2023 Lithuanian NT

[Straight forward2]

We are playing more guard orientated game and thats good.

I had that thought that after 3-5 years this image of slow one-dimensional seven footer posting up (as our primarily option) and everyone else watching in stationary positions will look like some kind of joke, some kind of fluke. It will literally be hard to imagine how this was possible. How such limited NT could even exist for a long steetch. We have so many good perimeter pieces coming, it's even hard to grasp it mentally after 10's when we basically struggled to establish a single elite guard for decade. Now we have like 6-8 elite guards potenally (Jokubaitis, Brazdeikis, Marciulionis, Rubstavicius, Lelevicius, Jakucionis, Indrusaitis, Buika) and 2 elite forwards with guard skills (Buzelis, Murauskas), solid EL role players (Sirvydis, D. Giedraitis, Jogela) coming. Even if only 50% of those prevail and pan out, we gonna be cooking big time from perimeter.

Respect for JV for loyalty and setting the right example, but the end of his losing era will be a blessing for LTU basketball. I will remember JV as a great guy and good player who born in wrong era.

PS: Greeks struggling against NZ....

 

[Shawshank2]

2013 Jonas+ Kleiza Silver medal

2014 Jonas as leader 4th place

2015 Jonas+Jankunas silver medal

2016 Jonas+Domas that was getting real minutes bad olympics

2017 Jonas+Kuzminskas,Bendzius played nice basketball,won group and had one bad game 1/8 vs Greece

2019 Jonas+Domas 9th place

2021 Jonas+Domas failed to qualife to Olympics

2022 Jonas+Domas 15th palce

2023 Jonas + Sedekerskis,Bendzius NT is risking again making 1/4 and again playing style look nice


History shows problem is not one nba 7footer that works just fine.

Problem was that our 2 best countries players was non shooting centers and coaches couldnt resist not putting them together.


IF NT 2023 will show good results i would ask question why we play as team better without Domas?

 

[Straight forward2]

History shows problem is not one nba 7footer that works just fine.

Problem was that our 2 best countries players was non shooting centers and coaches couldnt resist not putting them together.

Point is that 10's looks like a vicious fluke retrospectively. We were so much more talented in 90s and 00s that it's not even close. And in 20s we again will have plenty of talent. JV's era is the worst stretch of LTU basketball. That's a fact. I have no much problems with 2022 BTW. We already had a good team. Sometimes you win, sometimes you don't, be we controlled the game for the biggest part against Euro champs and lost only last possessions games against several elite teams. When we will have 4-5 elite perimeter players on the roster in some 2027 WC, this stretch of JV braking his head into the wall (without any elite guards around) will look like anachronism and hardly explainable unprecedented thing. Kids who will start follow LTU basketball since 2024-2025 will likely never see such thing ever.

​

IF NT 2023 will show good results i would ask question why we play as team better without Domas?

If we will win something in this WC, first and for most it will be about WAY BETTER draw The road is great for us TBH.

 

[Straight forward2]

BTW, JV has nothing to do with 2013 medals Stop being a funny fanboy Zero. He was irrelevant in that tournament. The only medal that JV shaped is 2015. I think there would be zero LTU fans and few fanboys of JV who would think that LTU with one JV is better than LTU NT with one Domas Sabonis. JV is -1 so far...

 

[Shawshank2]

If we will win something in this WC, first and for most it will be about WAY BETTER draw The road is great for us TBH.

That 2023 draw is ridiculously good i said it here a month ago. But im still have respectful fear towards Greece 2023 smart NT with their 8 eurolague players in do or die game.They show today they can bring a higher level if they are chalenged


But im talking about 2013,2014,2015,2017,2023 too.


its 5 tournaments where Domas didnt played and our NT won couple medals, and reached 1/4 4 of 5 tournaments even with ale unplayable dinosour Valanciunas playing 25min+

Coaches managed to built winning teams with all package Valanciunas brings.


Domas leaded NT in played minutes in 2019,2021 and 2022 and 3 diffrent coaches couldnt even manage to make 1/4 once


If this 2023 roster again will make 1/4 in summer where Domas wont play it will look very strange

 

[Hepcat2]

Making any conclusions after games with Mexico,Egypt,Montenegro when next possible opponnets will be Greece,Usa,Serbia doesnt look meaningful analyses.

I agree. Worse yet though is condemning certain players, coaches, etc. in the strongest terms because of one game, or even before the tournament begins! That kind of thing isn't conducive to attracting coaches and players to the national team. And with the qualifying tournaments these days it's very important to keep a pool of enthusiastic applicants.

