“Super far.”
That was Ibon Navarro’s answer when asked how far Crvena Zvezda are from the team he wants them to become.
“Very far,” he added.
Never too high, never too low.
In Serbian sports circles – and hardly only there – two defeats are a catastrophe. But should Zvezda win both games in this EuroLeague double-round week, don’t be surprised to see “Final Four” appearing in plenty of headlines.
That’s just how it goes.
“You are calmer now because we won our last game, but we are still very far from what we want to become,” Navarro said, his upbeat demeanor unchanged by either wins or losses.
No Centers, No Excuses
Navarro now has a few more headaches to deal with. Jonathan Motley will be sidelined for at least another month, while Ebuka Izundu was also injured during the ABA League game against Budućnost.
The injury is not serious, but it is enough to rule him out of Tuesday’s trip to face ASVEL.
In the win over Dubai, when Zvezda were also forced to play small ball for much of the game, Dejan Davidovac and Semi Ojeleye were particularly important.
Navarro praised both afterward – Davidovac for his basketball IQ and Ojeleye for the warrior mentality that makes him willing to do whatever the team needs.
Under the circumstances, Patrick Baldwin could also be a valuable option for Navarro, but the EuroLeague rookie is still struggling to find his feet in European basketball.
“Patrick is in the process of learning and understanding European basketball. Once you absorb all those things, the next step is to stop thinking so much while you’re playing. Because when you’re learning, you’re taking in all these ideas, and then you step onto the court and start overthinking. Now it’s time for him to think less and play more,” Navarro explained.
Despite their shortage of traditional centers, Zvezda rank in the upper half of the EuroLeague in rebounding. That pleases Navarro because, as he puts it, rebounding has to be part of his team’s DNA.
“Sometimes rebounding isn’t about height. It’s about intensity, concentration, energy and making the right decision about how to attack the rebound.”
The Price of Playing Hard
Zvezda currently have the third-worst three-point shooting percentage in the EuroLeague, at just 29.6 percent. No wonder Zvezda fans were encouraged by their shooting against Budućnost over the weekend – 16-of-32 from three.
“If you analyze the games in which we spent less energy on defense, you’ll see that we shot better. Quite simply, we were fresher.”
The aim, of course, is not to defend worse.
“We want to shoot well even when we’re playing at such a high intensity. It’s not easy, but sooner or later we’ll get there.”
Navarro also pointed to his Unicaja team from the 2022-23 season, when their three-point shooting percentages suffered until December. Things finally clicked that month.
Zvezda have good three-point shooters on their roster, so Navarro’s optimism is not without foundation.
ASVEL Are No Easy Prey
In that context, ASVEL are a particularly awkward opponent.
They are a physically imposing team, underestimated by many, but Tony Parker’s side have exceeded expectations at the start of the season.
“Who’s underestimating them? I’m certainly not,” Navarro said.
They have beaten Maccabi and Paris, suffered a heavy defeat to a powerful Panathinaikos team and lost by 13 to Valencia – although that final margin did not really reflect how the game unfolded.
NBA veterans Patty Mills and Jae Crowder have both been playing and shooting exceptionally well at the start of their first EuroLeague season.
ASVEL push the pace and move the ball extremely well. In fact, they lead the EuroLeague in the percentage of their made field goals that come off assists.
In Dubai, Zvezda did an excellent job of getting into passing lanes at the right moments. That kind of defense could once again prove crucial against a team that, much like the red-and-whites themselves, wants to play as fast as possible.
Tuesday, 8 PM. Zvezda go looking for their third straight EuroLeague win.
