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The irony about Leo's decision to send Sam Dalembert home is that Croatia is one of the teams against which having a legit big man would have come in handy. Oh well.
With Dalembert out and Juan Mendez already cut and Jesse Young injured what was a position of depth is now kind of thin.
Joel Anthony and Lee Kendall have played wonderfully at times and there is the argument that knowing that they're going to get all the minutes they can eat will allow them to really play free. The problem is a team as crafty and veteran as Croatia -- think Slovenia with more talent and big guards -- will quickly identify that Canada has no back-ups inside and will try to get the starters into foul trouble early. This will be a major issue for Canada.
Can they win? A serious long shot for sure, but not impossible.
I called Gordon Herbert, the Raptors new assistant coach and a veteran of international basketball, for his take:
"I saw Croatia last year and 90 per cent of their offence was running different actions that ended up with them in a ball screen.
"They rely heavily on draw and kick action and their offensive philosophy is to get the ball to the rim for lay-ups or send it out for uncontested threes. They want to make you rotate and take advantage if you don't rotate properly.
"So a real key for Canada is going to be their screen-and-roll defence."
Can Canada win?
"On paper I think Croatia is the second-best team in the tournament after Greece. That means that they will have the pressure of expectations on them, so that should help Canada. They are going to need to play with a lot of energy -- like it sounds like they did in the second-half against Korea. They need to make the athleticism they have work for them. If they do that it's a one-shot deal and anything can happen."
Also this will be a good chance for Raptors fans to see Croatian guard Roko Ukic who will likely be an absolute nightmare for Canada's guards to handle given his size and quickness and penetrating ability. Herbert is high on Ukic who he coached against in Europe. "He's not afraid of taking big shots. He's very creative getting into the paint and he can make plays when he gets there. I think he has a chance to be a good NBA player."
One thing worth pointing out regarding Ukic -- his shooting percentages are insanely good.
From the Raptors release announcing signing Ukic to a three-year contract yesterday:
"He averaged career highs of 11.5 points, 2.4 rebounds, 2.8 assists and 1.1 steals in 19 Euroleague contests. He shot .545 from the field and .824 from the charity stripe.....
In 34 regular season Italian League outings, Ukić again posted career bests with averages of 11.5 points, 2.6 rebounds, 3.0 assists and 1.7 steals. He shot .599 from the floor and .748 at the foul line"
.545 and .599 says great things about his finishing ability and decision making ability also, both tough things to teach.
And finally a little bone on Nathan Jawai, the Raptors second-round pick by way of Indiana. Herbert has been working out with Jawai the last two days in Las Vegas:
"He's very light on his feet, very explosive and very active. He combines that a power game and it's a very exciting package. He's raw, but he runs the floor well and first impressions are he's a hard worker. He's got great potential."
