Slovenian National Team (part V.)

[Texas_Ranger]

I believe you, I wasn't there, i just went by the news on the page of our federation. In slovenia they like to exaggerate when it comes to attendance.

Yea. I know about that that.

[sendman]

Our team doesn't have a clue about playing against the zone defense.

[Texas_Ranger]

I really don't know what are Jagodnik and Klobučar doing in this team.

[ata]

C'mon, do you have any clue about b'ball at all?

Who would you play behind Nachbar? D. Lorbek? + Jagodnik was one of the best players today. He always(!) bring energy to the team.

BTW: Slovenia won 78-62

[Texas_Ranger]

I must say I was wrong about Jagoda. He really played great.
But Klobučar sucks, perhapse D.Lorbek sucks even more.

[velik_m]

2 tickets for a game - 20EUR
A t-shirt of your favourite player - 50EUR.
Watching your team beat the defending european champions into submisson - ing priceless

[Bukefal]

How do you guys feel about him playing for Macedonia?

Well, great actually, he is a good player. Today Macedonia played second game against Slovakia and won with 101-70. Darius Washington made his debut with 14 points and 4 assists.

[sendman]

Russians are to big for their own good. They miss JR Holden like crazy. Their only real PG Ponkrashov will get targeted by opponents from the get go and they have no one to give him even a breather. They also need SG and they need him bad. Monya was bailing them out for the part of the game, but that wont cut it.
Todays play, with bunch of PFs and Cs getting in each others way, with tragic ball flow, was just pathetic. Also they were out-rebounded by a mile!
I'm very interested to see how will David Platt try to answer this question in tonights rematch.

[Kamnik]

I was at the game with my friends. Unfortunately i couldn't take photos... sorry Angel But there are many here: http://www.rtvslo.si/sport/kosarka/e...etrtini/209526

My overral assesment going forward is quite positive from what I have seen today. What I fear most of all is our coach Zdovc and minutes he will give to specific players.

We have possibility to play really good defence (our guard pressure was great at times) with players that understand what it takes.

Offensively we lack some better shooters at our guard positions but hopefully Vujacic will be able to help there. (Vujacic and Udrih didn't play today)




My assesment of individual players:
(p.s. My grades are relative for what is expected from them... something similar to timvp's system)



Erazem Lorbek - He is slowly but surely becoming the best Slovenian player. It is no chance that he landed in CSKA Moscow which is one of the best European clubs. He was dominant offensively. Whenever you saw him caught the ball he did not hesitate and got right to buisness. He seemed confident and motivated.
Only possible he might have going forward is playing against strong and physical players who he won't be able to back down.

Grade: A+



Bostjan Nachbar - He was really agressive offensively. He hit several long range shots and made a couple of good drives to the basket. Defensively he was decent but nothing too special. Made a mistake or two.

Grade: B+



Matjaz Smodis - We only saw him play for a few minutes. Probably our coaching staff wants to see other players play more to decide who to cut and at the same time rest and preserve his body. Our captain and leader on and off the floor. I can't realy grade to well what he did but he was decent.

Grade: B



Goran Jagodnik - The biggest positive surprise of the evening. He fought like a tiger for every ball. He had several hustle plays which made the public go crazy. I am not sure but he probably had something like 3 or 4 offensive rebounds. He also shot the ball well. The bottom point - he made everyone (including me) a believer that his tank isn't empty and deserves to go to Poland.

Grade: A



Goran Dragič - He is our fastest and most explosive player who DESERVES TO START. Whenever he came into play everything worked better and the lead started to grow. Whenever Lakovič was put in I almost started to cry. Dragic is really agressive and strong defensive player (hard to believe he is a Sun ) and a fast break waiting to happen. Offensively his decision making and passing got better from last year. I am really excited about him for this championship and NBA season.

Grade: A



Domen Lorbek - He is a good defensive player who has good fundementals and won't make many mistakes. However he is a limited player offensively. He can't create for himself or others and is best used as a 3 point shooter when other players are double teamed.

