Phoenix Suns: Goran Dragic Impressive Despite Eurobasket Loss

Kelley L. Cox – USA Today Sports Images

France have been one of the most impressive teams at Eurobasket 2013, led by a slew of relevant NBA players. On Wednesday in the quarterfinals of the tournament, France proved to be entirely too much to handle for a hometown Slovenia squad led by Phoenix Suns guard Goran Dragic as the contest ended with a score of 72-62 in favor of the French.

The Slovenians’ loss on Wednesday wasn’t the fault of Dragic, who put forth a valiant effort in trying to carry his team, much like he has for the entire tournament. In only 29 minutes, Dragic put up 18 points, six assists, two rebounds and one steal. Sure, he only shot 6-16 from the floor, but he was also matched up against Tony Parker and dealing with the far less roster between the two teams.

Dragic hasn’t been incredibly efficient at the tournament, shooting only 39 percent from the field and just 23.7 percent from three, but that doesn’t tell the whole story as he’s had to force a great deal of his attempts because of his role with this team. His impressive averages of 15.6 points, 4.6 assists, three rebounds and one steal per game are more indicative of his success at Eurobasket.

Dragic was one of the few bright spots on an otherwise putrid Suns team last season as he averaged 14.7 points, 7.4 assists, 3.1 rebounds and 1.6 steals in 33.5 minutes per game. However, with the arrival of Eric Bledsoe in Phoenix, it’s hard to judge what Dragic’s role figures to be with Phoenix this season.

In the end, it definitely seems like Dragic could be traded at some point in this season to help the Suns continue to clear cap-space and so they can use Bledsoe more effectively this year and in the future. Wherever Dragic lands, though, he’s shown that he has the chops to succeed.

Cody Williams is a Senior Writer with Rant Sports. Follow Cody on Twitter @TheSizzle20, add him on Google and like his Facebook page.