Por Alex Molina / info@eurohoops.net
Nikola Kalinic was a EuroLeague champion in 2017 with Fenerbahce. Since then a lot has happened, he left Fenerbahce in 2020 and joined FC Barcelona last summer. The end goal however, remains the same.
Kalinic at his 31 years of age, more mature and ready than ever, wants to win his second EuroLeague and he welcomes the anxiety that comes with being near your ultimately goal. “At the end of the day, fear makes you run faster, jump higher and be stronger”, he explains, that’s why he is not sure if that his team had some extra days of rest after beating Zalgiris Kaunas three times in three games.
Still, the point is simple. There’s no recipe for winning, but the Serb forward believes that Barcelona after a season with ups and downs finally found the right formula and the team is ready for the challenge in Kaunas.
Eurohoops: Kaunas is finally here. How would you say the team, and yourself, is feeling right now?
Nikola Kalinic: I think we are in a good, in a good moment right now. Although, we didn’t have such a tough series as the other teams so that can be good or bad, we will see on the Final Four. Some times is good to stay a little bit more fresh and healthier, but some times is good to be full shape and full alertness, so we will see. In general we are in a good mood and healthy, except for Cory Higgins everybody else is healthy so I think we are in a good moment.
EH: For the first time in a lot of weeks you didnt play on Euroleague for a “long” time. Did you enjoy these couple extra days off you guys got because of sweeping Zalgiris?
NK: Of course, but we didn’t have much rest, I don’t understand why. But we are preparing for Final Four, we have the goal in front of us and we will do everything to be ready. It’s always nice to have extra time to rest, work on your tactics and shape, but some times it’s better to go to a state of panic and alertness. At the end of the day, fear makes you run faster, jump higher and be stronger. I think it’s good, after so many games, to have extra resting days, but we will see.
EH: Like you just said, the main goal is right in front of you. All these months of competition will be decided in just two games: do you think the team has evolved and improved compared to the beginning of the season?
NK: Yes, it was a little bit of a strange situation as always with people coming from the national teams, immediately for the beginning of the season without practicing. We didn’t have preseason, some injuries like Mirotic, who was away for a long time and when he came back the roles changed… But now we managed to find the formula that is working for us and it’s two games, one plus one, and it’s important to be the most focused in the whole season.
EH: This has been, and the numbers prove it, the most competitive Euroleague season. Do you, as a player who has been playing for a long time now, feel that it has been indeed more equal than ever?
NK: Yes, I think those first three teams were better than the rest because of the length of their bench and roster. There were many teams in the mix for the playoffs, which is great, as it should be. We saw really great teams like Red Star, Efes or Milano who didn’t make it to the playoffs. I think this has been a really good season for Euroleague, hopefully we will win and it’s going to be even better.
EH: Forty minutes, two games. Everything will be decided in Kaunas but you are one of the few players in this Barça team who actually know what it feels like to win the Euroleague. What would you say the key on this kind of scenarios is?
NK: If I knew the key I would already have four Euroleague titles, I only have one (laughs). I think it’s just to stay calm, approach it game by game. Everybody was saying “Two more, two more”. It was the same in Fenerbahce. The goal is to stay calm and play it minute by minute, try to do it like that. Play the first game as hard as you can and after that, not lose your head celebrating, and 40 minutes more.
EH: This is your first year here but Barça has made it to the Final Four three times in a row now. Even tough there is this feeling of obligation, for Barça and for every other big team in Europe, do you think that people don’t realise how hard this already actually is?
NK: Of course it’s hard but the big teams have the big rosters, the big and expensive cars and they can drive them. Of course it’s hard but in the end of the day, when you have 15 or 16 players it’s much easier to go there. That’s the thing that separates teams. CSKA, Real Madrid, Barcelona, Fenerbahce… They were almost always on the Final Four because they had the longest rosters and the most players. It’s hard but its easier because you have many players.