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Mar 18, 2025; Charlotte, North Carolina, USA; Atlanta Hawks guard Vit Krejci (27) during second quarter against the Charlotte Hornets at Spectrum Center. Mandatory Credit: Jim Dedmon-Imagn Images Jim Dedmon-Imagn Images

Atlanta Hawks Vit Krejci Continues to Struggle in This Year's EuroBasket

Originally posted on Atlanta Hawks on SI
By Kahlil McCuller | Last updated Sep 1, 2025 6:10 PM ET

This afternoon, Czechia faced Serbia in a game that was never really competitive from the start. Serbia led for the entire game and never relinquished the lead. The remarkable aspect of this is that NBA Finals MVP Nikola Jokić barely played in today's game, as he played under 20 minutes and attempted less than 10 shots. Jokić had one of his carefree games, where he essentially just went out and toyed around with Czechia, throwing a no-look midcourt pass to his teammate for an easy dunk.

As for Vit Krejci, he found himself struggling again, as he finished seven points, six rebounds, on 27% shooting from the field, 14% shooting from three-point range, in 23 minutes of play. For the EuroBasket Tournament, Krejci is shooting 26% from the field and 13% from three-point range, averaging seven points per game.

Nikola Jokic é uma PUTARIA.

Esse no-look do meio da quadra é brincadeira.

Jokic foi COMEDIDO hoje, marcando 8 PTS na vitória da Sérvia, sem se esforçar contra a fraca Tchéquia.

Favoritos vão a decisão do grupo A na quarta contra a Turquia de Sengun!
pic.twitter.com/tTkVSHWiiJ
— Pisou Na Linha | NBA (@pisounalinha) September 1, 2025

Loss to Serbia

As for Serbia, they have proven themselves worthy favorites to win Group A in the EuroBasket Tournament, as they will face Alperen Sengun and Turkiye on Wednesday. In today's game, however, Serbia just took over in terms of scoring inside the paint, as they shot 77% in the paint for the game and 54% from the field as they were able to play stifling defense on Czechia, which led to them forcing 15 turnovers and scoring 16 points off turnovers.

Czechia still finds itself dealing with the same issues as it did before, which were taking care of the basketball and finding ways to score consistently and efficiently as a team. Since EuroBasket began, only one player has averaged in double figures in scoring, and as a team, they are shooting below 40% from the field and less than 30% from three-point range. Ironically, today, this trend continued as only Jaromir Bohacik scored in double-digits for Czechia, scoring 12 points on efficient 50% shooting from the field.

As a team today, Czechia continued to struggle with poor shooting, as they shot 32% from the field and 27% from three-point range, while committing 23 fouls. This also came after Serbia fell behind by as much as 27-5 in the first quarter, and they were without their second star player, Bogdan Bogdanovic, who had been injured early in the tournament. It is worth noting that Czechia is without the veteran presence of Thomas Satoranský and Jan Veselý, which has had a significant impact on the size and experience of their roster in EuroBasket play.

With today's loss, Czechia will now be ineligible to compete further in tournament play, as they have dropped to 0-4 in group play. This win, however, has helped the Atlanta Hawks, Kristaps Porzingis, and Latvia advance in tournament play to face Turkey in the knockout rounds after losing to Serbia this past weekend.

Is it time to be concerned about Krejci? I would say no, he is just going through a slump right now, but it would be good to see Krejci bounce back here soon.

Czechia will play its last game against Latvia on Wednesday, September 3, 2025, at 11:00 AM.