Key Bullet out for season

The Brisbane Bullets have reportedly been dealt a cruel injury blow in their pursuit of a position in the NBL’s top six, with forward DJ Mitchell has been ruled out for the remainder of the season, according to ESPN’s Olgun Uluc. 

Mitchell has made 15 appearances for the Bullets so far this season, but Uluc told NBL Overtime a hip injury has sidelined the 26-year-old.

He has averaged five points per game after an impressive debut campaign last season, and spent his off-season playing for Slask Wroclaw where his team was named runner-up in the Polish Basketball League.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Brisbane’s DJ Mitchell is out for the remainder of this NBL season with a hip injury, sources told ESPN; the Bullets’ initial plan is to look to the import market for a potential replacement.</p>&mdash; Olgun Uluc (@OlgunUluc) <a href="https://twitter.com/OlgunUluc/status/1737035278223863867?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 19, 2023</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

“I’ve been told DJ Mitchell is out for the rest of the season,” Uluc said. “He’ll miss the remainder of this NBL season with a hip injury.

“That’s obviously a tough blow for them, they’ve had Josh Bannan our for stretches, but he’s been dealing with this hip injury for a few games now, but it’s got to the point where he’ll miss the remainder of the season.

“It’s a big out for them. He’s a really, really good shooter in this league.”

Uluc says development player Matt Johns will be elevated to the main roster while the club searches for a replacement for Mitchell.

Johns has made nine appearances for the Bullets this season, after he hit the court eight times in his debut campaign last season.

The Bullets have played the season so far with just two imports in Shannon Scott and Chris Smith, and Uluc believes the club will tinker with its roster to allow them to bring in a third import for the remainder of the campaign.

“I’m told the Brisbane Bullets will look at the import market,” he said. “They’re one of those teams that was more than likely marqueeing two guys – Nathan Sobey and Aron Baynes – they’re going to look at potentially taking one of those guys off the marquee list.

“They’re looking at some names right now, in the meantime they’ll elevate Matt Johns to a roster spot, but watch this space.

“They want to bring someone in who can fill that four spot in stretches, but it wouldn’t surprise me if they’re looking at more of a three/four. “

Brisbane will next play the Adelaide 36ers on Christmas Eve, before clashing with New Zealand on December 27.

The game against the 36ers will be live and free on ESPN via Kayo Freebies, 10 Peach and 10 Play, while the clash with the Breakers will be shown live on ESPN via Kayo.