The best Doncic met the worst Slovenian team.

How is Doncic performing after shedding weight? After watching the opening game of the EuroBasket group stage today, Lakers fans probably should be worried.

Despite losing to Poland, Doncic was on the court for 36 minutes and 19 seconds, shooting 7 out of 14 shots, making 3 of 9 three-pointers, converting 17 of 18 free throws, and finishing with 34 points, 4 rebounds, 9 assists, 5 steals, and 2 blocks, but a minus-10 plus-minus.

Looking at these stats, my first thought wasn’t how great Doncic is—such numbers are not unusual for him. Instead, I immediately thought he must be exhausted, considering this is a 40-minute game format and he played 36 minutes with less than 4 minutes rest, equivalent to playing over 43 minutes in the NBA.

In fact, analyzing the post-game data gives a rough idea of the match. Out of 14 shots, 9 were from beyond the three-point line, indicating Doncic couldn’t penetrate inside. Poland consistently double-teamed him throughout the game; he could shoot threes from outside but had no chance to break through as two defenders waited inside.

Therefore, to maintain his offensive output, Doncic had to rely heavily on three-point attempts. Of course, he also caused significant damage inside, and his 17 of 18 free throw shooting is remarkably accurate, even for him.

With 5 steals and 2 blocks, it’s clear Doncic didn’t slack off at all in this game; he was fully engaged on both ends from the start. Early on, he blocked Poland’s naturalized player. Poland eliminated Slovenia in the last EuroBasket, so Doncic was eager for revenge in this group match but unfortunately came up short.

This game resembled Doncic’s NBA style: he started the first quarter aggressively, playing nearly the entire 9 minutes and 55 seconds, scoring 14 points with 2 blocks and drawing 7 free throws. Slovenia scored 25 points in the first quarter, with Doncic contributing 14 of those.

In the second quarter, Doncic rested for over three minutes, which was basically his total rest time for the whole game. As a transition quarter for him, he only scored 3 points. In the second half, he played almost the entire two quarters, but when the deficit widened in the third quarter, Slovenia never caught up.

The game was very physical on both sides; if emotions hadn’t been controlled well, either team could have gotten into trouble. The third quarter saw frequent whistles, and the game quickly turned into free throw opportunities, which explains the rapid increase in Doncic’s free throw attempts.

Poland is indeed quite strong, even stronger than in 2019. In 2019, Ponitka, who stole a ball from our sideline, scored efficiently with 8 of 13 shooting, totaling 23 points and 7 rebounds, and had the highest plus-minus at +20. Their naturalized player Lloyd was even better, shooting 9 of 14, hitting 7 of 8 threes, and making 7 of 8 free throws, scoring 32 points.

So, compared to that, Doncic’s lone effort stands out more clearly. This Slovenian team is arguably the worst in Doncic’s national team career. Former Nugget Chalmers, who signed with Milan Olimpia during the offseason, suddenly announced he wouldn’t represent Slovenia in the EuroBasket.

Slovenia’s naturalized center Josh Nebo, also playing for Milan Olimpia, likewise announced he wouldn’t participate in this EuroBasket. The absence of these two key players worsened Slovenia’s roster. Their warm-up results show 1 win and 5 losses, only beating the bottom-tier UK team, while failing to win against any other somewhat strong opponents.

After a heavy loss to Serbia in the warm-up games, reports said Doncic was very angry in the locker room and expressed strong dissatisfaction with his teammates. After the first group match, we saw Slovenia doesn’t even have an inside player who can reliably catch and finish, and their open three-point shots aren’t falling.

Slovenia once had glorious days, winning the European championship in 2017, when Doncic was also on the team. But back then, Dragic was the leader, and Doncic was still developing under his wing. At 18 years old, he was already averaging 14.3 points, 8.1 rebounds, 3.6 assists, and 0.9 steals per game.

Eight years later, 26-year-old Doncic has become a world-class superstar, but Slovenia’s roster has gotten worse year by year. Apart from Doncic, no one else can step up. Whether in the NBA or the national team, Doncic feels powerless.

This might be related to Doncic’s all-encompassing style of play, but since he chose this path, he must accept it without complaints. If 34 points aren’t enough to win this game, he will respond with an even better performance next time.