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Saric: Why wouldn't we win every game?

The winning mentality Saric has is proving to be a great advantage for Croatia, who now believe in wins over better-quality opponents

Croatia stunned Spain for a win in the first round. The manner in which they did that was truly impressive. They were lagging behind for almost 30 minutes and didn't seem to be capable of dealing with the Spaniards. 

The Croatian coach had a plan of attacking Spain while their bench is on the floor. Just like against Greece at a qualifying tournament, he decided to gamble and that paid off. They double-teamed Gasol , while leaving Rubi alone to shoot. Spain didn't expect that and got lost in it. It was kind of funny to see Rudi Fernandez not daring to take a three even though he was alone a few times. That is what happens when the opponent gets into your head. That is how Croatia won the game even though they are much better than Spain quality-wise. 

- Croatia were so far known as an offense-oriented team but this team plays brilliant defense. We limited Spain to 70 points and gives us a lot of confidence. 

It's surprising to hear something like this from a coach who always relied on offense. Bogdanovic did great on the offensive end to finish with 23 points  but team captain Ukic hit two big three-pointers, Simon played a brilliant final part of the game, Planinic dominated in the paint. There is, of course, Dario Saric as well. He was the cohesive factor on this team and his contribution is massive, even when he hits just 5 points. He added 7 rebounds, 5 assists and that brilliatn block against Gasol which saw Croatia win in the end:

- I played for 35 minutes but couldn't really get in the game on the offensive end. It didn't matter though. We need to focus on Argentina now. 

There is a chance for the team to stay flying to high after this kind of a win but Saric is convinced that won't happen:

- Of course you go high after a win like this but the coach will keep us under control. We said we expect a win in the first three games and we already have it. But why wouldn't we win all the games?

That is the winning mentality Dario Saric has and that is what Croatia lacked at every major competition in the last 20 years. 

Argentina are very serious opponents. We already talked about their great test games and the form from those seems to be present here as well. They did great against Nigeria in the first round, as the win by 28 goals proves. 

- We played very well. We expected to play well but beating someone by 20 points at the Olympics is no small feat - Luis Scola said.

Argentina are too good of a team and won't be fooled by such a win. Manu Ginobili turned to Croatia immediately and said that the recent win by 19 points from a tournament in Cordoba doesn't interest them:

- That friendly is not important at all. It can only make us think that we're better than Croatia, which would be a disastrous mistake. 

Manu is partly right since Petrovic hid his tactics and top game in Cordoba. Things will be very different today and it will interesting to see how will Argentina react now that the refs won't be on their side so much.

Croatia won't be able to take any chances with their three-point shooting today but that won't be necessary anyway since Argentina aren't very good in the paint. 

Andres Nocioni caused a lot of problems for Croatia in Cordoba but we know that Saric sometimes did great against him. Also, Bogadnovic definitely has the advantage in quality there today. The only real problem for Croatia are point guards Laprovittola-Campazzo and Ginobili at 2. They are extremely fast and could cause problems for the Croatian defense. But if the defensive end is as good as it was against Spain, Croatia could get a chance to create another surprise. 

The game with Argentina is tailored for Kruno Simon. Croatia are meeting opponents who don't have physically powerful players and who have 'artists' Delfino and Ginobili at his positions. The situation is great for Simon's points over. In the recent test game, Argentina got away with a dirty defense which pushed the Croatian back court 10 meters from the rim. And in spite of that, Simon hit 10 points and just 22 minutes and without a single free throw. In the last official game from the WC, Kruno hit 18 points against Argentina and that is the number I expect from him today. Two days ago, he went 3-for-10 with the Spaniards and still finished with 10 points. The matchup is more favorable for him today and he will definitely get more time on the floor. I believe he can be the key player on Croatia's offensive end, especially since Garino and Nocioni will mostly pay attention to Bogdanovic.