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Hallo dear friends,
I thought giving an overview of the teams strengths and weaknesses would be beneficial for guys who are not observing every NT.
Team Turkey:
OK, lets try to give some overview about the expected teams
The Turkish team should look something like this (best case)
PG: Shane Larkin, Kenan Sipahi (Bugrahan Tuncer)
SG: Furkan Korkmaz,(Sehmus Hazer), (Melih Mahmutoglu)
SF: Cedi Osman, Onuralp Bitim, (Metecan Birsen), (Egehan Arna)
PF: Alperen Sengün, Sadik Emir Kabaca
C : Ömer Yurtseven, Sertac Sanli
The roster should look like something like this. Unlike the previous seasons, most of the guys had big roles in their teams. There are many many options in the 2 and 3 positions, 1 and 4 are a bit problematic but not too bad. The selection between Mahmutoglu, Hazer and Bitim will be very interesting to watch. Up until now Mahmutoglu was never questioned neither by Sarica nor by Ene but Ergin Ataman knows how to have a good mix of offense and defense. I would let Mahmutoglu out but I am not sure if its gonna happen. Onuralp Bitim after this season and considering his impact on both sides of the game should be set. Mahmutoglu will be history soon anyway.
The selection either of Birsen or Arna depends on the way he wants to play. Birsen had a very bad season and his shots hasnt fallen at all so far. He is a good rebounder and with 6'9 he is able to play 4 too but Arna on the other hand had his breakout season and is a quite reliable shooter (actually he is a great shooter) which can open up room for our 3 offensive bigs. Anyway with Bitim coming from the bench Furk will be able to start.
In Atamans system shooting from the power forward position is crucial. I am sure he will start with 2 bigs (Sengün and Sanli) and switch them in offense and defense. Sengün will play 5 on offense and Sanli will wait outside for the open shot and some pick and roll/pop action. On defense they will change positions. Sengün has similar to Jokic very fast hands and can be used for deflections and Sanli can work in the paint.
Of course there can be matchups Sanli and Sengün cant be used together. For guys like JV who are too strong for Sanli and too tall and too for Sengün he will have to start with Yurtseven. But there is enough room to rotate.
The center rotation is really not bad offensively the 3 guys cover all the needs you can think of, defensively there are some problems. We need to wait the full potential of this big rotation till Adem Bona is ready.
I am a believer of Sengüns talent. I am sure he is unguardable on one vs. one and as a solid passer and finisher he will be a big help creating open shots. Especially Sanlis 3 point shot will drag out bigs and make more room for Sengün and co. or Sanli will punish. Yurtsevens and Sengüns ability to grab rebounds are very precious for second chances and both of them can finish in various ways. Yurtsevens problem was always shying away from contact. The problem hasnt fully vanished yet but he fought in the NBA well.
My biggest concern are the two guards on the defensive end. Securing the ball with struggling to create open looks was always a problem which is gonna get minimized with a solid Shane Larkin who is really eager to play for Turkey btw. but the backcourt was so far really undersized. The best way to have a balanced team is being able to switch from an offensive to a defensive lineup and we have the guys.
Sipahi and Bitim are the both guys I trust defensively fully even if it means losing some creativity. We need guys who can show some resilience. I am really interested to see a lineup with.
Larkin - Bitim - Osman - Sengün - Sanli
Such a lineup has a good offense - defense balance
In a scenario without Larkin on the court Ataman needs to find a way to create out of the post and here I really fear that he is gonna use Tuncer who is the biggest weakness of this team since he can defend at all. I would prefer Sipahi over him but I am ok with both on the roster which would make Mahmutoglu fall out. We will see...
This is an overall solid team with a deep roster with some crucial irreplaceable names like Larkin and Sengün who are both the stars of this team.
Despite having a bad season at the end I dont doubt Korkmaz will play a solid Eurobasket and despite having a good overall season I doubt Osmans shots will fall like they did in the NBA but he has the range for sure. I mentioned it because stretching the floor will be crucial when the Turkish team wants to unleash its full potential with 3 offensive bigs.
Quarter finals is the minimum goal but taking the right path more is more than possible.