Grade: B




Samo Udrih - He didn't show anything except several bad passes that resulted in a turnover. He will probably get cut.

Grade: D



Primož Brezec - Ah... Bad defensive rotations. Clumsy offensive movement. Basically what we usually expect/get from him. However he is a big body and could be useful as an energy guy to get offensive rebounds and putbacks.

Grade: C




Uroš Slokar - He really didn't play a lot so it is hard to grade him. Or maybe I just didn't notice him which means he didn't make big mistakes or any really good moves. He is however probably our third bet big guy behind Smodis and Lorbek. He is also very likeable - a good and funny guy.

Grade: C+




Jurica Golemac - He played a really solid game. He was hustling on both sides of the flor. Played really good defence-it probably helps he is a really long. He reminds of a poor man's Kirilenko. I would like to see him play some backup minutes at positions 3 and 4.

Grade: B+



Jaka Lakovič - This will sound like blasphemy to some of his fans maybe but I wouldn't be sad or surprised if he would get cut. He looked like he is completely done. He is short for a PG with a small frame and with what looks to me below 75 kilos. He basically gets pushed around by opposing players and even smaller bumps seriously affect him. If Zdovc intends this to be a defense focused team Lakovic doesn't have anything to do here.

Offensively he missed shots, made lots of turnovers and the passes that got through didn't result in assists or anything. Both Dragic and Udrih should get all PG minutes. All the flaws that were seen at previus NT compe ions are still here just much worse. He is DONE.

Grade: D-


Gašper Vidmar - He didn't play a lot so I couldn't get a good feel for him. Probably he is still pretty raw and not counted on that much.

Grade: No idea...



Jaka klobučar - Defensively he applied some good pressure (as most other guards). But that is pretty much everything he can go really well. Still pretty raw and will probably get cut.




--------------------------------

My dream rotation:

Starting 5:

PG - Dragic
SG - Vujacic (if he is as good as advertised...)
SF - Nachbar
PF - Smodiš
C - E. Lorbek

Backups:

PG - B. Udrih (Lakovic should play only in garvage time or if Udrih or Dragic get injured)
SG - D. Lorbek
SF - Golemac/Jagodnik
PF - Slokar/Golemac
C - Slokar/Brezec


Getting cut:

-Klobucar
-S. Udrih
- Vidmar

I would rather keep Klobucar or Vidmar that Lakovic but if Udrih gets injured as usuall we are ed at the backup PG position.


My biggest wish: Zdovc not to give any unnecesary minutes to Lakovic!



I hope you liked my analysis and grades... I am writing this at 2:30 am after a long day so it is probably full of mistakes; I apologise about that!

GO SLOVENIA!

[velik_m]

Some thoughts on game:

From the start it was clear the russians are taller and more athletic. But they really lack a go-to guy. They will miss Holden at the championship. Still they have a solid starting 5 and decent bench and there is still a month till the championship so a lot can change...

But enough about them.

Slovenia:

Team - the offense showed some progress, but defense still has too many holes. The russians were left wide open way too often for my taste. We out-rebounded the russians, mostly because they shot poorly and we controlled the defensive glass. We also had an interesting experiment with pg and four mobile bigs - Erazem, Boki, Jagodnik and Golemac. We didn't put up a zone defense and neither did russians so that is still a question mark on our team on both sides of the court. We tried to pressure the Russians a couple of times but it was a poor pressure and didn't seem to bother them much - will have to work on that.

On to the players:
Smodis - didn't show much, didn't play much. I guess he was saved for today.
E. Lorbek - good showing today. He still loses too much balls going under the basket and he had troubles against taller Kaum on the defensive end, but still very good game from him, with lots of hustle too.
D. Lorbek - started the game, but his play was disappointing. He did hit one three from the corner and that was it for the most part.
Nachbar - Good offensive display, but got lost on the defensive end several times, allowing the russians some easy baskets.
Lakovic - Jaka had a bit of up-&down season this year. He didn't play much at the start of the season because of the eye problem, he was great in euroleague playoffs against Tau, he was bad in ACB finals (again against Tau). Yesterday he had a good game. Got 6 assist on one turnover and one near-turnover. His shot was off, but he didn't force it. Hopefully he regains the form by the time championship rolls around.

