Three wins, one defeat. Two-thirds of Germany’s preparations for the European Championship are complete. It has become clear that the DBB team still sees itself as a World Cup winner. But the rhythm is different today.
Not many people believed that the German national team would be able to hurt Serbia in the Super Cup final. And indeed, with the exception of a brief surge in the final quarter, Nikola Jokic and Co. were never seriously troubled. The Serbian machine ran too smoothly and was too well-oiled, and the squad is too deep, easily able to cope with Jokic’s minutes off the court. “Serbia clearly played better,” admitted DBB captain Dennis Schröder.
And yet, after its recent performances, the DBB team can be thoroughly satisfied with itself. Whether in the second test match against Slovenia or the day before against Turkey, Germany made a lackluster impression. There was little sign of the much-touted fast-paced basketball à la Mumbru. Instead, there was a lot of piecemeal play around stars Schröder and Wagner. “We have no rhythm on offense,” emphasized Daniel Theis after the narrow victory against Turkey.
DBB laments numerous absences during preparation
Dennis Schröder summed it up once again: “New coach, new concept, new system. We still have to come together,” and immediately followed up with the next simmering problem: “We still have a lot of injuries.”
The Sacramento Kings guard hit a sore spot. In the second test match against Slovenia, national coach Mumbru had only nine players at his disposal. Three players were again missing against Serbia. Starting center Daniel Theis was rested to manage his workload, having just played his first international match of the summer the day before. In addition, Maodo Lo, the backup point guard behind Schröder, has only just returned from injury. The situation is even more unclear for Leon Kratzer and especially David Krämer.
In short: What Daniel Theis publicly criticized – namely rhythm – is currently difficult to achieve. New injuries and old returnees seem to alternate from game to game. New lineups are constantly appearing on the court. Added to this are the new arrivals in the team and Mumbrus’ very deep rotation.
Mumbru faces tough squad decisions
Ahead of the final two tests on Thursday and Saturday, the Spaniard wants to drop at least one player from the squad. It will probably be Nelson Weidemann or youngster Christian Anderson. However, the Catalan coach still has to cut two more players before the European Championship opener against Montenegro on August 27 – a task made even more difficult by the injury-plagued preparations and uncertain availability in the coming weeks.
Despite all the pessimism, even with a slightly changed face, this team still has the self-confidence of a world champion. They started the final quarter against Serbia trailing by 15 points. Around four minutes later, the difference was only two points. In the end, it wasn’t enough against the top-class and fully-strength Serbs, but it is testament to the great character of this team, which now just needs to find its rhythm.
