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#3 Slovenia struggled from the free-throw line and beyond the arc
Slovenia have been one of the best three-point shooting teams in the Olympics. They shot at least 14.5 threes per game before facing France on Thursday but struggled to replicate that form. Slovenia shot 4-of-16 from long range in the first half.
Their free-throw shooting has been poor since the start of the Olympics, and the semifinals were no different. They could only convert 11 of their 20 attempts from the foul line, while France made 16 of their 19 attempts. The game was decided by a margin of one point, which shows that those missed free throws could have made a huge difference.
#2 Slovenia is a gritty team
Slovenia showed a tremendous amount of grit to make sure they stayed in the game despite their poor showing in the second half. France led by ten points midway through the third quarter but Luka Doncic and Co. made sure they did not give up as they cut that lead down to one point at the start of the fourth.
It speaks volumes as to why Slovenia have been so dominant in their debut Olympic campaign. It will be important that they play with the same intensity against the Australians, who are a solid all-around team as well.
#1 Slovenia's offense isn't easy to contain
Even though France were able to pull the stops on Slovenia defensively, it wasn't as easy as it looked. The Slovenians exhausted their opponents with their high-paced style of play and weren't afraid to play with a great amount of physicality. The French had eight blocks in total, but Slovenia were still adamant on attacking the rim, scoring a whopping 46 points in the paint.
Luka Doncic's playmaking and the rest of the players like Klemen Prepelic, Jaka Blazic, and Mike Tobey's ability to score big makes them one of the most lethal offensive units in the world.
Slovenia's future is secured with Doncic leading their way from here on. It will be interesting to see how they fare in other international tournaments, especially after coming so close to making it to the finals.