Klobucar - if he plays, he should stick to what he does best - be a pest on defense and hit open threes on offense. As soon as he tries something more bad things happen.
S. Udrih - bad game by him yesterday, showed nothing but two passes to nowhere, thankfully he was pulled out fast by Zdovc otherwise he might get booed out of court.
Slokar - played little, but solid. What i like about Uros is not his outside shot (which is great for a big) - but his rebounding ability - he seems to have a good feeling when to go for them.
Golemac - played a lot again, showed some good hustle, did well on defense. Golemac doesn't do anything particularly bad or good for that matter - just a very solid player. However hopefully he doesn't play much at the EC, because once the teams figure out he's not that dangerous from the inside and outside, will be soon playing 4-on-5 basketball on offense.
Jagodnik - easily the best player yesterday in his limited time. Tons of hustle and heart, he came up with all the good plays in the final quarter to finish of the russians.
Brezec - he tries, just not on the defensive end. I get it he's slow and players get past him, but the least he could do is raise his arms on the defense - you know make the shots harder
Dragic - good game by dragic, especially on defense. The team offense struggled at times with him on court - but it could be just the fact that he played with our second unit most of the time.

Vidmar - DNP CD
B. Udrih - DNP minor injury
Vujacic - DNP injury

[Kamnik]

Lakovic - Yesterday he had a good game.

Are you sure you watched the game?

HE WAS HORRIBLE! He got abused on both sides of the floor by bigger guards. Hist ballhandling was way too poor for a PG.

Only 1 turnover? Ummm... if the official scorebox says that then it is dead wrong. I can remember at least 3 turnovers that should go directly to him if not more. He also got his shot blocked a couple of times when he tried to force it.

[velik_m]

Are you sure you watched the game?

HE WAS HORRIBLE! He got abused on both sides of the floor by bigger guards. Hist ballhandling was way too poor for a PG.

Only 1 turnover? Ummm... if the official scorebox says that then it is dead wrong. I can remember at least 3 turnovers that should go directly to him if not more. He also got his shot blocked a couple of times when he tried to force it.

Are you sure you're not blinded by the hate of the player and only focusing on his negatives? You need to rewatch the game. Yeah, he got abused in the post by bigger players - he's a small dude what did you expect? But he also run the team well on the offensive end and that is all i ask from a pg (certainly better than dragic, which maybe had to do with the quality of players he played with). He's no NBA superstar, but yesterday i felt quite comfortable with him running the point. Would like to see Lakovic/Dragic combo though, i think they would complement each other well.

He reminds of a poor man's Kirilenko.

Maybe, if the man is western sahara poor.

[Kamnik]

Are you sure you're not blinded by the hate of the player and only focusing on his negatives? You need to rewatch the game. Yeah, he got abused in the post by bigger players - he's a small dude what did you expect? But he also run the team well on the offensive end and that is all i ask from a pg (certainly better than dragic, which maybe had to do with the quality of players he played with). He's no NBA superstar, but yesterday i felt quite comfortable with him running the point. Would like to see Lakovic/Dragic combo though, i think they would complement each other well.

Hate? Lakovic was one of my favourite Slovenian players in the last decade and I was rooting for Krka when he played there. I am not denying that he is a great guy; I am just saying that he sucks at this point as a basketball player.

From all 15 players on our roster I maybe hate only Vujacic and even that will be forgotten if he plays hard and well.

I am focusing on his negatives because there are so many of them. His size, speed, defence, etc. Basically everything except taking an open shot.

Positives... in comparison with Dragic he is probably just a better shooter but that is usually negated by the fact that he can't create a shot for himself; that was obvious yesterday when he got blocked several times.

