Tyrese Rice nearly leads Montenegro to upset of Croatia, Nikola Vucevic continues to struggle
Montenegro nearly pulled off a strong comeback and upset over group favorite Croatia. But came up just short as Nikola Vucevic continued to struggle.
From the opening tip, Montenegro was caught on its back heels. Croatia opened the game scoring the first 10 points and enjoyed a comfortable lead as they moved the ball comfortably and found Bojan Bogdanovic and Krunoslav Simon. Dario Saric attacked off the dribble and kept Montenegro’s defense on ice.
The early punch staggered them. But Montenegro found its footing and stayed within shouting distance, keeping that 10-point deficit.
Then Tyrese Rice took over.
The 6-foot-1 point guard is the main driver for Montenegro and the team often goes how he goes. When he struggles to score, penetrate and shoot, Montenegro is likely to lose — see: Friday’s loss to Spain.
It took Rice a while to get going, but he got going and cooking in the fourth quarter. Rice scored 22 points on 7-for-13 shooting and led Montenegro to within three points. Croatia could not keep him out of the paint or the dynamic guard from scoring. And their own turnovers began to pile up.
Croatia’s defense stepped up when it needed to. And a key shot from Dario Saric over Nikola Vucevic cost Montenegro in the end.
Rice cut the lead to one point following a layup. But Montenegro got caught in a scramble after trying to trap the point guard at the top of the key. They rotated the ball to Saric, who drove to the middle of the lane. Vucevic was a bit late to close the lane and overplayed Saric, allowing Saric to hit a shot over Vucevic.
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Down by three points with the ball at midcourt, Montenegro faced a trap off a pick and roll and nearly lost the ball on a scramble. Montenegro’s struggles passing the ball under pressure showed up again and cost the team in the end.
A jump ball gave Montenegro another chance. But with little time on the shot clock, Montenegro could only manage to get Nikola Ivanovic a contested three, one of his five 3-point misses on the day. Croatia held on for a 76-72 win, sending Montenegro to 1-2 in Eurobasket.
Vucevic scored 12 points and grabbed five rebounds to help pace Montenegro. His strong play in the third quarter, where he scored half of his points, was key to keeping Montenegro in the game when it seemed like Croatia might pull away for good.
It was another quietly solid game for Vucevic in the box score. But it is also clear from watching it Montenegro will need more from Vucevic to advance. The broadcasters on the ESPN3/FIBA feed were essentially screaming for Vucevic to get more involved.
Some of that is on his guards. Montenegro does not have the strongest guards in the tournament. They have struggled to move the ball effectively — Montenegro finished with 12 assists on 27 makes, not to mention the team shot 39 percent for the game. This undoubtedly hurts Vucevic.
But when he does get the ball and where he positions himself offensively is still concerned. Vucevic often gives up deep post position as he catches the ball, forcing him to face up or settle for a jumper. Vucevic has struggled to get his post game going throughout the tournament. His most effective plays so far have been on put backs and the occasional pick and roll.
Vucevic’s best play Monday came when he got the ball in the post, kicked it back out, reposted and then spun baseline for a lay in over the defender. Vucevic clearly has the tricks in his bag, but he has struggled to pull them out consistently or put himself in a position.
At times, it felt like Vucevic was floating on the perimeter, leaving the rebounding and work in the post to his teammates.
Who knows if that is Montenegro’s strategy or the way Vucevic prefers to play. It is certainly a criticism Vucevic has faced in his career, particularly recently.
Nikola Vucevic continues to produce solid numbers in his 2017 Eurobasket run — 12 points, five rebounds — but it is hard to call what he is doing impactful. Certainly, Vucevic goes on his scoring runs, as he did in the third quarter. But they seem to come in quick bursts and he hangs out on the periphery of the play. It is hard to call Vucevic an impact player for Montenegro.<p>A lot of this starts with his post play. In Monday’s game, Vucevic struggled to establish good post position against Croatia. He often would make a catch and get pushed off his spot on the block. He gave up deep post position time and time again, forcing him to take mid-range jumpers or finish farther from the basket than he needs. A lot of his post moves ended up with shots falling short. This, unfortunately, continues a trend for him offensively from the NBA.</p><p>Vucevic’s defense is also still a bit spotty. He still prefers to hang back and play the paint on pick and rolls and smart guards like Dario Saric and Bojan Bogdanovic know how to attack this. When he does hedge, as he did throughout the second half, he was actually fairly effective. He used his length to cut off dribble penetration and block the passing lane to the roller. He recovered quickly in these instances after the pass. It still seems like Vucevic is fighting against his nature to be effective. But he showed some improvement.</p>. C. Montenegro. NIKOLA VUCEVIC. B-
Regardless of how he is playing in relation to the Orlando Magic, he is still playing a big role for Montenegro in this tournament. Montenegro is 1-2 and still in line to advance out of group play, having already played group favorites Spain and Croatia.
Montenegro next plays the Czech Republic on Tuesday at 7 a.m. ET. They then finish group play against winless Romania (who plays Spain later Monday). Montenegro likely would advance if they split those games.
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That gives Vucevic more time to produce and differentiate himself in Eurobasket 2017.