Although he has stepped away from coaching since the announcement of his multiple sclerosis, David Blatt keeps a watchful eye on the game. Before coaching LeBron James’ Cavaliers, for a frustrating season and a half on a personal level , the Israeli-American coach had shone on the Old Continent, winning the Euroleague in 2014 with Maccabi Tel Aviv and carrying Russia to European gold in 2007, and Olympic bronze in 2012.
For him, this Euro is not necessarily the best in history, as many have said, and it is no more surprising than other European tournaments. Which is “amazing”in his eyes, it is rather “to see the three best players in the world play Eurobasket at the same time and not qualify for the semi-finals”.
But for David Blatt, there are factors related to the game itself that can explain it.
“I can only tell you that watching all the games and seeing all the teams, only one thing stands out: in the European game, the best teams win whereas in the NBA, the teams with the best players win, generally. This is a major difference. This is not a criticism. It’s just the way the game is played. Because in my mind, Jokic, Giannis and Doncic are unquestionably among the top five players in the world, and they may be the top three players in the world, but that’s a different game. There are different rules, and the types of defensive alignments you can form in Europe can severely limit some players. Although Giannis and Jokic have scored at a very high level in shorter matches, the FIBA environment is changing the way the game is played. It emphasizes different aspects of the game that make it difficult for the biggest stars to win. “
“That’s why I like the differences between the NBA and the European game from a basketball perspective. It’s fun to compare them. It’s also fun to watch how the teams, coaches and players adapt to the other environment.”
Why ? David Blatt highlights several elements, especially defensive. We obviously think of the fact that there are no three defensive seconds in the FIBA game, which allows players like Rudy Gobert to cover the key even better. What make the attacks of the circle much more complicated than in the NBA.
But the former technician also recalls that there is a difference in duration between NBA and FIBA play, with Euro matches having only 40 minutes of actual play, compared to 48 on the other side of the Atlantic. .
“The duration of the game is very important, because each possession is more critical in a 40 minute game than in a 48 minute game. Squads are built in such a way that players are even more dependent on each other in order to have global impact and effectiveness. One or two players can’t just take control of the game. It can happen in the NBA but in the European game it’s extremely rare. Honestly, that’s actually one of the things I love about the sport. It’s so much fun. It is challenging, interesting and unpredictable. That’s why I like the differences between the NBA and the European game from a basketball perspective. It’s fun to compare them. It’s also fun to watch how the teams, coaches and players adapt to the other environment. And then, what happens when these two particular environments meet? It’s really fun to watch.” he concludes for EuroHoops.
