Generally Micic is not complementary with anyone from out guard rotation except Jovic (at least in my opinion) because he needs the ball so badly in his hands. For Markovic, you are absolutely right, one of the players that didn't receive the fame they should have for all the good results in the last decade besides some who got way to much of it (like for example Raduljica who had some good stretches but usually when we were playing good and because of flashiness).
Calling up Jovic is the missing, big, aggressive, on ball defending reincarnation of Markovic with intelligence and team-orientation that we need. There are certain risky line-ups I don't think Kokoskov will use, for example Teo - Micic - Guduric - sounds great but we would have to ask FIBA to allow us to play with two balls and put additional 6th player on the floor for playing defense. I am still convinced that we lost in China against Spain and Argentina primarily because we hadn't answers to certain match ups (1-4 combo zone against Spain vs. Bogdan and total small ball of Argentina from Q2-4). I expect Kokoskov to work balanced here and by watching Fener I am highly optimistic that he will create proper roles without dependance on certain players or positions on the floor. Our reliance on Bogdan in China was maybe beautiful to watch but his way too heavy usage made the team weaker and weaker as the tournament went on. I want to see a grinding and fighting Serbia who attacks the offensive rebounds with 2 players, who is boxing out on every position of opponent and puts aggression on the ball. This was always our key for winning and should stay like it. If being cruel it has to be said that Micic is the one least complementary with our team if we take into consideration that Bogdan and Jokic will be alpha and omega of this team. I am curious if he is able to translate his game into off ball to an extent that can really help us and make us better - potential is there but I am sceptical.
Jovic - Teo - Bogdan sounds ultra brutal to me and that is a line up I would like to see against many strong teams as often as possible. Bogdan and Jovic would have to sacrifice for Teo, but I am sure he is still alpha and most respected player in the locker room so it shouldn't be a big problem. And offensively it's a pure nightmare for opponents. Putting Bogdan on 3 has been highly discussed on literally every team where he played. Usually it was vice versa and because his great handles and creativity, feeling for pick and great spot up he was put rather on 1 than on 3. But there were also situations, especially in Kings, where played this role great. Question is if he and we are ready to see a Serbia where Bogdanovic is used differently than in last 4 years.
Good post. You’ve got something here that also troubles me to some degree – too many ballhandlers. I think that will be the biggest challenge (besides time needed to implement his scheme) Kokoškov will face trying to incorporate all those on ball players in our guard rotation, and turn them into a functional team. When you look at it, at any time on the floor we’ll have at least two prominent ballhandlers (probably three most of the time), Micić/Teo/Jović, Bogdan/Gudurić/Nedović, and even Bjelica likes to handle the ball, too much for my taste (IMO, Bjelica should play exclusively as a stretch PF, use his unlimited range and not try to initiate offense through him when we already have plenty of guys who can do it better than him. He was handling that ball and trying ISO plays too much in 2019, he should make plays only when our offense generates space and that’s where his passing and IQ should be helpful), not to mention Jokić (it’s really time to play through him and let him unlock the offensive potential of this team). I think won’t be easy task for Kokoškov, especially if he won’t have enough time to build the right role of every player and make them feel as important parts of the team. What encourages me in that regard is that all of those players are highly intelligent, they don’t necessarily need scheme or patterns to get going, they all enjoy free flowing basketball, it’s just important to set some basic principles and establish what is our bread and butter offensively (I believe that will be P&R with Jokić, his play from the low post and high post, off ball movement and cutting, finding open looks, sharing the ball, Bogdan’s ability to create good looks for himself and others). Micić is an excellent penetrator, but in this team he will have to make faster decisions and don’t stop ball movement. That also includes Bogdan, he was amazing in 2019, but as you said, if we want to reach new heights in our offense, we can’t be dependent solely on Bogdan. That is Kokoškov’s job to do. He has to find ways to include a whole team in passing, sharing the ball and shooting. He’s got excellent players to implement that strategy, but the whole team needs to buy into it (leave their individual talent at the service of the whole team). I think with Jokić both Micić and Bogdan will have to sacrifice a little bit, and do a better job as off ball players. I remember that Jokić and Bogdan actually had a few nice plays with Jokić passing to Bogdan on some off ball backdoor cuts. Nedović, for example, would increase his value for this team so much if he would use his speed and athleticism far more often in off ball movement then in ISO plays. Those are the kind of sacrifices this team needs in order to reach its potential.
I respect Jović and love his skill set, and hope he will be healthy to play this summer. That trio of Jović-Teo-Bogdan looks good to me, a nice balance of offense/defense. And if you want to play fast, throw in Lučić at PF and Jokić at C. Jović and Lučić to play of off Jokić as off ball threats, with Teo and Bogdan working magic with Jokić. Definitely exciting. The problem I see with Jović is that teams will use him as a conceptual risk, they will double Jokić in the post by helping of off Jović and let him shoot threes, which he can hit, but isn’t good shooter. Teams will be willing to take this approach. In the crunch time of a tight game that could be expensive gamble for us. We have possibility to throw lineups that will cover everything offensively without any visible liability, and opponents will just be forced to gamble a lot and hope good shooters will miss. But I’m definitely a fan of this trio in some stretches of the game, but not necessarily crunch time.
I think Raduljica was pretty much vital for our success in 2014-2016 era. Funny, I’ve got completely opposite impression about fans’ takes on Raduljica. There were far more takes such as “ohh, Raduljica, he wouldn’t be nearly as good if he didn’t have Teo by himself”. That is a bad take. As much as Raduljica profited by playing alongside Teo, the same could be said about Teo. Raduljica has appearance of lazy and laid back guy (his defense is bad that’s true), but he is a great finisher around the basket, with great feel as a roll guy which in combination with Teo was absolutely crucial to our success during that time. I mean, Raduljica carried our frontcourt in 2014 (Krstić could barely move due to injury), was good in 2015, and absolutely fantastic in 2016 (I think he was the best and most efficient center in that tournament offensively), he even added mid range game and hit them in high percentage. The point is that Raduljica got a lot of heat because of his laid back appearance, and everything good that he did was discredited because of Teo effect, which is hilarious, because he worked really hard and flashed great offensive skills which were absolutely complimentary to Teo’s skillset, and that is why they had a great two man game. I mean, besides Krstić, what other center would be as good as Raduljica was with Teo during that time? None. That shows there is another side of the coin equally important as the first one. Besides that, what he brought us offensively heavily outweighed his defensive deficiencies. Now, of course, Raduljica has regressed and probably won’t be with the team, but he deserved every bit of recognition for his tenure with NT 2014-2016. IMO, that team and our offensive scheme wouldn’t be as deep and effective without him.
