Goran Dragic on critical Luka Doncic issue: 'He's going to be fine' / News - Basketnews.com

Slovenian national team head coach Aleksandar Sekulic believes that Goran Dragic's presence might help Luka Doncic cool off in crucial moments where emotions can damage his team if things go wrong.

Credit: FIBA Credit FIBA

Luka Doncic got to learn from one of the biggest lessons from the previous national team experience. Before the EuroBasket 2022, the Dallas Mavericks star has the right man next to him to achieve the highest goal.

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"We were slightly too emotional in both games, especially me. I have got to learn from that, and it is not how I should be behaving," Doncic admitted after a painful bronze-medal game loss to Australia in Tokyo Olympics.

During the 2021-22 NBA season, Luka Doncic revealed that he started signing his favorite songs in his head to move his focus from referees and their questionable calls.

However, compared to the previous NBA season, the number of technical fouls he received has increased from 17 to 18.

Slovenian national team head coach Aleksandar Sekulic and captain Goran Dragic believe Doncic will be fine in the EuroBasket 2022.

A 36-year-old Chicago Bulls guard came out of retirement to help Luka defend the title.

"First of all, if we go back to last year's Olympics, I think it was unique for us. These guys didn't have a rest. We were the only team that went through the qualifiers to the Olympics and reached the semifinals, meaning they had one year of basketball without a break. We have to consider this when we talk about the players' emotions at the end of the tournament, which was historical for us and also mentally and physically demanding.

Most emotions come out when you're tired and have so much behind you. We can't judge him," coach Sekulic told BasketNews.

Slovenian national team captain Dragic, who sat next to his coach in the official pre-event press conference, will add experience and maturity that Slovenians might have missed last summer.

"With Goran's presence, we can maybe put this lower off of his shoulders, and Goran can help him out with this," Sekulic added.

"Hopefully, we can be a better team. I believe we can be a better team with such an experienced player like Goran and the amazing talent that Luka is showing on the court," Sekulic concluded.

"I believe this is normal when you want to achieve the biggest goals or win the medal in Olympics, which was the first for our country. He was carrying the team the whole tournament. As coach said, you can get tired," Dragic said to BasketNews.

"There are too many games, back-to-backs. When in the crucial games the ball doesn't want to go in, and I'm talking about the whole team, the frustrations come out a little bit which is completely normal," Dragic added.

"I think Luka learned from that. He played so many important games that I think he's going to be fine," the Chicago Bulls guard concluded.

Lithuania national team will challenge Luka Doncic and Slovenia at the opening game of the EuroBasket 2022 on Thursday.

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