Jerome Randle says the Sydney Kings’ second unit have put the team’s stars on notice

SYDNEY Kings guard Jerome Randle says the senior players have been put on notice after the second unit delivered a strong performance in a gutsy 70-60 loss to Brisbane on Sunday.

BALLARAT, AUSTRALIA - SEPTEMBER 23: Sydney Kings Head Coach Andrew Gaze shows his emotion during the 2018 NBL Blitz match between Sydney Kings and Brisbane Bullets at Ballarat Minerdrome on September 23, 2018 in Ballarat, Australia. (Photo by Graham Denholm/Getty Images)

SYDNEY Kings guard Jerome Randle says the senior players have been put on notice after the second unit delivered a strong performance in a gutsy 70-60 loss to Brisbane on Sunday.

The Kings rested Andrew Bogut, Brad Newley, Kevin Lisch and Randle for the Bullets’ clash.

Throw in Daniel Kickert, who is sidelined with a calf injury, and Sydney had three Olympians, two NBL MVPs and an NBA champion sitting on the bench.

Brian Bowen Jr top scored for Sydney with 16 points during the 2018 NBL Blitz match between Sydney Kings and Brisbane Bullets at Ballarat Minerdrome. Picture: Getty Images

Dane Pineau of the Sydney Kings (R) in action during the 2018 NBL Blitz match between Sydney Kings and Brisbane Bullets/ Picture: Getty Images

Despite this, the Kings’ younger players delivered an impressive effort to push the Bullets.

Next Stars signing Brian Bowen Jr top scored for Sydney with 16 points.

Bowen also continued his strong form on the boards with eight rebounds.

Back-court duo Kyle Adnam and Tom Wilson added 15 and 11 points respectively while import forward David Wear had eight points and seven rebounds.

Kyle Adnam says no. 🙅🏼‍♀️ pic.twitter.com/bEt5SGOcZu

— Sydney Kings (@SydneyKings) September 23, 2018

Randle was highly impressed with the second unit’s energy against Brisbane.

“Honestly I feel like they are playing better than we are,” Randle told The Daily Telegraph.

“I’ll put that out there on a limb right now. They are playing a lot harder, a lot better and I feel like we need to come up to their level.

“I think we can learn a lot from the younger guys because they are hungry and I think as veterans we sometimes don’t play as hard as we need to.

“I was really excited by the effort they showed.

Sydney forward Deng Acuoth fell awkwardly on his shoulder in the first half but returned to finish the game. Picture: Getty Images

“If anyone knows anything about winning a championship, they know your bench is really important.

“For them to show the heart they did, for us moving forward that is really important.”

Kings skipper Kevin Lisch was also impressed with the younger players’ desire.

“It was really enjoyable to watch them play and I just loved how we competed,” Lisch said.

“I think they’ve proven it throughout this pre-season Blitz. We have a lot of depth and a lot of hungry guys coming off the bench that will contribute.

David Wear had eight points and seven rebounds against the Brisbane Bullets. Picture: Getty Images

“I think that is one of the biggest advantages of our team and people were able to see that.

“But we get to see it every day when we scrimmage against these guys. They beat us sometimes and it creates a wonderful competitive environment.”

On the back of the second unit’s energy, the Kings jumped out to an early 8-3 advantage before going to quarter-time locked at 16-all.

The Kings trailed 29-28 at halftime, but the more experienced Bullets found another gear in the second half to win.

Sydney forward Deng Acuoth fell awkwardly on his shoulder in the first half but returned to finish the game.

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