You’ll probably agree with us, getting up from the couch to grab the remote from the table a little further away is already a colossal effort. Now imagine having to play five high-intensity basketball games in just… seven short days? The most math-savvy among you will have already done the math, but all this happy mess leaves only two days of recovery. This frenetic pace represents neither more nor less than what the players have suffered since the start of EuroBasket, a situation that is beginning to displease, especially among the stars.
While EuroBasket is a great experience for players and fans alike, this kind of competition often takes place after an already very long season for the basketball body. Organizations are well shaken, and the high intensity of tournament matches does not really leave time for players to recover. In fact, more than the intensity itself, it is above all the rhythm at which the teams chain the matches that challenges. Take the case of this Euro, during which the group stage is scheduled from September 1 to 8. Each selection must face the five other teams in its pool once during this period. With so many matches to play in a week, that only leaves two short days to breathe and get back on track. So yes, we could say that the players are used to it, especially the NBAers who usually cash back-to-backs and long road-trips, but the intensity in FIBA is a little different, because during a Euro every game counts and it is almost impossible to rotate properly.
“We have fewer games here, but each game is more important. From the first minute to the last action, it really goes all out. Physically, it’s a big challenge. We are going to play our second back-to-back. Which means four games in five days, right? It’s hard. –Evan Fournier
Faced with this situation, several stars have decided to speak out, Evan Fournier and Luka Doncic at the top of the list. Both placed in group B, aka the group of death, the French and the Slovenian are forced to string together crazier matches than each other. Inevitably it leaves traces, and Luka has also experienced a few sores, particularly at the wrist. Well, injuries are precisely the major risk that arises from these sequences of matches. Just imagine, after having played the day before against the Lithuanian lumberjacks, Doncic now goes in drive against a big Hungarian daron but is farted in the ischio, the fault of fatigue. Boom, the boy is out for part of the season. So thank the basketball gods it hasn’t happened yet, but just imagine the consequences of such an injury. The sauce is just monumental, and for everyone. Slovenia loses its best player, Dallas too and FIBA would probably be overwhelmed from all sides, not necessarily wrongly. Because yes, this Euro also conditions the coming season for many players, and fatigue is likely to be felt at some point. What the players are now demanding is a rearrangement of the calendar during international competitions. Less of back-to-back and more rest, this is the key to a less risky tournament and perhaps more pleasant matches.
“We are going to play four games in five days with Slovenia. Yesterday (04/09, editor’s note) for example, we had two matches in twenty-four hours. Yes, changes need to be made for everyone. We all work the same, everyone has less rest. It’s a problem for injuries, that’s for sure. We are more exposed to this and it is our franchises that should not be happy. »
— Luka Doncic
A frantic pace and which is not yet over since the teams still have to play two games before breathing a little. The rest will however be short-lived and the round of 16 will begin on Saturday, September 10 (for the complete guide to the Euro, it’s right here). Big program in perspective so no time to stroll, we’re off to get back to work!
Source texte : Eurohoops