So what did we learn from the Hawks season-opener? A couple of things, the first being that it's not panic stations, there was plenty to like about Illawarra's first-up performance.

That said, they face a pretty big task to avoid and 0-2 start when they play Perth on the road. There are some obvious issues to address, Flinn admitted post-match that sluggish starts are probably the biggest.

On Sunday he had to call timeout four and half minutes in after an 18-7 run and again after 11-1 run to start the third term. Even the Hawks overtime win over Perth at the Blitz came after a slow start.

It's no secret and Flinn hasn't treated it like one, saying he expects to take some time to nail the best make-up of his starting unit. The obvious question people will ask is whether Aaron Brooks should start.

It may happened sooner rather than later but people shouldn't forget Brooks was one of the last to arrive in Wollongong and was coming off a long lay-off.

Read more: Bullets spoil LaMelo's Wollongong welcome party

Flinn could be forgiven for being that tad cautious in how he used him early, especially given Brooks' still played 32 minutes on Sunday and whose class will ensure he's effective wherever he plays.

That balancing act will also go a long way to getting the most out of LaMelo Ball, who was impressive with a double-double.

"They're enormous talents, it is a matter of us playing with two different tempos at times," Flinn said.

"Those two guys are natural scorers and we've certainly got a lot of belief in them, I feel like it was just one of those nights. We shot 16 per cent from the three, 63 from the foul-line. I don't think that's going to happen again.

"We're still getting an understanding of each other and we're understanding time-score, when we need to get a good bucket and when we need to run.

"We want to get out and run. We pride ourselves on, when get stops, being able to go and be that entertaining team. I wouldn't say it's a battle, but the constant thing we're working on is understanding time-score and when we need to run a set and who we're running it for.

"That's something we work on daily and will continue to do. Our menu's pretty large, we're working hard to get it all functioning."

The shooting woes were obvious, but Flinn certainly hit on the other factor in the loss - the fact his side is still building that chemistry.

In fact, what was striking in the aftermath was the way both Flinn and Lemanis were singing from the same hymn sheet in regards to putting the roster puzzle together at this time of the season.

"We're playing a little differently this year in terms of positions and things like that and that's going to take time to navigate," Lemanis said.

"Particularly once Lamar [Patterson] became available again, our philosophy was let's get a bunch of good players and then figure the rest out.

"It'll be interesting to see how much we play organised offence versus let's just come down with good players find their way through some stuff depending on match-ups.

"They started Boone and AJ Ogilvy and so we had some smaller match-ups for those guys to guard and it's one of those chess games, who can exploit those match-ups to their advantage."

With the benefit of a large core of returning players, the Bullets were clearly a little further along in that process.

"The continuity of the group, you can sense it and it makes a difference," Lemanis said.

"In moments when you get challenged, and down the stretch, there's a confidence and a comfort level with guys who've played together in those situations."