The Chicago Bulls finally got the chance to check out the new addition of veteran Goran Dragic and second-year center Marko Simonovic on the opening day of the 2022 EuroBasket. Due to COVID-19 and the 2020 Summer Olympics got pushed to the summer of 2021. The 2022 Eurobasket got delayed by one year. But now the one-year wait is over, and fans are excited to see their favorite players play and watch their country compete for the championship.
Yesterday officially started the group stage of EuroBasket. Each country will play every one in their group. The top four teams from each group (A, B, C, D) will advance to the round of 16. With day one in the books of 2022 EuroBasket, let’s take a closer look at the performances of guard Goran Dragic and big man Marko Simonovic.
Goran Dragic (Slovenia)
Slovenia (Group B) entered the group stage as the second-best team according to FIBA rankings and is led by Dallas Mavericks star Luka Doncic and Bulls guard Goran Dragic. But Slovenia faced the fourth-best squad according to the FIBA rankings, Lithuania. Lithuania is led by NBA players Domantas Sabonis and Jonas Valanciunas.
The contest went back and forth through the first three quarters. But halfway through the fourth quarter, Lithuania found themselves up by five, 78-73. Luka Doncic led his home country of Slovenia with a 19-7 run to close the game to get their first win in the group stage. Doncic struggled shooting in the game, going 4-for-14 from the field but got ten assists. The late fourth quarter run included a Dragic three to extend Slovenia’s lead to four, 85-81. That Dragic three came with two and a half minutes left in the game.
After playing 21 games during the 2021-22 season with Toronto Raptors and Brooklyn Nets, you might think Goran Dragic might be done playing at 36 years old. But nope, he is not done yet with his basketball career. Dragic finished the game with 19 points and three assists. Another positive note with Dragic was his defense; he defended well and got two steals to add to his stat sheet.
Marko Simonovic (Montenegro)
Montenegro (Group A) got a tough opponent of Turkey for their first game. Turkey is known as a sleeper team in the tournament and entered this game with a 75 chance % of winning. Some players on the Turkey roster include current and former NBA players of Cedi Osman, Furkan Korkmaz, and Shane Larkin.
This game was highlighted by a couple of significant runs made by Turkey. Turkey finished the first half with a 10-0 run to take a 10-point lead into halftime, 41-31. The Montenegrins slowly got back in the game and outscored Turkey 20-12 to cut the lead down to 53-51. Montenegro held the lead for most of the fourth quarter, but Turkey got their second important run of the game, which was an 11-2 to close the game. Simonovic had the chance to put Montenegro ahead late. But, with four seconds left, Simonovic got an offensive foul after catching a defender with his elbow while attempting to put back a missed jumper.
Simonovic was a key contributor and will have a significant role in the other group-stage games. Simonovic drained 2 out of 3 three-point attempts and shot 80% from the field. He dropped 13 points, seven rebounds, three assists, and two steals. His defense has gotten questioned in the past, but it’s good to see some improvements with two steals.
Up Next
Slovenia plays Saturday at 1:30 PM CT against Hungary.
Montenegro plays Saturday at 6:30 AM CT against Belgium.
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