Opposed to Turkey tomorrow at noon, the French team knows that it has not inherited the easiest opponent for its EuroBasket round of 16. A not easy opponent, but an opponent who will be diminished since Shane Larkin will not be on the Berlin floor on Saturday.
The news fell this afternoon, and it was communicated by Turkish coach Ergin Ataman via BasketNews. Shane Larkin and EuroBasket 2022 is over. The cause ? An injury to the fingers of his strong hand requiring an operation and which will force him to stay away from the parquet floors for two months. The Anadolu Efes SK player has actually just had an MRI on the side of Istanbul, MRI revealing a tear. Obviously the blow is tough for Turkey just before the round of 16 against the Blues this Saturday at noon. Because we have now entered the knockout phase of the Euro and there will be no tomorrow in case of defeat. No longer possible to make calculations, no longer possible to preserve oneself in the event of a boo, we are on the do-or-die game pure and hard and the loss of a major player like Shane Larkin can very quickly cost dearly.
“For us, it’s a shock because I thought he was coming back. Without him, we lose a lot in attack. But my team is good. We always have good players. »
– Ergin Ataman
For those who are not too familiar with the man, we are simply talking about the playmaker of the reigning double Euroleague champion, a player named in the best five of the most prestigious European tournament in 2022 (second best five in 2021), of a man capable of finishing a Euroleague campaign in 50-40-90 and dominating a final with his very big offensive qualities. Named European player of the year in 2019, Larkin has also known the NBA in the jersey of the Celtics, Knicks, Nets and Mavs, without winning, of course, but the talent of the man has always been obvious. All that to say that we are not talking about just anyone, even if he did a little roller coaster in this EuroBasket 2022 because of his glitch in his hand.
Obviously, we will never celebrate the injury of a player and we can only wish him the best possible recovery, but it is clear that this absence represents a parameter that can help tip the scales in favor of the Blues tomorrow. Provided that Evan Fournier and his friends show their best face because the Turks still have arguments despite the absence of Larkin, Alperen Sengun in the lead but also Cedi Osman and Furkan Korkmaz.
No Shane Larkin against the Blues tomorrow, no Shane Larkin for the rest of EuroBasket if ever Turkey were to hit the French team. A new proof that everything can go very quickly and that no one is safe from a big glitch.
Source texte : BasketNews