2024 Lithuanian NT

[Straight forward2]

Adomaitis got big irrational hate in Lithuania including you here. After a while you began to speak about him in a way better way.

During the tournament you wrote yourself that Maksvytis took Karianiauskas for a reason and that you had been wrong about that (probably it was after USA game). And now you changed your mind only because of the game against Serbia where almost everybody sucked? And overall do you often see 11th-12th players delivering in play off games?

And why are you writing about Tubelis at all if he anyway wasn't ready and in spite of that he was kept until the end?

Fair questions.

I never hated Adomaitis. I criticized some of his movies like playing JV in the key possessions (2019) which hurt us directly or making some bad choices (taking both non defensive shooters as Gecevicius, Milaknis into one team). I never was Rytas' hater, so that irrational hate has little to do with me.

As for Kariniauskas as I said I give him credit for USA game, but at the end we got nothing and we have nothing for 2024 PG back-ups. We gonna strike it again with Kariniauskas against Serbia, Spain and all great disciplined teams. It's dead end. Kariniauskas, BTW, was legitimate rotation player in terms of playing time. He was no 11-12th player. It was Sirvydis and Maldunas. Kariniauskas was getting 14,5mpg, just as much as D-Mo and only slightly less than Bendzius and Kuz. Against Greece Karinia played badly, against Serbia as well. That was 2 key games. Against Greece he actually played 18 minutes, that's hell of a lot. Where we are heading with Maksvytis as a head coach? What will he have as a PG back-up? Lekavicius so far looks bad and even if he still has it (which is a question), he doesn't provide D, just as Kariniauskas. I hate Kariniauskas move cause it leaves us flat for 2024. Assume Marciulionis having good NCAA season, coming a strong player, makes the team - it's still his first season and he will struggle, it takes time to make it in the NT. While we sincerely wasted 4 spots like it nothing. And didn't fill a single hole that we have. Maciulionis could easily ride the fucking bench both 2022, 2023 instead of those dead end scrubs. It potentially could be so beneficial that it's hard to measure. Hell, we could even do that with D. Giedraitis or Velicka, it still would be more beneficial, cause even Velicka can play D when he wants to. You simply won't make Kariniauskas and Lekavicius to play D that it's needed. I hate how we tolerate simple waste of spots and time, it's like everything would be perfect with NT and we wouldn't need to move a finger.

You got a wrong impression about Tubelis I believe. Maksvytis admitted that Tubelis eventually shaped up and looked good in the camp. I doubt he said that purposely just to greet Tubelis for loyalty, even though possible. We'll never know how good Tubelis was at the end of the camp cause we didn't see practices, but the reason why he was cut is that he didn't go through whole preparation, doesn't know all sets well and so on. That's what Maksvytis said. I get the impression that it was the same case as with Kariniauskas generally. He made a decision early and didn't even want anyone to stand in his way. I'm less pissed about Tubelis cause more or less Sabonis covers what Tubelis can bring and more off course (even though Tubelis eventually should be better defensively and more agile, faster offensively). But I really hate how we just pushed aside Marciulionis like we would have zero interest about PG position...Intolerable, IMO. Another red flag, just like with the cut of Sedekerskis in 2022. When one of the reserve NT coaches says "I would had taken Marciulionis to the main camp" it says a lot...But, no, Maksvytis has his own world class studs that he locks without any competition and he doesn't even see a need to look at least a bit to the future...all good

I'll quote what Mindaugas Noreika said:

Gal galėtumėte išskirti žaidėjus, kurie verti atskiro paminėjimo ir galbūt negavo tokio dėmesio, kurio nusipelno?

Kaip ir visada, nesinori kažko išskirti iš komandos, bet aš asmeniškai labai džiaugiuosi už Augustą Marčiulionį. Jis tikrai atvažiavo būdamas kitame lygyje, atrodė solidžiai ir rungtynėse visi tą matė. Tai tik mano asmeninė nuomonė, bet, man atrodo, kad Augustą galėjome bent porai savaičių pajungti ir prie pagrindinės rinktinės. Ne dėl to, kad jis patektų į galutinį dvyliktuką, bet tam, kad kažkiek paaugintume tuos tikrus savo įžaidėjus.

