AUS - Gallant Tigers Succumb to Bullets Firestorm

AUSTRALIA (NBL) - The Brisbane Bullets game plan for the 2007 NBL grand final series was to test the legs of the older Melbourne Tigers. Bullets coach Joey Wright believed his reserves could outplay Melbourne's bench, that this extra depth would wear down the Tigers over the series, enabling his team to force crucial turnovers with their pressing defence.

And while many predicted this series would be a five game classic, Wright's plan unfolded with near perfection in game four. Brisbane forced Melbourne into 26 turnovers for the match, claiming their first championship in 20 years, three games to one, with an intense, bruising but skilful 103-94 win.

There had been danger signs for Brisbane for the best part of three quarters as, much like game two where Melbourne overran the Bullets, the Tigers remained in the contest despite being thoroughly outplayed.

The game was decided, however, in a defining three minute spell at the end of the third quarter where only two starters, one from each team, were on the court.

With the Tigers leading by two points, coach Al Westover backed his bench players to hold that advantage against their Brisbane counterparts. Westover watched as that lead turned into a 9 point three quarter time deficit, as Melbourne gave up four offensive rebounds in that time, and could not match the Bullets speed in the open court.

By the time Tigers star Chris Anstey returned to the court with 9:35 remaining in the fourth, the margin was in double figures, a gap the defending champions could not reel in despite their gallant efforts.

Melbourne drew within 5 points twice, and to 6 on three other occasions, thanks largely to bench guard Daryl Corletto, who nailed three successive triples and scored 11 of the Tigers first 13 points for the quarter. 'DC' narrowly missed a fourth long bomb that would have sent the already deafening crowd into hysterics.

But no matter what Melbourne conjured up, Brisbane always had the answer. And the main man was FIBA World Championship star CJ Bruton, who played a near flawless game, racking up seven assists, and continuously finding the chink in the Tigers defence to set up his teammates.

When this was still not enough to shake the Tigers, Bruton took the Bullets scoring load on his shoulders and carried the team home. The 31 year old point guard scored 15 of his game high 22 points in the last thirteen minutes of the contest. Some of his moves made the feared Melbourne defence look silly, and his deep threes repeatedly deflated the Tigers charge.

Bruton had a willing ally in Sam Mackinnon (13 points, 8 rebounds), and the two Boomers, who finished equal third in steals and equal ninth in assists at the recent FIBA World Championships, scored Brisbane's first ten points of the final term to keep the Tigers at bay.

Mackinnon explained later that he knew his national team point guard would be the difference in the series.

"I sat down with Mark (Bradtke) and Dillon (Boucher) today and said 'We're going to win this today because of the X-factor', and the X-factor for me was Ebi (Ere) or CJ," Mackinnon said. "Those guys come out and they just play. CJ starts hitting some threes, getting some momentum, getting to the line. That's what makes them winners - and that X-factor today was CJ."

Bruton would have been a deserved grand final MVP, but the award even more fittingly went to Mackinnon, who averaged 17 points, 8 rebounds, 5 assists and 3 steals across the series. Showing how far Mackinnon's offensive game has developed, he was the Bullets leading fourth quarter scorer in the series, averaging 7 points in the final stanza.

Most importantly, though, Mackinnon out rebounded his much taller opponents on a consistent basis, and allowed the Bullets to run from half court defensive situations. His strength, athleticism and speed is a rare commodity at the power forward position, and expect to see a lot more of him there for Australia in the FIBA Oceania qualifying series this winter, and, pending qualification, the Beijing Olympics.

NBL Commissioner Rick Burton told Fox Sports that he believed Mackinnon could have great success in the NBA, and urged the dual Olympian to try his hand in the USA, Burton's country of birth.

Anstey, who Australian coach Brian Goorjian will also be looking to for big things in the series against New Zealand, had another final quarter he will want to forget. Twice a FIBA Europe League All Star, Anstey showed only glimpses of his best form this season. The 31 year old had two opportunities to bring Melbourne back into the contest in the last quarter, but missed both wide open threes badly.

Anstey finished with 16 points, 11 rebounds and 5 assists, and averaged a more than respectable 19 points, 10 rebounds and 3 blocks for the series. But Anstey's radar was wayward, shooting just 28/72 over the four games, and he was far from his usual dependable self.

His 31 point demolition in game two was contrasted with his air ball late in game one that may have secured an important victory for Melbourne, and his poor fourth quarters in the final two games. The series was indicative of the year for Anstey, which was interrupted by a string of injuries. Expect him to bounce back strongly next season, as he is one of Australia's all-time greats.

Anstey was not helped by the Tigers grand final strategy and execution. The Bullets simply could not stop the 213cm athlete in the post, yet Anstey received just one low post feed in the second half of game four, and did not see the ball down low in the final quarter.

Just as mystifying was the Tigers reluctance to go inside against veteran Mark Bradtke. Anstey has a deceptively quick drop step and a solid hook shot, yet Melbourne did not once attempt to go at Brisbane's lone big man and put him in foul trouble.

