The performance of the team at the preliminary matches did not impress, but they did encounter a number of problems during the two months of preparations. The first was the injury of Erazem Lorbek. At first only his ankle was injured, next his knee, and according to the last information the power forward, who has already parted with Barcelona, needs to change his level of activities, otherwise his career could be jeopardized. The preparations had just begun, when the rhythm was destroyed by the forced travel to the tournament in China, where the team only played matches while missing precious training sessions, while Phoenix allowed Goran to appear at three preliminary matches only.
They didn't play well at friendly matches
The older of the Dragić brothers initially considered taking a summer off this year, but in the end he chose to join the national team. He did not have the opportunity to train with the team for a long time, and after joining the national team he asked the Suns to allow him to participate at least at two more matches. The basketball player from Ljubljana immediately confirmed his quality and indisputable skill, proving to be the crucial member of the Slovenian team, but the team still makes a lot of mistakes, which explains Dragić's pesimistic, or perhaps realistic opinion: "It is not a secret that we have problems on the court. You have seen the matches. A lot can be improved, but it won't be easy. It will be difficult to improve in a couple of days what we haven't succeeded in improving in two months.
"Even if we don't enter the quarter finals, I would not consider it a failure, not with this team. We have to be realistic. We don't have a team which could fight for the top. We won't come waving white flag, we will fight the best we can, and we will see the result. As you could see, we didn't play well at friendly matches," Dragić explained. From his words we can assume that the team (still) lacks chemistry, and not everything is as it should be. "I am only one player. Good results can be achieved only by a team with proper chemistry. We don't have it yet. I hope this can change quickly. On the other hand, that can be a good thing. At previous championships the chemistry within the team was so good before the beginning of the championship that we won all the preliminary matches, and then lost the most important ones. This time the start was bad, we lost some of the preliminary matches. Perhaps the situation will improve for the most important matches, and we might play our best games at that time."
Until now only one half of the actions was played
Yet Gogi claims that he will be extremely motivated for the world championship, and during the last performances – he hasn't missed a single important competition yet – he has always made a step forward, and has played an important role in the national team. Last year he was the best shooter and assistant, and his excellent performance won him the place within the best five players of the tournament of the old continent best teams, as the second Slovenian player. He kept his form during the season as well, as the leader of the Suns, and won the NBA League Most Improved Player award.
28-year old playmaker is still not satisfied with his form, but he believes he can improve by the beginning of the championship. He believes one match will be enough to reach the top form, and keep it through the rhythm of consecutive matches. Besides, the Slovenian players have not revealed all their cards yet, and haven't shown their aces, which leaves space for improvement. "We did hide quite a lot. We haven't played more than one half of the prepared actions. The key will be group jump, front or back. All five need to jump. Here we had problems; I believe our jump was inferior in all matches. It is a very important part of the game. If your opponent wins ten jumps more than you do, that means ten attacks more – and if they score two points only half of the times, it results into a ten point advantage. And that is a lot. The fighting spirit will be of utmost importance. We can compensate our lack of height with our fighting spirit."
The first match will be extremely important
Dragić is the leader of the team on the court, but also one of the most experienced, as he is the only one besides Uroš Slokar performing at the world championship for the third time. "In 2006 we had a very strong team, only Vujačić and Smodiš were missing. In 2010 quite a number of players cancelled their participation. It is very hard to compare, as the team had changed a lot. We played in the quarter finals. We played against the Turkish team, and it was really difficult. It is a constant for us that somebody fails to show, or gets injured. Lakovič and Nachbar have retired. I joke sometimes that the two of them did so much good for the national team that the Basketball Union of Slovenia should erect a monument to them. Now the young boys are joining the team, and in future they will take over the burden. Playing at the world championship, against strong teams, remains one of the best experiences ever."
"I hope our game will improve, and that it will remain uniform – we had too much drops in our performance, our game was uneven. The matches against Australia and Lithuania will be the most important. I prefer that the last match is against Lithuania, when the situation in the group will be already known. We must win against South Korea, Angola, and Mexico. The remaining two opponents are very difficult, and the first match against Austrtalia will be extremely important," the new captain of the Slovenian national team gave his opinion on the group part of the championship, starting on Saturday with the match against Australia.