Visi kalbame, kad įžaidėjo pozicija yra probleminė. Ir ne tik Lietuvoje. Ispanai pernai Europos čempionatui natūralizavo Lorenzo Browną, nes patys neturėjo įžaidėjo. Atrodytų, duodami galimybę pasportuoti papildomai su pagrindine rinktine, sužaisti dar 1–2 kontrolines rungtynes, Marčiulioniui ir visam Lietuvos krepšiniui padarytume naudos ateityje. Toks būtų mano pamąstymas ir vizija.

Mums labai padėjo Einaras Tubutis. Jis traktuojamas kaip vėlyvos brandos žaidėjas, bet tikrai turi duomenis, ilgas rankas, gerą metimą iš perimetro. Tas pats Laurynas Beliauskas, Ignas Sargiūnas. Praktiškai visi neiškrito iš konteksto ir buvo verti dalyvauti pirmojo etapo Lietuvos rinktinės stovykloje.

https://sportas24.lt/krepsinis/reze...lejima-ir-atsaukta-krepsininko-medaus-menesi/
​

 

[Shawshank2]

From 4 Zalgiris lithuanians Ulanovas,Butkevicius,Dimsa,Lekavicius

Lukas is 2nd most paid but he is clearly 4th best in Maksvytis eyes and its already big streach over a year to judge from



Ulanovas is selfish towards NTs,but damm on the court having Ulanovas+Butkevicius is a joy to watch : smart,tough,strong,will defend anybody

Two captain type characters that never loosing their minds and all game long giving suggestion to teammates,knows how to communicate with refs.

Simply winning players


what zalgiris trio Smit,ule,arnas doing physicality wise in last 6-7 minutes to even euroleague teams wow.

Zalgiris was behind in score like 70min of 80min played in first 2games and is 2-0

 

[Straight forward2]

Maksvytis' kick to Sedekerskis' butt looks more and more impressive with each day. Rebounding champ in EL so far and cooking around 20eff per game. Red carpet to stud Zukauskas. Maksvytis is a stud in the NT.

 

[Hepcat2]

First of all I'd like to say that I have no dog in this disagreement as to whether Dainius Adomaitis or Kazys Maksvytis has been the better Team Lietuva coach. I've not been a critic of either. Nonetheless, I can't allow some of the statements that have been made about Coach Maksvytis to stand unchallenged.

Did Maldunas help in WC? No, not even close.

He was the twelfth man. Their contribution is usually marginal. That's no surprise.

Moreover, Coach Maksvytis had no better choice for a fifth big. Artūras Gudaitis​ and Laurynas Birutis both declined the invitation to compete for a spot on the team and Gabrielius Maldūnas​ ended up outcompeting Donatas Tarolis for the final spot. Ąžuolas Tubelis might have been competitive but he limped into camp with two sprained ankles that he'd hurt dicking around in some summer circus. I would have simply told Tubelis to go home but I guess Maksvytis kept him around hoping that Tubelis might learn something for next year.
​
But you already know this so why are you still kvetching?

IIt's funny how little people pay attention that those "experienced" scrubs never help with some super super rare exception as Juskevicius in 2014. They simply don't.

1. You make it sound like Adas Juškevičius was a grizzled veteran of 35 when he was taken in 2014. He was not. He was 25.

2. He wasn't a scrub. He proved that very decisively with his play. Though taken as the thirteenth man still standing, he quickly emerged as Team Lietuva's starting PG in the tournament.​

When you invest to talent, you at least really make an investment and soon it will be beneficial. When you take experienced scrubs, you have nothing now, and nothing in the nearest future. Simple logic.

Coach Maksvytis has invested in talent. He's taken the best available for the team. Your complaint is that he hasn't taken certain of your young favorites for the very good reason that they've not demonstrated that they belong with the other players taken. Diversity hires may be in vogue elsewhere (you might though ask Budweiser how that's worked out for the company recently), but they certainly don't work in basketball.

And you might perhaps explain the mechanism by which an unqualified player with potential (at least in your eyes) will after being locked on the bench for five games somehow acquire the skills to be a contributor in twelve months time. Playing dozens of games over the course of a season is rather the route to skills development.