Melbourne did not make Brisbane make significant adjustments during the series. While the Tigers pride themselves on being the leagues most stable club, on and off the court, against a Bullets team that won 21 straight games, Melbourne needed to surprise and disrupt their opponent's successful game plan.

Coach Al Westover must also accept some responsibility for the Tigers struggles against Brisbane's full court defence. His team did not have a reliable press breaker, and at no stage placed a ball handler in a position to receive the first pass out of the Bullets initial trap.

At an even more basic level, no Melbourne player presented himself strongly in the middle of the court to force the press to collapse. When the Bullets repeatedly denied point guard Darryl Macdonald (17 points, 4 assists, 8 turnovers) the inbound pass, not once did a Tigers player run the baseline to open up a passing lane to the veteran ball handler.

Macdonald himself did not work hard enough to receive the ball against the press, leaving big men Anstey, Stephen Hoare and David Stiff, and 203cm guard Dave Thomas (14 points, 11 rebounds, 4 turnovers) to regularly dribble the ball up-court under duress.

There is no doubt Melbourne will bounce back next season, but the Bullets, in particular Bruton and impressive 20 year old Adam Gibson (12 points), have exposed the weakness of the 42 year old Macdonald and reserve Nathan Crosswell against extended pressure. While both are still excellent players, whether they can lead the Tigers to a championship against teams like Brisbane, Perth and Sydney, who apply relentless pressure, is another question.

Point guard Macdonald believes the Tigers are capable of reclaiming the title, and that this defeat will reignite the spark that was missing for the first half of this season.

"I think next year we just have to come back from day one - we gotta be ready to go," Macdonald said. "We'll be hungry. We'll pretty much have the same team and we can't get worse, we'll only get better. We've gotta come back with more of an attitude."

While some aspects of the grand final would have left Tigers fans shaking their heads, no one could question the effort of the defending champions. Despite being constantly under pressure and out played for most of the series, Melbourne found ways to stay close to the talented Bullets, and had an opportunity to win every game.

Just as importantly, the entire Tigers lineup accepted defeat with class when the final buzzer sounded, something they should be congratulated for. "We lost this year - we lost to the better team - they've done it all year. You can't take anything away from them. The way they play, it's worked for them all year. They played well," Macdonald said graciously.

To the winners go the spoils and credit must go to Brisbane, who completed the best single season in NBL history, according to former NBL star and current television analyst Derek Rucker.

FIBA World Championship stars Mackinnon and Bruton were outstanding, as was Stephen Black, who must surely now get his chance in international competition. Black scored 11 points in game four, and averaged 17 per game for the series. His defensive job on Macdonald was superb, and his ability to score at will against Canadian Olympian Dave Thomas, voted the NBL's second best defender this season, and was just as impressive.

Four time Olympian Mark Bradtke (6 points, 5 rebounds) is likely to now retire after a remarkable career. Without his steady and level headed contribution of 14 points and 7 rebounds per game in the grand final, and his ability to nullify Melbourne's height advantage in the paint, the Bullets would not be the NBL champions.

Import Dusty Rychart (21 points, 77% shooting) and New Zealand international Dillon Boucher were the leagues best role players, and Rychart's ability to feed off Bruton and Mackinnon's penetration was crucial in isolating Melbourne's defence. Nigerian international Ebi Ere only averaged 10 points per game in the series, but Brisbane will be desperate to retain his high flying services for next season.

Team owner Eddy Groves, one of Australia's richest people, will fly the team to Las Vegas for a week of celebration. No doubt he will party as hard as any of the players, given the club that was extremely close to folding when Groves first became involved is now the toast of Australian basketball.

Whether the team then goes in different directions or returns to Brisbane for next season will have a large bearing on the top of the NBL ladder in 2008, as this team has the skill, depth, athleticism and experience to compete for the title for a number of years to come.

GAME 4: Brisbane Bullets 103 (Bruton 22, Rychart 21, Mackinnon 13)
Melbourne Tigers 94 (Tucker 17, McDonald 17, Anstey 16)
Crowd: 3500 (sell-out) @ State Netball Hockey Centre, Melbourne.

GAME 3: Brisbane Bullets 113 (Black 22, Mackinnon 19, Rychart 17)
Melbourne Tigers 93 (Thomas 17, Hoare 14, Tucker 14)
Crowd: 7539 (sell-out) @ Brisbane Entertainment Centre.

GAME 2: Melbourne Tigers 105 (Anstey 31, Corletto 18, Tucker 12)
Brisbane Bullets 91 (Mackinnon 19, Black 16, Ere 16)
Crowd: 3500 (sell-out) @State Netball and Hockey Centre, Melbourne.

GAME 1: Brisbane Bullets 98 (Black 24, Mackinnon 18, Rychart 14)
Melbourne Tigers 95 (Anstey 21, Thomas 19, Tucker 18)
Crowd: 7291 (sell-out) @ Brisbane Entertainment Centre.

MVP: Sam Mackinnon
Brisbane win championship series, 3-1.

Paul Kennedy
FIBA Official Correspondent in Australia.