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Recapping Dario Saric’s Performance against Serbia in the Olympic Quarterfinals

Adrian Fedkiw|

With a head of steam barreling down the left wing, Miroslav Raduljica received a pass from Stefan Markovic on a 3-on-2 fastbreak before soaring over a leaping Dario Saric for a thunderous dunk, sending the Croation sprawling to the floor.

Posterized.

It was one of those nights.

Saric had just seven points, four rebounds and an assist as Croatia fell to Serbia 86-83 in the quarterfinals of the Olympic Basketball Tournament on Wednesday night.

That slam might’ve sucked the life out of Saric, who committed a technical foul shortly thereafter and turned the ball over a little later. He exited the contest a few minutes after picking up his fourth foul with 5:53 left, but didn’t return to the game until there was two seconds remaining and the outcome already decided. Serbia led 41-40 following the rim rattler with 6:50 to go in the third, an advantage it never relinquished.

Croatia trailed 72-64 and made a run with Saric on the bench. Zoran Planinic capped a 22-6 surge with a pair of free throws. The extended burst began before Saric was shown the pine and pulled Croatia within 74-73 with 3:26 to go. Serbia, however, managed to stay in front after a couple ill-advised 3-pointers by Mario Hezonja and Bojan Bogdanovic down the stretch. The Serbs connected on all six of their free throws in the final 18 seconds with Croatia nipping at their heels.

Saric was 3-of-7 from the field and sunk just one of his four attempts from the foul line.

There’s not much to show from the clip department, but I’ve still got a few, starting with the dunk. Saric fans might want to turn away right about now.

Saric loves that stutter dribble and pull-up jumper, whether it’s along the left wing, right wing or top of arc, although this one was a bit more of the step-back variety.

I’ve gotten on Saric for his post play in previous recaps, but he recorded a bucket and drew a foul during another instance on the low block. He normally likes to go to the baseline fadeaway after a shoulder shake on the left block, but stayed on his pivot foot and flipped it in when he didn’t feel like the shot was there.

Saric was too quick for the Serbian defender here. He took a few dribbles into the paint so he could set up the drop step off the right shoulder and drew a foul.

Croatia did a solid job of hiding Saric’s defensive deficiencies during the tournament, keeping him along the back line instead of along the perimeter. He held his own for the most part, including this instance. Saric may lack athleticism, but does possess some defensive awareness.

Saric beat his defender prior to the catch with the slide along the left corner before gliding down the baseline and laying the ball in.

This was Saric’s night in a nutshell. First he struggled to get post position and then threw the ball away.

Overall, it was an uneven tournament for Saric, who had three great showings and a trio of so-so ones. He made some really clutch plays when it mattered, evidenced by the block against Spain when he struggled from the field. He netted 11 of his 19 points in the fourth quarter against Argentina and nailed a dagger 3-pointer and huge putback layup in the final minute against Brazil.

Hopefully he’ll be a little more consistent when he suits up for the Philadelphia 76ers come the fall.

Check out all of Saric’s performances in the Olympics below.

Croatia vs Brazil

Croatia vs Argentina

Croatia vs Spain

Croatia vs Nigeria

Croatia vs Lithuania

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