Group D Preview: Iran on the rebound, Kazakhstan aim for perfection

TEHRAN (Iran) & MANAMA (Bahrain) - Kazakhstan will be entering the final day in Group D of Window 2 in the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2023 Asian Qualifiers as the lone undefeated team. This leaves Iran to rebound against an in-form Syria squad with upset on their minds.

February 27, 2022

Iran vs Syria
17:00 (GMT +3:30)
Azadi Basketball Hall, Tehran, Iran

Bahrain vs Kazakhstan
19:00 (GMT +3)
Khalifa Sport City, Manama, Bahrain

Quoted: Anthony Clemmons (KAZ)

"This [win] gives us confidence going into the next games and I believe we’ve proved to ourselves when we fight we give ourselves a chance."

Strive for Perfection

In a battle for the claim of the lone perfect team in Group D, it was Kazakhstan that beat the odds to upset Iran in Tehran. Now, they have a more favorable matchup against Bahrain to close out the window.

While Kazakhstan's record is perfect, there are still some flaws that they have to be wary about. The team can get pretty streaky from beyond the arc, which is fine and fun when the shots are dropping as they did in the fourth quarter against Iran. However, it's when those shots don't drop over consecutive possessions that is the issue. Kazakhstan can get cold for several minutes and that's why Iran were able to build up a lead in the first place.

Nonetheless, they have won against every opponent that they have come across in the Qualifiers, so it can't be that big of a deal, right?

Meanwhile, Bahrain are still winless and have lost each game by at least 16 points. Their form at the World Cup Qualifiers have not looked good, but maybe what they need is to just look back at some tapes from the Asia Cup Qualifiers and boost their confidence from there.

Of course, they are missing some pieces to the puzzle, but that shouldn't be enough to keep them from competing with Kazakhstan down the wire.

Riding the emotions

The game between Iran and Syria will be a tad bit more emotional.

Iran are reeling off a heartbreaking loss (albeit to a very good team) right on their homecourt. Iran had played well for most of the game, but when they really needed to get things going with time running down, they couldn't get it done. After a day to look back and review the game, be prepared to see a focused and cutthroat Iran team taking the court.

Remember, after Iran lost to Syria in the Asia Cup Qualifiers, they went on to beat Qatar by 36 in the next game.

Speaking of Syria, they have the right momentum heading into the upcoming matchup against Iran. Fresh off a good win in Manama over Bahrain, the team should be in a good state of mind. Amir Hinton is still unstoppable (see below), but will he and the team have enough firepower in them to beat Iran again?

Key Matchup: Amir Hinton (SYR) vs IRI

This is not a typo and not directed as a slight to other players of the Syria national team. The main matchup to watch in the remaining games of Group D in Window 2 is how Iran versus Amir Hinton as in how Iran will deal with Amir Hinton.

Amin Hinton has easily been the Asian Qualifiers best scorer, after scoring 30 or more points in all three contests to average a cool 33.7 points per game. He's attempted at least 11 free-throws in each of the past games which means he tough to stay in front of, and he punishes the defense by making 83.7 percent of those charity stripe attempts.

The question here is whether Iran will focus on limiting Hinton as much as they can to not get his points on the board... or if they simply don't allow the other players on the team to contribute to the game.

Kazakhstan allowed Hinton to score 65 points, but also kept him to 2 assists in 2 games, both resulting in Kazakhstan wins. Bahrain allowed 36 points from Hinton and also allowed 5 more assists from Syria's star scorer. The result? A big win by Syria over Bahrain.

Star: Nikolay Bazhin (KAZ)

Are we overreacting here by immediately putting Bazhin as the star in the group after a 23-point outing on 6 three-pointers to beat Iran instead of Anthony Clemmons who had just as good of a game?

Maybe. Maybe not.

Honestly, it doesn't matter. Even though the recent game was Bazhin's only World Cup Qualifiers game scoring more than 20 points, we don't care. When he heats up and drops threes like he did against Iran, he's a star without a doubt.

Player to Watch: Mohammad Jamshidi (IRI)

How will Jamshidi rebound from an incredible performance of scoring 32 points - nearly half of the team's total - and still ending up with a loss at home? That will be what fans should be looking to focus on heading into the upcoming game against Syria.

A good guess would be that Jamshidi, as well as his Iran teammates, will be on a mission to not only avenge the previous loss to Syria in the Asia Cup Qualifiers, but to bounce back with a win. To be honest, it feels like any one (and maybe ever several) of the Iran players are primed for a big game ahead, but Jamshidi seems like the safest bet. 

FIBA