Let me repeat, national teams don't compete in a developmental league. Get good elsewhere; then apply.

Another big problem with Maksvytis and overlooked thing (from today's perspective) that he cut Sedekerskis in 2022. He was legitimate EL combo forward. There's little difference between 2022 and 2023 Sedekerskis. He had to be taken.

Absolute nonsense! Tadas Sedekerskis was a much better player in the summer of 2023 than he was in the summer of 2022. The facts speak for themselves:

[TABLE="align: left, border: 1, cellpadding: 1, width: 500"]
[TR]
[TD]Year & League[/TD]
[TD]Games[/TD]
[TD]Minutes[/TD]
[TD]EFF[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]2021-22 ACB[/TD]
[TD]35[/TD]
[TD]14:42[/TD]
[TD]6.4[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]2022-23 ACB[/TD]
[TD]24[/TD]
[TD]20:40[/TD]
[TD]11.9[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]2021-22 Euroleague[/TD]
[TD]29[/TD]
[TD]16:22[/TD]
[TD]7.7[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]2022-23 Euroleague[/TD]
[TD]23[/TD]
[TD]18:15[/TD]
[TD]9.7[/TD]
[/TR]
[/TABLE]









Sedekerskis was still tentative and afraid of making mistakes in the summer of 2022. Moreover he had trouble adapting to different team defensive concepts than he was used to at Vitoria.

I just don't understand why the obvious needs to be repeated to you over and over again.​

They organized reserve NT camp, Marciulionis was clearly the best PG (the most needed position), and Maksvytis didn't even invite him to the camp?

Nonsense. Coach Maksvytis did invite the best PG from the reserve team to the main camp. And that was Matas Jogėla​ who was being tried out in the PG slot during those games. Jogėla​ had noticeably better numbers than did Augustas Marčiulionis.

Assume Marciulionis having good NCAA season, coming a strong player....

That though would be a big jump for Marčiulionis because he's not even been mediocre in his first two NCAA seasons. And that's the main reason why Coach Maksvytis didn't invite him to the main camp.

As for Kariniauskas as I said I give him credit for USA game, but at the end we got nothing and we have nothing for 2024 PG back-ups. We gonna strike it again with Kariniauskas against Serbia, Spain and all great disciplined teams. It's dead end.... I hate Kariniauskas move cause it leaves us flat for 2024.

​​
I don't believe in cherry picking games. I look at averages. But if you're going to cherry pick, the game that Lithuanian basketball fans will remember in 25 years time will be the victory against the United States in which Kariniauskas starred. Winning against the United States is tough and is therefore a rare thing. But Lithuania has had several big victories (and of course losses) against Serbia.

Overall though, Kariniauskas was the second best guard after Rokas Jokubaitis on Lithuania's 2023 roster. (Ignas Brazdeikis played exclusively at SF.) Be nice if you just admitted it and moved on.

Secondly on the basis of very preliminary early results from the 2023-24 season, Kariniauskas is off to an excellent start and still looks like the leading candidate for the backup PG position next summer.

Adomaitis got big irrational hate in Lithuania including you here. After a while you began to speak about him in a way better way.

During the tournament you wrote yourself that Maksvytis took Karianiauskas for a reason and that you had been wrong about that (probably it was after USA game). And now you changed your mind only because of the game against Serbia where almost everybody sucked?

And why are you writing about Tubelis at all if he anyway wasn't ready and in spite of that he was kept until the end?

Precisely!



​​

 

[Straight forward2]

Hepcat, just stop it, bro. Just don't do it.

 

[Hepcat2]

...just stop it, bro. Just don't do it.

Precisely! Please stop it. Kazys Maksvytis was your man. You agitated non-stop for Coach Adomaitis to be replaced by Maksvytis. And now just because Maksvytis passed over a couple of your favourites you've turned against him as well. But the job of Team Lietuva coaches doesn't include advancing the careers of your personal favourites. There was very good reason why both Tubelis and Marčiulioni​s weren't taken. Team Lietuva is not about anybody's personal favourites. The best man/life form/entity should be taken for the job

This constant criticism of yours of Lithuanian coaches and the Lithuanian basketball establishment for not leaning over backyard to advance the careers of your personal favourites is beyond tiresome. The same old mantra that's not even internally consistent is driving most of us up the wall. So please stop it.

