Serbian NT 2015

[vuxsa2]

Djordjevic's 24:

PG/SG: Miloš Teodosić (CSKA), Stefan Jović (Crvena zvezda), Stefan Marković (Unikaha), Vasilije Micić (Bajern), Nemanja Nedović (Valensija), Bogdan Bogdanović (Fenerbahče), Dragan Milosavljević (Partizan).
F: Rade Zagorac (Mega Leks), Nikola Kalinić (Crvena zvezda), Marko Simonović (Ortez), Marko Kešelj (Mega Leks), Nemanja Dangubić (Crvena zvezda), Nemanja Bjelica (Fenerbahče).
PF: Luka Mitrović (Crvena zvezda), Zoran Erceg (Galatasaraj), Stefan Birčević (Estudijantes), Milan Mačvan (Partizan).
C: Đorđe Majstorović (Metalac), Nikola Jokić (Mega Leks), Miroslav Raduljica (bez kluba), Boban Marjanović (Crvena zvezda), Ognjen Kuzmić (Golden Stejt), Vladimir Štimac (Bajern), Nikola Milutinov (Partizan).

Notable absentees: Lucic (unknown reason), Krstic (retired), Katic (retired?), Velickovic (figures, after last year's mini incident), Micov (clash with Djordjevic last year), Jelovac (although not in radar, for me deserved to be called), Savanovic (I guess same reason as last year, but still dubious).

 

[INTEGRAL2]

WTF? How the hell are Lucic and Pavlovic out?

Good news for Milosavljevic. If he can keep his last performances in Eurobasket, we can see him in Fenerbahçe next year.

And is Keselj still alive?

 

[Serbian_Layup2]

I feel bad for Lučić. Đorđević said that Lučić deserved by all means to be on the list, but he just couldn't take a risk because of his chronic back injuries.
He had too many serious back injuries in the past 2 years, so i completely understand his decision to skip this summer.

 

[Dacho88Nk2]

WTF? How the hell are Lucic and Pavlovic out?

Good news for Milosavljevic. If he can keep his last performances in Eurobasket, we can see him in Fenerbahçe next year.

And is Keselj still alive?

Lucic - Djordjevic couldn't take a risk because of his chronic back injuries.
Pavlovic - Ever since Serbia became an independent state (2006), decided not to play, not for Serbian national team, also not for the national team of Montenegro.

 

[INTEGRAL2]

That guy Lucic was the best player among all 2-3 position players in Serbia when he was in Partizan

 

[Victorious2]

Djordjevic's 24:

PG/SG: Miloš Teodosić (CSKA), Stefan Jović (Crvena zvezda), Stefan Marković (Unikaha), Vasilije Micić (Bajern), Nemanja Nedović (Valensija), Bogdan Bogdanović (Fenerbahče), Dragan Milosavljević (Partizan).
F: Rade Zagorac (Mega Leks), Nikola Kalinić (Crvena zvezda), Marko Simonović (Ortez), Marko Kešelj (Mega Leks), Nemanja Dangubić (Crvena zvezda), Nemanja Bjelica (Fenerbahče).
PF: Luka Mitrović (Crvena zvezda), Zoran Erceg (Galatasaraj), Stefan Birčević (Estudijantes), Milan Mačvan (Partizan).
C: Đorđe Majstorović (Metalac), Nikola Jokić (Mega Leks), Miroslav Raduljica (bez kluba), Boban Marjanović (Crvena zvezda), Ognjen Kuzmić (Golden Stejt), Vladimir Štimac (Bajern), Nikola Milutinov (Partizan).

Notable absentees: Lucic (unknown reason), Krstic (retired), Katic (retired?), Velickovic (figures, after last year's mini incident), Micov (clash with Djordjevic last year), Jelovac (although not in radar, for me deserved to be called), Savanovic (I guess same reason as last year, but still dubious).

Krstic is retired which is a bog blow for Serbia. He was important for the team in key games. There were four key players in Serbia. He was one of them. Ofcourse Marjanovic is going to take his place, but he is rather unpredictable at this stage.

 

[Italian Pride2]

Krstic is retired which is a bog blow for Serbia. He was important for the team in key games. There were four key players in Serbia. He was one of them. Ofcourse Marjanovic is going to take his place, but he is rather unpredictable at this stage.

Radujica will be the fourth IMO

 

[Serbian_Layup2]

Đorđević said he wants to play athletic basketball with a lot of transition and easy baskets. In fact, he said he wants to play just like Real Madrid this season. For that reason, he isn't really high on Marjanović, despite his domination in Euroleague this season. On the other hand he likes Kuzmić, sees him as a good rim protector, rebounder and shot blocker. Marjanović has a specific style of play and requires a lot of adjusting which confronts Đorđević's vision of play. Anyway, Marjanović is a valuable weapon, we'll see his role in preparation games. Krstić will be missed for many reasons, but i'm not worried about our frontcourt, we have depth and talent.

