Germany run wild to reach EuroBasket final
Finland had a plan for Germany. It involved a whole lot of Lauri Markkanen and some lock down D. The latter proved in vain as Dennis Schroder and Franz Wagner ran wild, with Germany’s ferocious fast break guiding them to the EuroBasket 2025 title game. Emmet Ryan on an impressive display in Riga.
Look at Franz Wagner’s statline for this game. It was voluminous if not ideal in terms of efficiency. Here’s the thing. Franz wouldn’t have needed a single ounce of modesty to say that Dennis Schroder was the man in this game. For all their belief and the power of Lauri Markkanen, Finland had no answer for the ferocious depth of Deutschland.
It was a statement performance, where Germany dictated the tempo from the off and never let up. When this team can force an opponent, even one as courageous as the Susijengi, to fight on their terms then there’s little anyone can do about it.
Dennis gets dishing
Finland’s shooting needed to be good in this game to be competitive. In the first quarter, it was excellent. For all the energy of Lauri Markkanen, it just wasn’t enough to rattle Germany. That’s because the human self-belief machine that is Dennis Schroder was on a mission.
Dennis had 7 assists in the first quarter alone, a high for all players in EuroBasket 2025. Be it Isaac Bonga, Daniel Theis, or Franz Wagner, he worked everyone into the game. Schroder’s shooting was still below par but not to a damaging level. He was making Germany’s depth a big factor from the off with his distribution.
That Schroder picked up 2 first quarter fouls was the only real negative for Germany in the opening 10 minutes. Granted, Maodo Lo is a heck of a back-up, but having to pull Dennis when he was serving like that slowed the momentum somewhat.
Playing to their strengths
Germany knew that Finland’s best chance was to make this a half-court heavy game. The physical advantage Germany had was smaller than it looked on paper and Dennis Schroder knew it. The best way to beat Finland wasn’t to outmatch them with power but with movement.
Hence, the fast break became absolutely fundamental to Germany’s performance. Franz Wagner had said earlier in the tournament that keeping the game out of the half court offensively was a big goal for them. The first half showed just how good Germany were at that.
They could let Lauri Markkanen get his at the other end, just so long as the chance to deny him and Mikael Jantunen to set up on D happened more often than not. This in turn reduced Elias Valtonen’s ability to help defensively and the lead just kept growing for Germany. As it happened, Lauri wasn’t getting his. Germany held him to just 8 points in the first half but that felt more of a by-product of their tempo control.
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About that depth
It has been the story of Germany throughout EuroBasket 2025 but it bears repeating. When Andreas Obst nailed a corner 3 to make it 70-52 mid third quarter, it was like a loud reminder. Franz Wagner and Tristan da Silva weren’t even the primary weapons, that was Dennis Schroder, yet were still hurting Finland immensely offensively.
Germany plays 10 deep. They were playing 11 deep but Johannes Voigtmann picked up an injury in the second game of the tournament. Of those healthy, only Leon Kratzer doesn’t have an important role to play. No team in Europe right now has more options at its disposal to hurt you. Even a fully healthy France would struggle to compare because of their comparatively shallow back court.
Miikka Muurinen was used by the Susijengi earlier and more often in this game than at any stage in the competition. To run with Germany, Lassi Tuovi had to take off the stabilisers with him. It still wasn’t close to enough. When you have the luxury of using Johannes Thiemann solely as an energy guy, you know that you’re swimming in riches.
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Dennis Schroder had some very special fans in attendance to support him at EuroBasket 2025.
There was a wobble
Much like Finland managed against Georgia in their quarter final, Germany had their wobble. Finland cut the gap to as close as 6 points late in the third quarter. A furious offensive flurry led by Edon Maxhuni, Lauri Markkanen and Sasu Salin gave Germany plenty to think about.
Franz Wagner had accuracy issues but, still, there was Dennis Schroder. Less than a day before this game, I said it was time for Franz to take the keys to this team. On the whole, I still stand by that but Dennis showed that he is still the man for Germany in this game.
Once the rally ran out of steam, the result ceased to be in doubt. Germany had reached their first EuroBasket final since 2005, only their third of all time. Throughout this tournament, they have been the class of the competition. They are now just one win away from cementing that status.
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