Brisbane’s big Bannan boost

Brisbane Bullets youngster Josh Bannan will make NBL debut on Saturday against the South East Melbourne Phoenix, and says he's hoping to bring more energy on the defensive end.

Bannan is a highly touted forward who worked out for the Indiana Pacers in the off-season, after a three-year college career at Montana.

He joins a Bullets team who is two-three in the early stages of the campaign and will help immediately bolster the frontcourt stakes with Aron Baynes still serving a suspension.

Bannan admits watching from the sidelines has been difficult, while nursing a knee injury.

“It’s been tough, it’s definitely been hard watching the guys and not being able to be out there,” Bannan told the club’s YouTube channel.

“The opportunity to get out there this weekend has been something I’ve been looking forward to for a long time ... I’m stoked.”

Bannan has plans to elevate Brisbane’s defensive intensity and make the league’s third-best defence even more suffocating.

“We compete, we are disruptive, when we are playing our brand of basketball teams really struggle to stay with us,” he said.

“Defensively we give teams lots of trouble when we are like that and that’s something I’m looking forward to contributing to. Bringing more of that and helping us sustain that for longer periods of time.”

The Bullets face the Phoenix at 5:30pm AEDT on Saturday, live on ESPN via Kayo.