Beside Krstić, 2 players we are going to miss the most are Lučić and Veličković. Novica is a better player than Erceg, he has much better overall game, and Lučić would make a fantastic tandem with Kalinić. Now we have to find a backup for Kalinić. Dangubić, Simonović and Kešelj figure as his backups, but Bogdanović and Milosavljević could also take minutes at 3. Kešelj is a good spot up shooter, but he lacks everything else. Simonović, same as Kešelj with a better defense. Dangubić has crazy athleticism, but he needs to improve his shooting. My choice would be Dangubić, but If Đorđević doesn't trust none of them, he will have to improvise and in that case Milosavljević could have an important role.

All in all, this is our strongest team in the past 10 years. We made success with unbalanced teams at Eurobasket 2013 and not to mention last year, we had a lot of problems, injuries, forced to improvise every single position. Now we have a balanced team, our key players seem to trust each other, they are getting along really well, and that's foundation for a good chemistry. Hopefully, all players will stay healthy.

 

[Pera Peric2]

Đorđević said he wants to play athletic basketball with a lot of transition and easy baskets. In fact, he said he wants to play just like Real Madrid this season. For that reason, he isn't really high on Marjanović, despite his domination in Euroleague this season. On the other hand he likes Kuzmić, sees him as a good rim protector, rebounder and shot blocker. Marjanović has a specific style of play and requires a lot of adjusting which confronts Đorđević's vision of play. Anyway, Marjanović is a valuable weapon, we'll see his role in preparation games. Krstić will be missed for many reasons, but i'm not worried about our frontcourt, we have depth and talent.

Beside Krstić, 2 players we are going to miss the most are Lučić and Veličković. Novica is a better player than Erceg, he has much better overall game, and Lučić would make a fantastic tandem with Kalinić. Now we have to find a backup for Kalinić. Dangubić, Simonović and Kešelj figure as his backups, but Bogdanović and Milosavljević could also take minutes at 3. Kešelj is a good spot up shooter, but he lacks everything else. Simonović, same as Kešelj with a better defense. Dangubić has crazy athleticism, but he needs to improve his shooting. My choice would be Dangubić, but If Đorđević doesn't trust none of them, he will have to improvise and in that case Milosavljević could have an important role.

All in all, this is our strongest team in the past 10 years. We made success with unbalanced teams at Eurobasket 2013 and not to mention last year, we had a lot of problems, injuries, forced to improvise every single position. Now we have a balanced team, our key players seem to trust each other, they are getting along really well, and that's foundation for a good chemistry. Hopefully, all players will stay healthy.

what success in 2013?

 

[Serbian_Layup2]

what success in 2013?

Considering all circumstances, 2013. was successful for us. We finished 7th, but we made our goal and grabbed the last spot for Mundobasket 2014. It was a real mess of a team. Teodosić was injured, Marković was left as the only real point guard, Nedović played more at SG. Micić and Anđušić couldn’t make any contribution. Bjelica was the only PF, unless you count Gagić as a PF, which is ridiculous. Katić and Štimac weren’t decent backups for Krstić, at least not for higher expectations. At 3 you had Kalinić and Nemanja Krstić. And keep in mind that Kalinić from 2013. wasn’t anywhere near to Kalinić from 2015. Same goes with Bogdanović.

Considering all that, it was a success which allowed us to get a silver next summer.

 

[Joško Poljak Fan2]

I've moved some posts from the "possible rosters" thread, also feel free to start new 2015 threads for other NT's.

The potential roster is very impressive, strenght wise a clear no.3-4 definately no.3 as far as the depth goes while strenght wise Greece can be comparable as well, pretty much stacked at every position.
However arguably apart from the 90ies and early 00's Serbia practicaly always got their best results with half of their main guys missing, with 3-4 extra players and others filling the gaps and contributing in other areas. And even in those early editions some notable players were missing/left out. The fact that Djordjević is reconsidering about a player as Marjanović it shows a good promise he is on a good path there, eventhough he is a helluva player, as stacking 12 great players in a team can make hierarchy suffer and can hurt the results.

 

[Serbian_Layup2]

Kuzmić said few days ago that he is eager to join the NT and make the final cut despite the strong competition at C.
I liked his statement, and i'm sure that Đorđević, who thinks highly of him, is very pleased to hear that.

Nedović got injured against Bilbao, it looked bad, but it's nothing serious, even though that ankle is turning out to be a chronic problem for him.

 

[Big Lebowski2]

Djordjevic should not change a lot from NT 2014. He has just to replace players who'll be missing competition and to avoid Teodosic to play point guard because in this role he's worse than hailstorm. Macvan to replace Katic and Marjanovic to replace Krstic.
But I believe he will replace Jovic with Micic too (and I'm not sure that Macvan will be in: I think Djordjevic will bring Erceg, in my opinion a mistake).

 

[Pera Peric2]

What do you guys think about Marjanović in Serbian NT? He was best EL player this season but there are still doubts will he make it to best 12. Many in Serbia thinks that Djordjević will not invite him because he doesn't fit in modern and fast basketball that Djordjević wants to play. But many discussions on Serbian forums are not too objective. Everything in Serbia is about Zvezda and Partizan. Red Star fans think that he is best player ever and Partizan fans that he is shit.