Granted I was surprised myself when Gabrielius Maldūnas was taken in place of Donatas Tarolis who was on the 2022 squad. And Maksvytis clearly erred in taking Deividas Sirvydis instead of Matas Jogėla given that Sirvydis did very little with his opportunity. But foresight is never clear and hindsight exposes us all. The only dud of a coach Team Lietuva has had going back to 1992 was Darius Maskoliūnas.​

​

 

[Shawshank2]

Kazys always choosen to play experience over raw tallent starting from neptunas days.

After what he got in 2023 from Sirvydis and what he got from 2023 Kariniauskas


Very unlikely that coaches trust in inexperience youngsters suddenly increased after 2023 summer.

 

[Straight forward2]

Big week for Dovydas Giedraitis. He finally reveals his talent in EL on a broader spectrum. I hoped more of that even last season, but he was really unlucky with injuries, illnesses and needed the transition time in EL. Now for him it's important to stay healthy. He needs longer stretch being in rotation. In my opinion this and next season is kinda the key for him cause he hasn't been able to stay healthy in his career so far generally. If can show that now he's getting things together physicality wise and health wise, he can have very solid EL career (not only in Zalgiris necessary). But if he will continue to drop out for long stretches, I doubt many EL GMs will look positively about his future and won't risk signing him. Dovydas has everything for a smart combo guard with terrific defensive instincts. But he finally should stay healthy, and I really hope he will, but still doubt this (his brother had injury recently, both bros certainly has issues in this department).

If Giedraitis will continue to play well, I hope he can make NT 2024. We definitely needed some-one like him to go against agile Serbian guards as Bogdanovic, Avramovic and so on and so on. I really hope soon we can have a good fit coming from the bench at 1 and 2 - Marciulionis and Giedraitis. Makes a lot of sense with their defensive presence. In my opinion these 2 may be the best defensive guard duet ever (only competition could be Chomicius and S. Marciulionis in 1992, but Chomicius wasn't a youngster any more back then so I would have to watch the games again to judge). The fact is that strong defenders in guard position is rarity in Lithuania. Most of the GOATs are offensive guards. So this 20s generation will be different in this department. I think Rubstavicius, Indrusaitis, Jakucionis will also be good defenders.

 

[Shawshank2]

Poor Dinosour expert life

He non stop writting his haters with zero objective posts here about same things and same players again and again


Everybody already tired to argue with blind troll here and what is the most funny NT coaches is doing tottaly oppossite things to what he writes


NT Coaches is not taking raw youngsters especially if they arent from nba/euroleague levels and playing nba center Valanciunas that is leading scorer in NT every summer


I juts hope his brain wont exploid of anger when top 8 euroleague coach once again will do same things in 2024 summer

 

[Straight forward2]

Except you obviously! You always up for some fanboy's cryings here after I express my opinion on what's good and bad for THE NT.

 

[Shawshank2]

After first month Lithuanians in euroleague


R.Giedraitis 26min 11pts 48% 3pointers team 1-4

M.Grigonis 28min 10,6pts 72% 2pointers team 2-3

R.Jokubaitis 19min 6,8pts 3,4assist team 4-1

I.Brazdeikis 18min 5pts low % everywhere team 3-2

T.Dimsa 20min 6,4pts 60% 2pointers team 3-2



Ulanovas 29min 8pts 46% 4,2reb+3,4assist team 3-2

Butkevicius 20min 5pts 54% 3,2reb team 3-2

Sedekerskis 28min 8,8pts 61% 8,8reb team 1-4

Motiejunas 18min 6,4pts 54% 3,4reb team 3-2



Giedraitis,Grigonis,Sedekerskis playing most minutes,putting best stats but also are only 3 players that plays in loosing/weaker clubs

Most other getting less minutes,but playing in stronger/winning clubs



Sabonis+Valanciunas that makes top 11 lithuanian current players

in 2023 5 of them didnt played.


