FIBA World Cup Notebook: Luka Shines; Slovenia’s Big Roster Choice
The Slovenian national team won its first exhibition match ahead of preparation for the 2023 FIBA Basketball World Cup in what proved to be a 104-100 victory over Montenegro. In order to achieve it, a performance featuring 34 points, 13 rebounds, and 14 assists from Dallas Mavericks superstar Luka Doncic proved integral, including numerous key late-game plays.
"If I don't point him out, it looks like it's a normal thing," Slovenian national team coach Aleksander Sekulic said of Doncic. "It's not a normal thing what he does on the court. We took it for granted, but it's not. This is really a big thing, not only because he achieved it, but also because he makes his teammates better."
Slovenia faces a tough set of circumstances having to overcome with Vlatko Cancar suffering a torn ACL. To make it all the more challenging, the team is only eligible to take one of Mike Tobey or Jordan Morgan to Japan to participate in FIBA competition due to a limit of having one naturalized player in competition.
As adjustments are made without having Cancar in the lineup, Slovenia made an emphasis to play faster with Doncic spending more time on the wing. While they will be a smaller team than most, there is an understanding that speed will have to be an advantage to overcome the circumstances.
"We cannot replace Cancar, but we have to find a way to play. without him," Sekulic said. "Some will have to step forward. We have to come together as a team. Bine Prepelic took advantage of this [against Montenegro]. We play faster and we have players who can run. If we are shorter, we can at least be faster."
Doncic, who was named the captain of Slovenia's national team for the first time this year, naturally plays a role in personnel choices. As the superstar who controls the game flow with frequent possession of the basketball, it's important there is a feeling of the right combinations around him are being made.
"He will certainly be important," Sekulic said of Doncic's influence on roster decisions. "We have to be honest, he is the leader of the team, someone who has the ball in his hands all the time. It will be important who will be by his side when it is most difficult."
Slovenia hadn't originally planned for Tobey to play, but he joined the team ahead of the matchup against Montenegro. The team is optimistic about the impact he can make after he "broke the ice" with his first exhibition performance since rejoining the team ahead of the WC.
"We didn't even plan for him to play, but he expressed his desire," Sekulic said of Tobey. "After talking to the coaching staff, we said we would try him out. He did not do a single training sessions with the team. It was a minor problem, but we saw a lot of good things to build on. He broke the ice, now it will only get better."
The next two matchups on Slovenia's exhibition schedule includes a back-to-back against Spain and Team USA in Malaga. Doncic and Co. will be put to the ultimate test against two elite opponents.
"What can I say? We are going to Spain to play with perhaps the two strongest national teams," Sekulic said. "The Spanish are the current European and world champions. There is no point in losing words about the Americans. This will be a big challenge for us, let's see how good we are against the best national teams."
While Doncic's individual excellence has stood out, Slovenia must improve defensively as a unit. They are giving up too many open catch-and-shoot looks after not containing dribble penetration or making extra efforts on closeouts after doing little things like doubling the ball. They are losing cutters off-ball too often, failing to protect the paint in the half-court, and not getting back quite well enough in transition.
After the two games in Malaga, the schedule for Slovenia shifts to Japan for a final exhibition matchup against the Japanese national team in Tokyo before beginning competition against Group F in Okinawa. The teams included in Group F include Venezuela, Georgia, and Cape Verde.
Grant Afseth is a Dallas Mavericks reporter for DallasBasketball.com and an NBA reporter for NBA Analysis Network. He previously covered the Indiana Pacers and NBA for CNHI's Kokomo Tribune and various NBA teams for USA TODAY Sports Media Group. Follow him on Twitter (@grantafseth), Facebook (@grantgafseth), and YouTube (@grantafseth).
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