 

[Serbian_Layup2]

Djordjevic should not change a lot from NT 2014. He has just to replace players who'll be missing competition and to avoid Teodosic to play point guard because in this role he's worse than hailstorm. Macvan to replace Katic and Marjanovic to replace Krstic.
But I believe he will replace Jovic with Micic too (and I'm not sure that Macvan will be in: I think Djordjevic will bring Erceg, in my opinion a mistake).

Teodosić shined last summer as a point guard. He has always been and will be a point guard. In my opinion, he is the most talented point guard in Europe. All his issues are not basketball related. We were far from being considered as a team that could do some serious damage last year, not to mention win a medal. That's exactly the role that suits best for Teodosić and he absolutely owned competition in that mental state, as a clear underdog. Troubles with him begin in games with high expectations. He needs to find a right mental approach to deal with those expectations which are going to be very high this year.

As for Mačvan, Đorđević must be aware of potential injuries, he doesn't want to end up with inexperienced player that can't make a contribution at this stage, like last year with Birčević. Mačvan has a great basketbal IQ , it's his best quality, preparation games will show who is in Đorđević's favour.

If all guards stay healthy, i don't see Micić making the final cut.

 

[INTEGRAL2]

What do you guys think about Marjanović in Serbian NT? He was best EL player this season but there are still doubts will he make it to best 12. Many in Serbia thinks that Djordjević will not invite him because he doesn't fit in modern and fast basketball that Djordjević wants to play. But many discussions on Serbian forums are not too objective. Everything in Serbia is about Zvezda and Partizan. Red Star fans think that he is best player ever and Partizan fans that he is shit.

If Krstic fits why not Boban too? And I don't think Serbia plays super fast basketball as Slovenia does. You have lots of starting 5 players who love to hold the balls like Teodosic, Bogdan and Bjelica to reduce the game speed.

 

[Obina2]

What do you guys think about Marjanović in Serbian NT? He was best EL player this season but there are still doubts will he make it to best 12. Many in Serbia thinks that Djordjević will not invite him because he doesn't fit in modern and fast basketball that Djordjević wants to play. But many discussions on Serbian forums are not too objective. Everything in Serbia is about Zvezda and Partizan. Red Star fans think that he is best player ever and Partizan fans that he is shit.

Of course he will play. He is the best Serbian and one of the best European Cs.

 

[vuxsa2]

What do you guys think about Marjanović in Serbian NT? He was best EL player this season but there are still doubts will he make it to best 12. Many in Serbia thinks that Djordjević will not invite him because he doesn't fit in modern and fast basketball that Djordjević wants to play. But many discussions on Serbian forums are not too objective. Everything in Serbia is about Zvezda and Partizan. Red Star fans think that he is best player ever and Partizan fans that he is shit.

Although I'm Red Star fan (and consider myself to be level-headed), I'm not so sure in your statement. I am sure that great majority of Partizan fans indeed holds Bobi in respect. Of course he should play, not just that he had one amazing season behind him, but also we have very few real options on position 5. To Djordjevic should be clear how Bobi should be used - creative point guard making lots of pick and roll situation for him, and with Teodosic, I have no fear that that will be our game.

 

[Mindozas6]

I don't know. Of course, Bobi is a special case, if you want the best of him, you must build the whole team game around him. In such caliber team like Serbian NT it won't be the case for sure, especially since Djordjevic plans to play uptempo bball, so maybe these doubts comes from there. But on other hand to have such player like Bobi and don't take him as alternative weapon would be quite stupid IMO. Not every team will allow you to play the way you want, there'll be slower games, more possesional bball, where Bobi could be decent choice in the paint. Also if you're a good coach, you surely will find a way how to use 220cm, which are way more than just standing tall and doin' nothing

 

[Joško Poljak Fan2]

Well, I do understand that Djordjević might not see Bobi within his system. However if Bobi is willing to do that, isn't there something best you can imagine throwing in Bobi as a 3rd center on some team that would have troubles guarding him, when he could make a monstrous difference? Surely that changes the game plan, which is especialy obvious in defense that has to be pretty specific with Bobi in game and since there is not enough time to work through additional options with a completely different philosophy, I think Djordjević would likely prefer to pass on that. Bobi probably wouldn't be in a game shape without serious minutes either, however I don't doubt he could be devastating in some games just when it might matter.
Majstorović is a good player, yet not at the NT level, I don't think he'll make the cut
Milutinov could use a year or two before being included roster and game-wise
Same might be said for Jokić, even if physicaly he might already be ready for the level
Kuzmić is a bit of a questionmark considering he didn't play all that much with Warriors
Raduljica and Štimac are the obvious candidates here and Djordjević might just have to pick between taking Mitrović or Bobi as the 5th inside players

summing it all, pretty sweet worries to have considering Bobi would be a starting center in a no time for just about 80-90% of other national teams