But it also clear other NTs of 2024 will be clearly more loaded with star power than they were in 2023 summer.

Can this team make Olympics? yes but they will need help from draw and things go their way.


Is these players group have medal potential in olympics? Clearly answer is no looking at perimeter tallent.

Best case scenerio 1/4 stage game like in 2023 .

Results can easily be worse if things like draw bracket will go againts LTU NT (what happend in 2019-2022)

 

[Straight forward2]

After first month Lithuanians in euroleague
Giedraitis,Grigonis,Sedekerskis playing most minutes,putting best stats but also are only 3 players that plays in loosing/weaker clubs

Most other getting less minutes,but playing in stronger/winning clubs

​
That is very important indication, specially when we try to evaluate Brazdeikis' level, he's surely better than his current stats suggests But Sedekerskis impact, IMO, is transcendent. He can be useful role player in any EL team, IMO. The best indication is that he was the best player in those 2 games stretch against USA and Serbia in FIBA 2023. He was the only one who survived mentally and physically in both games and brought his A game. His athleticism and game of style allows him to be elite EL clubs material and boderline NBA player today. After this season he signs with Barca/Real or some big Turkish or Italian club, or maybe Oly. He has the package and he can silently, efficiently work for any team at the highest level.

But it also clear other NTs of 2024 will be clearly more loaded with star power than they were in 2023 summer.

Actually not so much. Serbia missed Jokic and Greece Giannis, Latvia Porzingis, Canada Murray, Higgins, but we also missed Domas Sabonis who belongs to this elite list. Obviously USA will bring their best pieces. So, yeah, depends from what angle you look. My point is, Germany, Serbia, Canada, Australia had their A teams generally, specially knowing that Jokic loyalty is questionable and Canada was already lucky enough to gather such roster (no guarantees they will have better in 2024, far from that). Porzingis and Giannis are also very questionable. First is extreme injury prone, other is not getting younger and also not 100% dedicated. Australia has nothing to add generally. France can add Wemby, and he will make an impact, but not yet (probably) that absolute game changer that he should become later. So I would say (and I have no doubt there will be absences), we can expect only moderate improvement of star power, except USA. That's how I see it.

​Is these players group have medal potential in olympics? Clearly answer is no looking at perimeter tallent.

If we get our absolutely 100% roster Jokubaitis, Grigonis, Brazdeikis, Butkevicius, Ulanovas, Sedekerskis, Kuzminskas, Sabonis, Valanciunas (+ smaller role players), we can sneak into semis potentially. The key is the growth of Jokubaitis, Brazdeikis, Sedekerskis, Sabonis. Those are 4 pieces who raise our upside to make a legitimate claim aiming something high if they will mesh well, plus solid EL pieces as Grigonis, Ulanovas. Medals are unlikely cause yet we don't have defense to match top clubs as USA, Serbia, Germany, Canada and so on, but we might have something fairly favorable in 4finals. From 8 teams in OG 2020, there was Slovenia, Italy, Argentina, Australia, France, Spain who are all fairly beatable on a good day these days (France, Australia, Spain declined a bit recently, and Spain even got lucky a bit in 2022, even we, or Turkey, could realistically beat them with some smarter coaching and luck). I'm most willing to avoid USA, Serbia, Germany, Canada, cause I think today they have the best perimeter talent at both ends of the floor.

But to me the key is just to be in Olympics. That's the most important. I'm afraid we may not have Sabonis again if he will go deep with Kings into playoffs. That would be huge hit. To me, Jokubaitis and Sabonis are 2 keys. If one falls out, all the puzzle collapses. It was clear with JV at 5 we suck balls. Serbia just laughed at us and made fun. With Sabonis we would have a bit more mobility defensively and even better offense. It goes without saying that without Jokubaitis we ain't going anywhere.

 

[Shawshank2]

2024 LTU NTs olympic opponnets will be alot stronger compare to what LTU faced in 2023 tournament :Not a little but alot stronger. Why?

a) mainly because 95% nba players will play in 2024

b) Our NT didnt needed to play Australia,Canada,Germany types in 2023 you mentioning, we played montenegro and Gianisless Greece and Usa inexperience youngster team because of lucky draw .When they finally met real medal contender 2023 NT had no chance and looked clearly outclassed.