I thought giving an overview of the teams strengths and weaknesses would be beneficial for guys who are not observing every NT.
Team Turkey:
OK, lets try to give some overview about the expected teams
The Turkish team should look something like this (best case)
PG: Shane Larkin, Kenan Sipahi (Bugrahan Tuncer)
SG: Furkan Korkmaz,(Sehmus Hazer), (Melih Mahmutoglu)
SF: Cedi Osman, Onuralp Bitim, (Metecan Birsen), (Egehan Arna)
PF: Alperen Sengün, Sadik Emir Kabaca
C : Ömer Yurtseven, Sertac Sanli
The roster should look like something like this. Unlike the previous seasons, most of the guys had big roles in their teams. There are many many options in the 2 and 3 positions, 1 and 4 are a bit problematic but not too bad. The selection between Mahmutoglu, Hazer and Bitim will be very interesting to watch. Up until now Mahmutoglu was never questioned neither by Sarica nor by Ene but Ergin Ataman knows how to have a good mix of offense and defense. I would let Mahmutoglu out but I am not sure if its gonna happen. Onuralp Bitim after this season and considering his impact on both sides of the game should be set. Mahmutoglu will be history soon anyway.
The selection either of Birsen or Arna depends on the way he wants to play. Birsen had a very bad season and his shots hasnt fallen at all so far. He is a good rebounder and with 6'9 he is able to play 4 too but Arna on the other hand had his breakout season and is a quite reliable shooter (actually he is a great shooter) which can open up room for our 3 offensive bigs. Anyway with Bitim coming from the bench Furk will be able to start.
In Atamans system shooting from the power forward position is crucial. I am sure he will start with 2 bigs (Sengün and Sanli) and switch them in offense and defense. Sengün will play 5 on offense and Sanli will wait outside for the open shot and some pick and roll/pop action. On defense they will change positions. Sengün has similar to Jokic very fast hands and can be used for deflections and Sanli can work in the paint.
Of course there can be matchups Sanli and Sengün cant be used together. For guys like JV who are too strong for Sanli and too tall and too for Sengün he will have to start with Yurtseven. But there is enough room to rotate.
The center rotation is really not bad offensively the 3 guys cover all the needs you can think of, defensively there are some problems. We need to wait the full potential of this big rotation till Adem Bona is ready.
I am a believer of Sengüns talent. I am sure he is unguardable on one vs. one and as a solid passer and finisher he will be a big help creating open shots. Especially Sanlis 3 point shot will drag out bigs and make more room for Sengün and co. or Sanli will punish. Yurtsevens and Sengüns ability to grab rebounds are very precious for second chances and both of them can finish in various ways. Yurtsevens problem was always shying away from contact. The problem hasnt fully vanished yet but he fought in the NBA well.
My biggest concern are the two guards on the defensive end. Securing the ball with struggling to create open looks was always a problem which is gonna get minimized with a solid Shane Larkin who is really eager to play for Turkey btw. but the backcourt was so far really undersized. The best way to have a balanced team is being able to switch from an offensive to a defensive lineup and we have the guys.
Sipahi and Bitim are the both guys I trust defensively fully even if it means losing some creativity. We need guys who can show some resilience. I am really interested to see a lineup with.
Larkin - Bitim - Osman - Sengün - Sanli
Such a lineup has a good offense - defense balance
In a scenario without Larkin on the court Ataman needs to find a way to create out of the post and here I really fear that he is gonna use Tuncer who is the biggest weakness of this team since he can defend at all. I would prefer Sipahi over him but I am ok with both on the roster which would make Mahmutoglu fall out. We will see...
This is an overall solid team with a deep roster with some crucial irreplaceable names like Larkin and Sengün who are both the stars of this team.
Despite having a bad season at the end I dont doubt Korkmaz will play a solid Eurobasket and despite having a good overall season I doubt Osmans shots will fall like they did in the NBA but he has the range for sure. I mentioned it because stretching the floor will be crucial when the Turkish team wants to unleash its full potential with 3 offensive bigs.
Quarter finals is the minimum goal but taking the right path more is more than possible.
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