While Rudy Gobert went all the way to the final with the Blues, other NBA stars such as Luka Doncic, Nikola Jokic and Giannis Antetokounmpo came out of the competition much earlier, to everyone’s surprise. Asked about it, the tricolor pivot gave a very simple reason for this. Hard to fault him.
Bad luck for Rudy Gobert, he was unable to shine in the Eurobasket final against Spain. The pivot of the French team was on the contrary quite disappointing in this last poster of the competition, failing to influence the meeting as much as he should have done. His performance (10 points, 6 rebounds and -7 evaluation) earned him to get destroyed by the fansjust to rub the knife in the wound.
However, if disappointment is in order at The Stifle Tower, he can at least tell himself that he has gone so far in the tournament with his selection. because with regard to the other superstars evolving in NBA, the balance sheet was much less flattering in Germany. For instance, Giannis Antetokounmpo et Luka Doncic didn’t make it past the quarter-final stage, being surprised by Germany and Poland respectively. Both even came out for five fouls during the match, forcing the parallel between them a little.
In the case of Nikola Jokic, double MVP in title who landed with Serbia and the firm intention of crowning himself European champion, it was even worse since the adventure stopped in the round of 16, where they leaning against Italy. Considering the number of big league heavyweights present for the occasion, it’s a rather unsettling outcome, especially as on the Spain side, perhaps the biggest name remains Willy Hernangomez. Clearly not of the same caliber…
Gobert: “Anything can happen in a single match”
Result, the three superstars had the right to a lot of taunts following their elimination from the Euro, including compared to Evan Fournier. Unsurprisingly, Gobzilla was also interviewed by Basket News on the subject before the final, so that he can find some semblance of an explanation. According to the Timberwolves big man, whose colors he will wear for the first time next fall, it really comes down to the magic of knockout matches:
In a game, anything can happen. It’s not like in the playoffs where you play the same team up to seven times. It’s just a game. On a match, a team that plays a great collective game, and where a few guys get hot, anything can happen. We have seen it in this tournament. We almost lost twice too, so that’s the beauty of it. Everything can happen.
Casually, the triple DPOY reasoning isn’t all that unfounded, and not just because France actually came within a hair’s breadth of elimination on several occasions. To put it simply, Greece, Serbia and Slovenia fell against teams that had nothing to lose and could therefore go all out without having the slightest regret. This was all the more the case for Germany playing at home, and whose public provided a significant moral boost. Under these conditions, anything is possible.
Rudy Gobert’s reasoning regarding the respective failures of Luka Doncic, Nikola Jokic and Giannis Antetokounmpo totally stands up.t. What is certain is that the three superstars will have a lot on the potato when approaching the regular season. Beware of carnage!