{"id":873989,"date":"2026-08-28T01:42:10","date_gmt":"2026-08-28T01:42:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/873989\/"},"modified":"2026-08-28T01:42:10","modified_gmt":"2026-08-28T01:42:10","slug":"cavs-mario-hezonja-leads-croatia-to-a-win-but-there-was-one-blip-on-his-statline","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/873989\/","title":{"rendered":"Cavs’ Mario Hezonja Leads Croatia to a Win, but There Was One Blip on His Statline"},"content":{"rendered":"

Cleveland Cavaliers forward Mario Hezonja<\/a> excelled on international duty for Croatia, but there was a minor blip on his stat line.<\/p>\n

Hezonja led the way with 28 points and seven assists on 8-for-13 shooting as Croatia hammered Latvia 115-80<\/a> in their opening game in the Second Round of the FIBA Basketball World Cup qualifiers. He linked up well with former NBA forward Dario Saric, who struggled from the field but pulled down nine rebounds, five assists and two steals.<\/p>\n

However, for Hezonja<\/a>, while he found lanes and dominated inside, going a flawless 8-for-8 from two-point range, he struggled from beyond the arc, shooting a woeful 0-for-5 despite some good looks. His form looked rusty, and he didn\u2019t seem confident shooting from outside, which is uncharacteristic and a little worrying as he prepares for training camp with the Cavs.<\/p>\n

Three-point shooting and execution will matter to the Cavs <\/p>\n

While on international duty, Hezonja has struggled from three-point territory. Sure, 36% isn\u2019t terrible at first glance, but he\u2019s getting to that percentage taking an average of seven attempts per game.<\/p>\n

During his NBA career, the Croatian shot a decent 32% on two attempts per game over five years, but he will return to a league that relies more on three-point shooting, and for Hezonja, it\u2019s a part of his game he will need to work on. <\/p>\n

He attacks the basket aggressively and scores from it, but at 218 pounds, he will be physically undersized against other forwards across the league, which is far more physically demanding than EuroLeague and FIBA play.<\/p>\n

It will be part of his bag of tricks that the Cavaliers will want him to show more confidence in. Last season, Cleveland finished 13th overall in three-point percentage, going 36%, and it will be an area they will be working on, especially executing them when open, something Hezonja was unable to do, even with the shorter FIBA three-point line. <\/p>\n

Croatia and Hezonja will play again on Sunday, when they face the Netherlands, regarded as the weakest team in Croatia\u2019s group, which also features Germany, Poland, Israel and Latvia.<\/p>\n

Three-point shooting aside, Hezonja led the way in the victory over Latvia that didn\u2019t feature their star player Kristaps Porzingis. There is no question that he is ready for training camp and will bring quickness, composure and nifty body movement when attacking the basket, giving himself good looks at the basket.<\/p>\n

He just needs to execute from beyond the arc.<\/p>\n

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