Frustration mars Nikola Vucevic, Montenegro’s Eurobasket opener
Montenegro faced a tall task taking on tournament favorite Spain in their Eurobasket opener. But Nikola Vucevic and his team gave into frustration.
The odds were already long as Montenegro tipped off its first Eurobasket since 2013 against the tournament-favorite, Spain. Spain had a full roster that featured both Pau Gasol and Marc Gasol, Ricky Rubio, Alex Abrines, Willy Hernangomez and Juancho Hernangomez. Spain is the favorite to win for good reason.
Spain is the favorite to win for good reason. And they played like it. Taking control of the opener from the start and catching the inexperienced Montenegro team on its back foot.
The efficient passing, driving, shooting, scoring and rebounding from Spain was far too much as they scored an easy 99-60 in Romania.
It was clear from the very start of the game how much better Spain was than Montenegro. They took control fairly early going on an extended run to break an early tie. The game got out of hand very quickly.
A lot of that has to fall on Montenegro’s leaders. As much as anyone, that is Nikola Vucevic.
Nikola Vucevic had a slow start, looking tentative and unwilling to go into the paint against Pau Gasol and Marc Gasol. That little bit of hesitancy slowed the whole offense down. And while the game was close, Vucevic was a non-factor.
He got himself into a rhythm toward the end of the game and slowly began asserting himself more. Vucevic finished with a team-high 16 points and five rebounds. But he made only 7 of his 18 shots.
If there was a definition of “good stats, bad team” game, this is it. Vucevic did a lot of his work in garbage time. He stepped out and hit his jumper fairly well. And when he got closer to the basket for rebounds and tip ins, he was fine. It was typical Nikola Vucevic fare.
Unfortunately so was his defense. Vucevic got flat footed plenty of times throughout the game. And had a somewhat embarrassing sequence where Willy Hernangomez put on a few ball fakes and got Nikola Vucevic to jump on each of them to get a layup. He drove past Vucevic off the dribble on another possession.
It was not a good showing for Vucevic overall. And it got worse as he picked up a technical foul in the fourth quarter with the game well decided.
He and his teammates lost a bit of their composure facing the large deficit. It was reminiscent of some of his frustration during the season. And it definitely takes away from his play.
Everyone for Montenegro struggled — the team shot 35 percent for the game — and that went double for Nikola Vucevic and lead guard Tyrese Rice (he scored only seven points on 3-for-12 shooting).
For Montenegro to get out of group play, the team will need both Vucevic and Rice to play at a higher level. That means Vucevic has to be willing to get into the paint and work closer to the basket and be active and assertive when he has the ball.
It was clear Spain outclassed Montenegro. It was disappointing to see him shrink a bit.
Nikola Vucevic scored a team-high 16 points and grabbed a team-high five rebounds. But that is all about that can be said good about him or this game. Montenegro fell behind big early and never recovered losing by 30-plus points. It is not so much the deficit that is disappointing, but the way the team lost and the frustration that built up.<p>Vucevic did much of his scoring in the second half when the game was long decided. It was extended garbage time for him and his impact play was minimal. Not that anyone else was picking up the slack. But that is precisely the point. Montenegro needs Vucevic making an impact to have any chance in these games.</p><p>His frustration at the game only added to the problem. This has been an aspect to his game and personality that has grown in the last year when his team struggled. It is not encouraging. This was not a game necessarily where Montenegro had to win. They just had to avoid taking a huge loss. That is exactly what they did. And they now have to regroup extremely quickly.</p>. C. Montenegro. NIKOLA VUCEVIC. D
Next: Finland scores upset over Evan Fournier, France
Montenegro is back in action in group play Saturday against Hungary at 8 a.m. Hungary is playing in its first Eurobasket since 1999. This is a game Montenegro must win to advance to the knockout round.