Brisbane coach Andrej Lemanis doesn't see an issue in modelling the reborn basketball club after the New Zealand Breakers, where he launched his career by winning three consecutive NBL titles.
The Bullets' second season back from the NBL wilderness has been punctuated by close losses and indifferent form, with former Bullet Derek Rucker accusing the side of having "minimal emotional engagement" with the city and too much Kiwi flavour.
American-born Rucker won NBL MVP honours with the Bullets during a 15-season career and has remained a pundit since retiring in 2006.
"All that NZ flavour is why nobody is at the game ... Brisbane people want a team they can relate to," Rucker tweeted this week.
But Lemanis pointed to a near-sell out crowd in Sunday's crucial win against the ladder-leading Breakers, and the team's commitment to community work as evidence the Bullets are making inroads.
The win took the seventh-placed Bullets to 4-7 for the season, ahead of a rematch with the Breakers in New Zealand on Thursday.
Lemanis, a championship coach with the Breakers in 2011-13, heads a coaching staff that includes former Breakers player CJ Bruton.
Brisbane's chief operating officer Richard Clarke was in charge of the Breakers over that period, while current New Zealand captain Reuben Te Rangi has also found a home in Brisbane.
While Lemanis insists his coaching style has evolved since his Breakers days, he sees nothing wrong with Brisbane with being compared to his former side.
"What was built there was a club that came from nothing thanks to local talent and engagement with the local community, so I'd be pleased with that comparison," he told AAP on Tuesday.
"It was nice to sell out a game after three straight losses and we know the importance of engagement rather than being a results-only club.
"People that don't like you don't usually come and tell you, but certainly I've had some wonderful moments with people happy there kids now have a team to watch."