LTU NT 2023 didnt played higher level basketball compared to LTU NT 2022 but opposition in front of them was simply stronger and they made everything more chalenging/difficult.

When NT is in middle of the pack in 7-12th best NT. Those NTs need lucky group draw and lucky breaks (like getting drunk slovenians in 1/4 game) on the road to make semifinal type run.



If tournament of 2024 rosters would be play 10 times LTU NT 100% roster would make semifinal max 1-2 times of 10 tries thats our chances for semifinal

Lithuania would be clear underdog vs olympic already qualified NTs like Usa,France,Canada,Germany,Serbia,Australia its simply too manny teams even with lucky draw to avoid and in order to make semifinal most likely we will need beat atleast 2 of them.


There is no logical explanation looking at players who will play why LTU should make semifinal only ltu fans blind hope and not realising how strong Olympic tournament 2024 most likely will be


Some NT with atleast 5 nba players isnt making semifinal and not because they will play badly or fail ,no its because number of NTs with 5 or more nba players will be more than there are semifinal spots

LTU NT with 1 nba big on floor and 1 nba big on the bench isnt scaring anybody, those big sharks would see us must beat team

 

[Straight forward2]

That's true. And the least what NT needs is to have some sort of thinking that we are good. We are not. We are not bad either, but we are not good. I hated how some poster (Leksas) overreacted about 2022 roster, calling it the best since 2008 or something and guys (Bad crew BTW, IMO, just going after cash by any cost) from their website even started to talk about gold childishly...That is were such dudes being silly...nothing less...

But...I do think that there will still be absences of NBA players. Some are getting older and more cautious (Giannis, Porzingis, Jokic will all be 29yo, they may all show up or may all skip it because of minor injuries, exhaustion and so on...all will go deep into the playoffs). Some will just be injured and so on. If I look at Germany, Serbia, Canada and Australia, I think they still already had more or less A teams. For Serbia some guys as Avramovic exceeded a lot, or Jovic playing well, so there's no much point to speak how Micic would make them better cause Avramovic provided just that and even better defense. Germany had their A roster, so did Canada cause I don't believe they can land all SGA, Murray, Wiggins into one team. Yes, there will be more talent, specially when USA will land 3-4 top pieces of their talent. But essentially we already seen how the top teams looks (Germany, Serbia, Canada) and only USA will be way better.

With that said, I wanted to clear one thing out. Lithuania shouldn't expect and ask medals in 2024. Let's just get there and that alone is good enough for now, that's the floor that we can be satisfied with. But at the same time it's a sneaky stage where we can silently win something if things will drop well together (chemistry, shape, draw) and most importantly to make another huge step forward. People who will watch at our roster and think it sucks cause there's only 2 NBA player will be a little wrong.

Why? FOA, it's one of the most growing top 10 teams in FIBA.

USA is on a decline. I know it sounds irrelevant cause they still have what it takes to win any tournament when they bring their A team, but they don't have players of prime Kobe, Lebron, Durant level. There's no such players.

Spain is on a decline. They gone away with that in 2022 with a lot of luck, but it's obvious. I'm not sure they can be just as good as they were in late 00s and 10's. IMO, not. If Rubio retires for good, they are in trouble for at least 2-3 years.

Australia on a decline. Millsa and Co. got old and they can't substitute them instantly.

Latvia (I'm not sure they are top 10 team TBH, but FIBA dragged them up by +22 to end up at 8th ) is not on a rise. They have Zagars who is a great point guard, but that's about it. They are getting old, Bertans bros, Grazulis, R. Smits and Porzingis getting close to 30s. ATM they are good, but not getting better. They don't have young generation which can be super good.

Slovenia is not getting better. Maybe they will in few years, but not now.

Argentina declined a lot.

Brazil declined.

France declined and they will have to somehow find guards. I'm not sure great forwards and Wemby will be enough. You need guards and their great guards declining. Still have incredibly a lot of top prospects, but the transition is still questionable. Fact is they lacked some of quality in guard position, even if got away somehow in 2022.

Greece declined.

