Shaun Bruce sees similarities between this season's Sydney Kings and the team that went on a run to win the 2021/22 NBL championship.
The Kings were tipped as the team to beat before the ongoing season began as Bul Kuol, Cam Oliver and favourite son Xavier Cooks joined a new-look roster configured by returning coach Brian Goorjian.
But as the regular season moves past its halfway point, the fourth-placed Kings have a middling 8-7 record and are yet to defeat either of top-two sides Melbourne United and Illawarra from four meetings combined.
Veteran guard Bruce is remaining calm, though, and points to recent history as evidence the Kings are still on track for a successful campaign.
The Kings were also 8-7 after 15 games of the 2021/22 season when another new coach, Chase Buford, took control of a roster adjusting to changes.
Jaylen Adams, the most high-profile of those new faces, hit top form to help the Kings win 11 of their remaining 13 regular-season games and was named league MVP.
Sydney then made it undefeated through the 2021/22 post-season, beating the Tasmania JackJumpers in the championship series for their first title since 2005.
"I do feel a similarity with that year, a new coach, a new kind of roster coming together," Bruce told AAP on Wednesday.
"In a perfect world you want everyone to come in and it be smooth sailing and there's chemistry from the start, but that's probably unrealistic.
"That doesn't happen very often. We even felt that in the years we won recently that the starts of the season can be bumpy and we have felt that, there's no question about it."
Bruce has been buoyed by the three-point loss to United on Sunday, when the Kings had seven players score in double figures.
"I think guys are feeling a lot more comfortable with their roles," he said.
"We're not just relying on JA (Adams) and Cam (Oliver) to go to work, we're putting them in different positions and giving them some different looks.
"It felt clunky at times offensively throughout the first part of the season so (we're) just ironing that out a little bit.
"I'm just really positive with how it feels around our group the last couple of weeks and where we're heading and the work we're putting in."
New Zealand Breakers centre Tacko Fall is a chance to line up against the Kings on Saturday despite leaving last Sunday's loss to the Perth Wildcats with a knee injury.
The former NBA player will be a game-time decision for the Breakers' clash against United on Thursday night.
Standing at 229cm, Fall is the tallest player to ever feature in an NBL game and poses unique challenges for opposition defences.
"You can't compete with that kind of size at times," Bruce said.
"But you've got to be crafty with how you attack him down the other end, just make it as tough as you can with him and get the game playing at a pace that suits us and not them."
Fellow Breakers big man Dane Pineau has already been ruled out of this weekend's games with a knee injury of his own.
