HAMMER SAYS BULLETS HAVEN’T NAILED MIX
FOUR-TIME Olympian and NBL great Shane “Hammer’’ Heal says US import Stephen Holt is a “luxury’’ the Bullets cannot afford.
Ahead of tonight’s clash between Brisbane and New Zealand at Auckland’s Spark Arena, Heal says there is no disputing Holt’s ability but questioned if he was the right fit for the Bullets.
Fox Sports commentator Heal said with former Chicago Bulls and Boomers power forward Cameron Bairstow (knee) missing the 2017-18 NBL season, the Bullets lacked athletic tall timber and were guard-heavy.
Holt was pushed back to the bench for Brisbane’s past two games with 2012 Olympian and dual NBL title winner Adam Gibson thrust into the starting five after overcoming a calf injury.
With Gibson starting, the Bullets went within a whisker of beating Adelaide in Adelaide then defeated the league-leading Breakers to move to a 4-7 record. Holt had a quiet start to the season before exploding with a 17-point haul against his old club Melbourne in a Round 4 upset victory.
Bullets coach Andrej Lemanis has strongly defended his import’s output in the past saying Holt’s main job was to defend the opposition’s best guard. He said Holt was coming off the bench to open up more scoring opportunities for the classy combination guard.
Holt is averaging 9.7 points, 3.9 rebounds, one assist, 1.3 turnovers and 29 minutes a game as well as a 44 per cent field goal average including 28 per cent from three-point range.
Heal said the Bullets have got the delicate recruiting mix wrong.
“I think they are covered (for guards) and Holt is just the luxury they can’t afford to have,’’ Heal said.
“They would be much better having someone that complements (Daniel) Kickert and (Tom) Jervis.”