brian Goorjian, 23-year coach Mike Wells (an assistant for 20 of them), 16-year assistant and head coach Josh King, 14-year assistant and head coach John Rillie, 28-year three-time NBL champion assistant and head coach Dean Vickerman, 15-year assistant and head coach Adam Forde, and reigned NBL coach of the Year Justin Tatum is 19 years as an assistant and head coach.
Is it fair to isolate a single frame of each coach during game time-outs, no. But ownership of the most important two minutes during ball games, especially when the chips are down is the thing for head coaches.
A single moment doesn’t define a coach’s approach but ESPN’s “listen in on the coach” open mike during selected timeouts showed a stark difference between Tatum and Lash in their round 12 clash last week. Tatum was direct with instructions, Lash was broad.
The Bullets are 114-165 (.409) since re-entering the league in the 2016-27 season, a punishing stretch for the fans of the three-time NBL championship club.
There are 15 games left in Brisbane’s season. The Bullets are now in a battle with Cairns for 9th. Brisbane “won” back to back wooden spoons 2016-17 and 2017-18 and have never finished higher than 5th (2019-20).
The Brisbane Bullets are at a crossroads again, just 18 games into NBL26.
Brisbane's Overall Record Since its return (2016–17 to 2025–26)
- Games: 279
- Wins: 114
- Losses: 165
Winning Percentage: 40.9%
2025-26 Season Record
Round 1
- New Zealand Breakers 95 Brisbane Bullets 104 (Spark Arena)
Round 2
- Cairns Taipans 83 Brisbane Bullets 82 (Cairns Convention Centre)
- Adelaide 36ers 87 Brisbane Bullets 80 (Adelaide Entertainment Centre)
Round 3
- Brisbane Bullets 82 Tasmania Jackjumpers 84 (Brisbane Entertainment Centre)
Round 4
- Illawarra Hawks 116 Brisbane Bullets 89 (WIN Entertainment Centre)
Round 5
- Perth Wildcats 93 Brisbane Bullets 110 (RAC Arena)
- Brisbane Bullets 86 Melbourne United 95 (Brisbane Entertainment Centre)
Round 6
- New Zealand Breakers 83 Brisbane Bullets 84 (Auckland, NZ)
- Brisbane Bullets 86 South East Melbourne Phoenix 109 (Brisbane Entertainment Centre)
Round 7
- Brisbane Bullets 113 Cairns Taipans 85 (Brisbane Entertainment Centre)
- Brisbane Bullets 79 Sydney Kings 116 (Brisbane Entertainment Centre)
Round 8
- Tasmania Jackjumpers 81 Brisbane Bullets 83 (MyState Bank Arena)
Round 9
- Brisbane Bullets 84 New Zealand Breakers 113 (Gold Coast)
- Melbourne United 99 Brisbane Bullets 93 (John Cain Arena)
Round 10
- Brisbane Bullets 76 South East Melbourne Phoenix 103 (Brisbane Entertainment Centre)
Round 11
- Adelaide 36ers 90 Brisbane Bullets 65 (Adelaide Entertainment Centre)
Round 12
- Illawarra Hawks 100 Brisbane Bullets 85 (WIN Entertainment Centre)
- Brisbane Bullets 62 Perth Wildcats 86 (Brisbane Entertainment Centre)
Average Loss Margin
- 13 losses
- Total points lost by: 232
- Average loss margin: 17.8 points
Brisbane Bullets Losses — Worst to Best
- Sydney Kings 116 Brisbane Bullets 79 (37 pts)
- Brisbane Bullets 84 New Zealand Breakers 113 (29 pts)
- Illawarra Hawks 116 Brisbane Bullets 89 (27 pts)
- Brisbane Bullets 76 South East Melbourne Phoenix 103 (27 pts)
- Adelaide 36ers 90 Brisbane Bullets 65 (25 pts)
- Brisbane Bullets 62 Perth Wildcats 86 (24 pts)
- Brisbane Bullets 86 South East Melbourne Phoenix 109 (23 pts)
- Illawarra Hawks 100 Brisbane Bullets 85 (15 pts)
- Brisbane Bullets 86 Melbourne United 95 (9 pts)
- Adelaide 36ers 87 Brisbane Bullets 80 (7 pts)
- Melbourne United 99 Brisbane Bullets 93 (6 pts)
- Brisbane Bullets 82 Tasmania Jackjumpers 84 (2 pts)
- Cairns Taipans 83 Brisbane Bullets 82 (1 pt)
Latest Power Ranking: 10. Brisbane Bullets
Record: 5–13 │ Streak: L-L-L-L-L │ Pts For / Against / Diff: 1,543 / 1,718 │ Avg: 85.7 / 95.4 │ Diff: -175 │ Last Week: 9
- Why They’re Here: The league’s most fragile team right now. Defense collapses, confidence wavers, energy and effort disappearing and losses are stacking.
- Trending Up: Very little. Every game is closer to the end of the season for the Bullets.
- Outlook: Spoon odds rising fast.
2024–25 NBL Season
Ladder: 8th
Games: 29 │ Wins: 12 │ Losses: 17 │
Pts For: 2,678 │ Pts Against: 2,838 │ Diff: –160
2023–24 NBL Season
Ladder: 7th
Games: 28 │ Wins: 13 │ Losses: 15 │
Pts For: 2,458 │ Pts Against: 2,534 │ Diff: –76
2022–23 NBL Season
Ladder: 9th
Games: 28 │ Wins: 8 │ Losses: 20 │
Pts For: 2,365 │ Pts Against: 2,600 │ Diff: –235
2021–22 NBL Season
Ladder: 8th
Games: 28 │ Wins: 10 │ Losses: 18 │
Pts For: 2,379 │ Pts Against: 2,500 │ Diff: –121
2020–21 NBL Season
Ladder: 6th
Games: 36 │ Wins: 18 │ Losses: 18 │
Pts For: 3,204 │ Pts Against: 3,274 │ Diff: –70
2019–20 NBL Season
Ladder: 5th
Games: 28 │ Wins: 15 │ Losses: 13 │
Pts For: 2,607 │ Pts Against: 2,557 │ Diff: +50
2018–19 NBL Season
Ladder: 4th
Games: 28 │ Wins: 14 │ Losses: 14 │
Pts For: 2,503 │ Pts Against: 2,480 │ Diff: +23
2017–18 NBL Season
Ladder: 8th
Games: 28 │ Wins: 9 │ Losses: 19 │
Pts For: 2,347 │ Pts Against: 2,487 │ Diff: –140
2016–17 NBL Season
Ladder: 8th
Games: 28 │ Wins: 10 │ Losses: 18 │
Pts For: 2,268 │ Pts Against: 2,392 │ Diff: –124
About the Author
Peter Brown is the head coach of the Sydney Comets Women’s Youth League team in the Waratah Basketball League in NSW. He is also the assistant coach for the Comets NBL1 women’s team in the NBL East Conference. Peter is a 30-year journalist, starting as a sports reporter at the NT News in the early 1990s. He played junior basketball for the Northern Territory at national championships from U16 to U20 and for the Territory’s senior men’s team at numerous international tournaments. Peter has been a basketball fan since the early 80s, especially the NBA. Basketball is his passion — and his opinions his own. Email peter.brown@basketball.com.au with feedback. Any email feedback on articles sent to Peter can be published on basketball.com.au for others to read.
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