Franz Wagner proves Germany’s depth is their real weapon
Franz Wagner and Dennis Schroder delivered big as Germany took down Finland at EuroBasket 2025. The win in Tampere is the first time Germany has ever been perfect in group play. As the tournament moves to Riga, the stars of the Mannschaft will be eyeing more history.
Germany were supposed to go 5-0 in Tampere. After all, they entered group play at EuroBasket 2025 as second favourites for the tournament and the team to beat in Group B. Still, Franz Wagner, Dennis Schroder, and the ludicrously deep supporting cast still had a job to do. Against a fiery home crowd, they completed their first ever perfect run in group play at EuroBasket.
Slash and grab
The interior defensive game of Finland has been suspect throughout EuroBasket 2025. Franz Wagner decided he was going to test it hard in this one. The Germany and Orlando Magic star just kept on slashing in the first half, wearing down the Susijengi’s defenders.
Wagner wasn’t even looking at three pointers. His job was to make Finland adjust to his ability to drive up the middle and create alternative situations for the men around him. One fast break in the middle of the second quarter typified it perfectly.
Franz got the ball off the turnover and took off. Just as defenders closed in on him, a quick pop pass to Dennis Schroder who quickly found Justus Hollatz in open space. It’s an ideal situation for Wagner. He can get his share of shots and rack up plenty of other stats while still being extremely generous with the ball.
Sit back and watch
The beauty of this Germany team is that it doesn’t dial things down when its stars take a break. Franz Wagner was able to watch on from the bench as Tristan da Silva, his Orlando Magic teammate, and Isaac Bonga got to work exhausting Finland.
The score looked manageable for Finland at the break but the eyeball test said otherwise. Germany have been able to follow a familiar script throughout the EuroBasket 2025 group phase. Exhaust the opponent, still lead at half time, come out and crush after the break.
The roster is effectively 10 deep. At the top, you’ve got Franz, Dennis Schroder and Daniel Theis. Then comes Andreas Obst, Isaac Bonga, and Maodo Lo. When your bottom four are Oscar da Silva, Tristan da Silva, Johannes Theiemann, and Justus Hollatz, you’re in a great place. All four of those get real minutes because they make real contributions. The energy and versatility of Germany’s role players makes them a nightmare for almost anyone.
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A little bit of mortality
The third quarter showed a little touch of mortality. Germany’s remarkable streak of scoring 20 points or more in every quarter of the tournament came to an end. Having managed the first 18 quarters hitting that mark, German finally looked human for around 10 minutes. Just the 19 points in that frame.
Not that it mattered in the slightest. Even with Franz Wagner unable to damage Finland with the ease he had in the first half, Lauri Markkanen and company had nothing in response. Defensively Germany remained stout and stuffed any chance of a Finnish comeback.
It may sound like a broken record but that’s what you need to know about this side. They won the 2023 FIBA World Cup because of their depth. Even with the style changed up under new coaching, that depth remains at the heart of everything. The Mannschaft will happily rotate everyone into oblivion if it means they win EuroBasket 2025.
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Dennis Schroder remains Germany’s leader but he knows there is a lot of depth to support him at EuroBasket 2025.
It gets awfully real now
Germany made the most of a favourable draw in Finland. They got the five wins and got to try out a lot of things. The stuff we already knew, that Franz Wagner and Dennis Schroder are crucial, remains unchanged. The roles of Oscar and Tristan da Silva however show room for more variety as the tournament progresses.
It’s elimination basketball from Saturday onwards. With Portugal awaiting them, anything other than a comprehensive win would be a shock. There is always the odd concern that they will enter the quarter finals untested. It’s a much better problem to have than the injury woes that have impacted the likes of Lithuania and Latvia.
Johannes Voigtmann, who stretched the rotation to 11, is the only player to have his tournament end early. Were that a year or two ago, it would be cause for panic. Germany somehow have even more options now. This is a team built to win EuroBasket 2025. Now they’ve got to show that they can do it.
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