As for running the team well offensively IMO he did NOT do that well. If running the offense well is getting the ball across the halfcourt and then passing to someone else then maybe I can play the PG for our NT and I will be doing "a good job".


Anyways I am very interested to see the scorebox and Lakovic's +/-.

[velik_m]

Full stats: http://server4.mbt.lt/prod/kzs/index...ZnX2lkPTEzNTA=

I'm sure you can work out the +/- from play-by-play.

Also Smodis apperently didn't play because of some back problems, he's questionable for today.

[velik_m]

If i got it right:
Lakovic was +5 in first quarter.
+1 in second
+1 in third
+3 in fourth

so +10 Overall, and i think dragic was +6 for the game.

[angel_luv]

hvala lepa for all the pictures and updates.

[Kamnik]

If i got it right:
Lakovic was +5 in first quarter.
+1 in second
+1 in third
+3 in fourth

so +10 Overall, and i think dragic was +6 for the game.

You can't compare playing together with Nachbar, Smodis and Lorbek and Dragic with Brezec and Klobucar.

Fact is Lakovic sucked and when we went to a sports bar after the game that was the main topic of the conversation betwen 15 people. It was so damn obvious people in the stands we cursing at him at several diferent points in the game.

p.s. Are you from Dolenjska? :P

[velik_m]

You can't compare playing together with Nachbar, Smodis and Lorbek and Dragic with Brezec and Klobucar.

YOU asked for +/- stats, now your dismissing it as it doesn't support your thesis.

Fact is Lakovic sucked and when we went to a sports bar after the game that was the main topic of the conversation betwen 15 people. It was so damn obvious people in the stands we cursing at him at several diferent points in the game.

Well if 15 people at the sports bar said it, it must be true.

p.s. Are you from Dolenjska? :P

No.

---

I don't get this mood swings, people are hating on lakovic just for the sake of hating, just like they did on nesterovic. He's not the best play on the team and now he suddenly sucks and should be allowed nowhere near national team (despite the fact that he was the only one showing up regulary year after year). He's better than 3 other guard on this team and until vujacic actually suits up for the game he's better than him too. Stop cursing the player for not being what he's not and start enjoying him for what he is - a damn fine backup.

[velik_m]

Also Smodis apperently didn't play because of some back problems, he's questionable for today.

Smodis out at least until august 22nd, will train under special regime away from team. And so it begins...

[angel_luv]

Heal quickly and completely Smodis!

[Kamnik]

YOU asked for +/- stats, now your dismissing it as it doesn't support your thesis.



Well if 15 people at the sports bar said it, it must be true.



No.

---

I don't get this mood swings, people are hating on lakovic just for the sake of hating, just like they did on nesterovic. He's not the best play on the team and now he suddenly sucks and should be allowed nowhere near national team (despite the fact that he was the only one showing up regulary year after year). He's better than 3 other guard on this team and until vujacic actually suits up for the game he's better than him too. Stop cursing the player for not being what he's not and start enjoying him for what he is - a damn fine backup.

Who the is hating? He played like crap! That is all...

And who hates Rasho? If anyone wrote at times he played poorly it is usually because he PLAYED poorly and not automatically because someone would hate him.

Your fanboy subjectivism is simply annoying. I don't hate any of the mentioned players and support all of them. But if someone is playing bad and unsufficient for the level of compe ion I will sure as say so.

If Lakovic starts playing great all the sudden I will be as happy as possible; but that isn't likely to happen when considering previous years and these last few games.

[Pero]

I thought Lakovic played pretty good too.

Sucks about Smodis, if he doesn't play at the championship I'm afraid that we're not going to be able to get far.

[velik_m]

Poor start by our team but recovered nicely when Dragic, Erazem and Jagodnik came in.

15-15 after 1st

[velik_m]

Poor game by our team. Russia leads 34-32 at half.

[Texas_Ranger]

Dragič is great! Lorbek and Slokar are also pretty good. But other are just pathetic.
Lakovič plays really awful. And once again Klobučar playing almost the whole game is just stupid.