Menu Close

Recapping Dario Saric’s Performance against Brazil in Group B Olympic Play

Adrian Fedkiw|

With the Philadelphia Eagles opening their preseason against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers tonight, Dario Saric was the one throwing the first touchdown.

Howie Roseman might’ve drafted the wrong guy.

In a matter of seconds, Saric elevated and met Rafael Hettshemier at the rim before flicking a perfect baseball pass down the floor to Bojan Bogdanovic for the dunk.

Impacting the game without scoring the basketball, that’s what Dario Saric does.

Saric had 15 points on 5-of-11 shooting to go with seven rebounds and three assists as Croatia hung on to defeat host Brazil 80-76 in Group B play on Thursday afternoon.

I’ve really been impressed with Saric’s competitive fire in this tournament and he thrives under pressure. Saric knocked down a dagger right wing 3-pointer when Brazil mounted a charge in the fourth quarter with less than two minutes left.

And Saric again quieted the crowd with this offensive rebound and putback with less than a minute left.

Clutch!

Let’s check out a couple more clips from this game.

Saric’s interior defensive is a lot better than his perimeter defense. He times his jump and swats Nene on the roll to the basket, adding to the block party during this tournament.

Saric’s jumper has been inconsistent over his first two games, but it was a lot better in this one. He knocks down the right wing triple here. He wasn’t falling away on his shot the way he was before, especially in that first game against Spain.

The shot clock expired, but Saric recognized Bogdanovic being doubled in the left corner and came closer to the ball. He found the open spot along the left wing and swished the 3. He really understands where to find the open spaces on the floor.

Saric is like Ben Simmons in his ability to grab a defensive rebound and head the other way. He craftily dribbles behind his back before executing a dribble handoff, which led to a Croatia field goal.

Saric with a nice take down the lane. He beat Nene on the catch, showcasing good body control. He gets his shoulders square with a head of steam going downhill before finishing the layup.

Croatia loves to play isolation basketball. Here’s another example of Saric’s prowess with the ball in his hands on the left wing drive, although he doesn’t finish the layup.

Another isolation here. Saric loves using a stutter dribble to create space prior to rising up for elbow jumpers. His shot rattled in and out on this occasion.

I’ve seen too much of this in the games I’ve covered where Saric gets outmuscled in the post, loses his balance and turns it over. The Philadelphia 76ers, however, have a plethora of post players so I don’t think Brett Brown will have Saric on the block often.

Bogdanovic led all scorers with 33 points for Croatia, which moved to 2-1 in the tournament. Croatia next plays Nigeria on Saturday.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.