So many teams declined. The only truly growing teams are Canada, Germany, Serbia, Lithuania (maybe Italy, Turkey).

Lithuania sneakily is one of the most growing NTs globally. Mainly because we have been having the best young EL core last 2-3 years with Jokubaitis, Sedekerskis, Brazdeikis and plus there's NBA guy Sabonis who reached new level last year becoming All NBA guy and grew into his early peak which should have continuation for 4-5 next years. 3 of 4 best players in WC were guys within 22-25yo. There's a good chance that 4 best LTUs players in OG will be guys within 23-28 (Jokubaitis, Brazdeikis, Sedekerskis, Sabonis). That's where Lithuania is intriguing. We have one of the youngest legitimate cores. That's not enough talent to challenge the best NTs yet, but our young players are worth more than maybe it looks like looking from aside. There's a good chance this core will make us likely the most competitive since 2012.

Not many teams have better young cores than Lithuania and only few teams can either compete ("run together") as well. That's why our upside for 2024 is a bit mysterious and there's a room for a another big step forward.

 

[Shawshank2]

Usa have 300 nba players i predict they wont stop winning medals,including gold ones even in decline

Canada have 30 nba players 20 of them are under 28 including Shai

France have 14 nba players + Wemby (some of them are young guards)

Australia 10 nba players with Giddey and Green as next generation those 2 guards alone will be clearly better players than our Jokubaitis/Brazdeikis

Slovenia will have best fiba player Doncic for next 5 years

Serbia always had more tallent and that isnt changing Jokic

Spain is winning most youth medals,somebody from their kids will become very good players.

Germany is clearly is gooing be elite next 5 years with Wagner as top 5 fiba player



im sorry but all those nations will have better NT going further too


I would rather have one of the fiba superstars Wemby,Shai,Doncic,Jokic,Wagner,Markannen,Giannis than Jokubaitis+Brazdeikis+Sedekerskis euroleague trio combined for 2025-2028


With Domas firstly his style is bad fit in fiba and secondly im not sure how manny tournament Sabonis will play after 2024 Olympics (he will turn 28 before 2024 olympics).


You are dreaming as always seeing some kind Lithuania basketball growing,results clearly is falling down badly,worst it ever was for men .LTU will be soon out of top 10 in rankings.


LTU need real nba tallents,not couple euroleague role players to change bad trajectory what is happening in last 10 years.


When elite opponnets will put 5 nba players on the floor in 2025-2028 im sorry euroleague trio Jokubaitis,Brazdeikis,Sedekerskis unlikely will manage to beat them

 

[Straight forward2]

You're mixing too much things as always I didn't say we should go after results in 2024, objectively we are not there, we agree on this, I say that sneakily our roster and the team is stronger and has deeper upside than it may look from the side.

As for NT going even lower? Completely possible, just as going a bit further ATM. Today there's like top 15 FIBA teams who can challenge each other fairly close. But in my opinion we are slowly building. I don't even care about results ATM all that much. We simply should continue to fill up the holes and we'll get were we want to be or at least in way better situation that we had in recent 10 or even 15 years. The goal to me is to go back to the level were we were in 1992- 2008 stretch, legitimate contender. Be precise with what you read, most of the times you slip.

My projection however is that we will start to climb high strongly since 2027 WC. At that time we should have about everything that we need to win. Competition became so wild that even with great team you are not given anything (Serbia's and Greece's examples in 2022 EB are good ones), but nevertheless I hope we'll have elite team again and will be in semis often since 2027 and win medals here and there in 2027-2036. It may happen even in 2025, but I'm not sure if we can gather all pieces (Sabonis, Grigonis, maybe even Brazdeikis may miss this one). But after the gap of 2026, most guys will want to represent NT in 2027, and even such player as Buzelis should be available and hungry. I only predict the growth of the results since 2027. Till that I see this process as slow improvement.

I never said anything about Canada's, USA's, Germany's, Serbia's upside. Read carefully. I named them as growing teams.