For me its smells same mentally trap game like 2017 vs Greeece when ltu clearly played better basketball and lost.

Greece doesnt look good right now,but they have elite eruoleague coach with 8 euroleague players and underestimate that would be huge mistake.

Indeed! That's my concern too.

But then there's still a game against that ragtag collection of pampered NBA stars the US. is fielding. That should be easier!

 

[Hepcat2]

After 32+ age things for biggest part of huge centers goes drastically down playing every second day in fiba tournaments.

Fatigue though from playing say 25 minutes every second day isn't a factor. They're only 33 and not 83. it's just that at the age of 33 players aren't as quick as they were ten years earlier.

 

[fasoulaki2]

Do you now by heart what the ratio of WC participation to qualification to 2nd round is for Lituania?

How many times Lithuania qualified for the WC and how many times Lithuania qualified for the 2nd WC round?​​

 

[Hepcat2]

Don't like circus - don't buy tickets

Yeah but I don't want outside readers to think that Straight forward's comments reflect the thoughts and opinions of the typical Lithuanian basketball fan. Were that so, the absences this year will be nothing compared to those of future years. Team Lietuva will be lucky to draw coaches and players from the NKL (second division Lithuanian league) in coming years. I mean who needs that type of abuse from "supporters"?

 

[Hepcat2]

Do you now by heart what the ratio of WC participation to qualification to 2nd round is for Lituania?

How many times Lithuania qualified for the WC and how many times Lithuania qualified for the 2nd WC round?​​

1994 - Failed to qualify for World Cup.

1998 - Lost in QF and finished in 7th.

2002 - Failed to qualify for World Cup.

2006 - Lost in QF and finished in 7th.

2010 - Bronze

2014 - Lost in SF and finished in 4th.

2019 - Qualified for second round but failed to make the QFs and finished in 9th.

2023 - Qualified for second round.

Team Lietuva has therefore advanced to at least the second round in all six of the World Cups in which it has participated.

 

[fasoulaki2]

1994 - Failed to qualify for World Cup.

1998 - Lost in QF and finished in 7th.

2002 - Failed to qualify for World Cup.

2006 - Lost in QF and finished in 7th.

2010 - Bronze

2014 - Lost in SF and finished in 4th.

2019 - Qualified for second round but failed to make the QFs and finished in 9th.

2023 - Qualified for second round.

Team Lietuva has therefore advanced to at least the second round in all six of the World Cups in which it has participated.

Man!!!! Thanks a lot for your effort!

 

[Hepcat2]

From today's new Power Ranking on the FIBA site:

#9 Lithuania +4

The defense will be the key for this Lithuania squad - just make sure to check out the crossmatches when Tadas Sedekerskis guards the "five" man, and Jonas Valanciunas takes the worst shooter on the opponents' team and just plays a basketball version of a sweeper, protecting the rim, protecting the paint, taking maximum advantage of the "no defensive three seconds" scheme in our events. Masterful coaching by Kazys Maksvytis so far!

:

The defensive scheme that Coach Maksvytis has set up makes sense to me. If a defender is allowed to stalk the paint and plant himself firmly by the basket in FIBA ball, don't be too shy to exploit the provision. While keeping Jonas Valančiūnas down low might(?) result in his individual +/- numbers looking bad, if it's making the other players' defensive assignments less taxing and thus keeping them fresher and with less fouls it can still be a winning scheme over forty minutes. After all it's the team's +/- at the end of the game that matters. We'll see over the next two games.

 

[Hepcat2]

Incidentally, on what Lithuanian TV channel will tomorrow;s game between Greece and Lithuania be telecast?

 

[Svajunas2]

Try go3. Thats internet tv. 5 eur/month for sports package and you will see all games in Lithuanian.

Otherwise I think tv3 broadcasts it.

 

[fasoulaki2]

So guys I wish you all the best. May all players stay healthy and may the worst team win!

 

[Hepcat2]

So the Greek team's strategy seems to be raining down three pointers. Four in a row midway through the first quarter brought Greece back from a 9-2 deficit.

 

[Hepcat2]

What the hell? The Greeks are dominating the boards!

 

[Hepcat2]

Greece's uninterrupted string of four three pointers in a row beginning with 5:20 to play in the first quarter are the difference.And of course Lithuania turned the ball over seven times in the first half versus two steals while Greece turned the ball over only four times versus three steals.

 

[Hepcat2]

The Greeks have taken down 9 out of 24 boards below Lithuania's basket! What the hell?!

 

[fasoulaki2]

Congrutalations well deserved victory. Nice gameplan. A lot of patience. And high quality players with superb basketball talent.