Pearl of wisdom inspires Smith show
IF this game was played 12 months ago, Jamie Pearlman would not have had the chance to get in rookie Scoochie Smith’s ear after a lacklustre debut performance in the NBL.
Usually, the Cairns Taipans just have the one travelling assistant coach, with the other remaining in the Far North.
Last year that was Pearlman staying in Cairns as Gordie McLeod travelled and this season it is Pearlman registering the frequent flyer miles as Jamie O’Loughlin stays home.
After Smith’s breakout game yesterday afternoon in the victory over the New Zealand Breakers, the Dayton Flyers alum credited the QBL championship-winning coach for his 18-point and five-assist display, which propelled his club to their second win this week.
“I was just trying to stay aggressive,” Smith said.
“Our assistant coach Jamie Pearlman came to me before THE Brisbane Bullets will have one eye firmly focused on their NBL round-two clash against the Cairns Taipans as they take to the court in the US next weekend.
The Bullets will back up their opening-round loss in Perth this weekend with an exhibition game against NBA side Phoenix on Saturday, as part of the new partnership between the two leagues.
They will then return to Brisbane to host the Taipans on October 20 and will back that up with a tough schedule of games against Illawarra, New Zealand and Melbourne before the end of the month.
Thankfully, of the NBL contests, only the game against Illawarra is away from Brisbane.
Bullets coach Andrej Lemanis said a lot of planning had gone into the expected management of players over this tough period.
“I’m not going to play people the game and just told me to keep being aggressive after our first game of the season.
“I was just getting into the flow of the NBL so I tried to keep that in my mindset and help my team get a victory.”
Smith pulled out the party tricks against the Kiwis, crossing up Breakers veteran Mika Vukona at one stage and having his fingerprints all over a game-changing 10-0 run in the middle of the third term that into the ground,” he said.
“It’s a 48-minute game and Kicks (Dan Kickert) isn’t going to see 48 minutes.
“We need to be smart with load management and ... giving people opportunities.
“There are things we can work on in that game that can help us when coming back against Cairns.”
The Bullets spent no time preparing for Phoenix during the lead-up to Saturday’s clash against the Wildcats. They pushed the reigning premiers for the first three quarters before losing by 10 points.
Lemanis said the challenge the club faced was representing the NBL and themselves well but returning home in good enough shape to tackle the schedule facing them.
By the time they get back, teammate Mitchell Young will hopefully be a step closer to returning to action. The forward is suffering from glandular fever but has been given the all-clear to begin cardio work. gave his Snakes all the confidence going forward.
Breakers coach Paul Henare said his club struggled to wrestle the momentum back after Smith got the Snakes going in the third term.
“There was a few unforced errors that comes from sharpness that comes from playing games,” Henare said. “There is a few things we need to work on but I do not think we need to reinvent the wheel.”