Turkey vs Montenegro Prediction: Expecting Lots of Action and Results

The Turkish team starts their road to the Eurobasket with a match against Montenegro. The Turks are not beginning well even though they've brought together their best players. Will they break their losing streak? 

The Turkish national team lost four games before the start of EuroBasket, and its fans now have a lot to be concerned about. The team's failures are surprising given that they managed to put together a decent roster, with three NBA players in the starting five - Alperen Schengün, Cedi Osman, and Furkan Korkmaz. Ömer Jürtseven will not help his national team at the top tournament; Scotty Wilbekin also remains out of the starting lineup, though Shane Larkin is quite capable of making up for the lack of the latter. Larkin has become a big star in Europe, and in the Euroleague, the Anadolu Efes point guard is consistently averaging nearly 15 points and five assists. It is worth noting that the Turkish team's crisis has lasted for quite some time: they did not make it to the Olympics, and the 2019 World Cup took only 22nd place.

After defeats against Poland and Greece in friendly matches, the Turks' failures continued in the World Cup qualifying. The last time Ergin Ataman's team lost to Serbia with a score of 72:79. They even outplayed their opponent in some aspects. For example, the team threw five blocked shots, but their shooting from beyond the arc was poor, which was almost the main factor. Osman missed eight three-pointers, but with 22 points was still the most productive on the team. The trio from the NBA was responsible for the entire Turkish offense: Korkmaz had 18 points, and Alperen Shengün had a double-double of 17 points and 13 rebounds.

The Montenegrins finished 13th at the last European Championship, and this is so far their highest achievement in the top tournaments. At the 2019 World Championships, the Balkans were 25th, and even Nikola Vucevic was not enough to save the team. The Chicago center is not on the roster, and right now, the only NBA representative on the team is Marko Simonovic, who also plays for the Bulls. Recent naturalized Kendrick Perry has become one of the team's leaders, averaging 16 points in two games for Montenegro. There are two representatives of Buducnost in the starting five of the national team, and another two in Spain: Dino Radoncic and Bojan Dubljević represent Zaragoza and Valencia, respectively.

Bosko Radovic's charges beat Bosnia-Herzegovina at home (88:69) in the World Cup qualifier. Still, they couldn't oppose Lithuania away - 73:90. Against Lithuania, the Montenegrins lost their opponent on the backboard, giving Valančiūnas room to play. But the realization was poor. Meanwhile, Kendrick Perry had 21 points, while Nemanja Radovic had big help from the bench, sinking 5 of 6 shots.

Today's Turkish national team doesn't play well defensively, but they can make up for it on offense. The team has good shooters, and Korkmaz, for example, could shoot 5-6 three-pointers in a game. Much will depend on Larkin, and against not the strongest opponents, he is capable of demonstrating his usual high level. The Montenegrins also have room to step up their game: They'll be much easier under the basket than they were against Lithuania, and they can also hit three-pointers. The bookmakers have set a high total, and the teams must reach it.

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