But you're missing couple of points. France doesn't have such good young PG as Jokubaitis. Their NBA pieces are worse. PG is a problem for them ATM. Australia has Giddey and I like him, he's really good, but Green was worse than Brazdeikis in WC. Going further, I'm not building either around either Brazdeikis (who I think will be role player for the NT) or Green. Australia has only Giddey as a big time guard. My point is - they declined, so more chances to beat them than it was previously. Slovenia has too little support for Doncic ATM. In 3-4 years they can grow couple of good guards, but not now. The same situation with Spain, their guards as Nunez (he'll need 2-3 years to be truly ready) or Hugo Gonzalez (3-5 years) are not ready yet. France was surviving only by some real miracles in 2022EB and got whacked in 2023WC. They are lacking chemistry and pieces at the guard spot. Wemby will improve them, but won't solve this problem. You make your claims to primitively, try to go deeper.

Fully packed Lithuania doesn't have legitimate chance against USA, Canada, Serbia and probably Germany (even though we faught them really well in 2022 and were close to take down). Cause those have pesky guards at both ends and in USA, Canada, Germany cases even mobile bigs which makes them even harder to beat. France, Spain have issues with guards. Slovenia is thin and plays zero defense. That doesn't mean we are not underdogs against these three teams, we are at least against Spain and France, but only relative underdogs. If I avoid USA, Canada, Serbia, Germany in 4finals, I like our chances. Chances are not good, but decent.

 

[Serbian_Layup2]

That's true. And the least what NT needs is to have some sort of thinking that we are good. We are not. We are not bad either, but we are not good. I hated how some poster (Leksas) overreacted about 2022 roster, calling it the best since 2008 or something and guys (Bad crew BTW, IMO, just going after cash by any cost) from their website even started to talk about gold childishly...That is were such dudes being silly...nothing less...

But...I do think that there will still be absences of NBA players. Some are getting older and more cautious (Giannis, Porzingis, Jokic will all be 29yo, they may all show up or may all skip it because of minor injuries, exhaustion and so on...all will go deep into the playoffs). Some will just be injured and so on. If I look at Germany, Serbia, Canada and Australia, I think they still already had more or less A teams. For Serbia some guys as Avramovic exceeded a lot, or Jovic playing well, so there's no much point to speak how Micic would make them better cause Avramovic provided just that and even better defense. Germany had their A roster, so did Canada cause I don't believe they can land all SGA, Murray, Wiggins into one team. Yes, there will be more talent, specially when USA will land 3-4 top pieces of their talent. But essentially we already seen how the top teams looks (Germany, Serbia, Canada) and only USA will be way better.

With that said, I wanted to clear one thing out. Lithuania shouldn't expect and ask medals in 2024. Let's just get there and that alone is good enough for now, that's the floor that we can be satisfied with. But at the same time it's a sneaky stage where we can silently win something if things will drop well together (chemistry, shape, draw) and most importantly to make another huge step forward. People who will watch at our roster and think it sucks cause there's only 2 NBA player will be a little wrong.

Why? FOA, it's one of the most growing top 10 teams in FIBA.

USA is on a decline. I know it sounds irrelevant cause they still have what it takes to win any tournament when they bring their A team, but they don't have players of prime Kobe, Lebron, Durant level. There's no such players.

Spain is on a decline. They gone away with that in 2022 with a lot of luck, but it's obvious. I'm not sure they can be just as good as they were in late 00s and 10's. IMO, not. If Rubio retires for good, they are in trouble for at least 2-3 years.

Australia on a decline. Millsa and Co. got old and they can't substitute them instantly.

Latvia (I'm not sure they are top 10 team TBH, but FIBA dragged them up by +22 to end up at 8th ) is not on a rise. They have Zagars who is a great point guard, but that's about it. They are getting old, Bertans bros, Grazulis, R. Smits and Porzingis getting close to 30s. ATM they are good, but not getting better. They don't have young generation which can be super good.

Slovenia is not getting better. Maybe they will in few years, but not now.

Argentina declined a lot.

Brazil declined.

France declined and they will have to somehow find guards. I'm not sure great forwards and Wemby will be enough. You need guards and their great guards declining. Still have incredibly a lot of top prospects, but the transition is still questionable. Fact is they lacked some of quality in guard position, even if got away somehow in 2022.

Greece declined.

So many teams declined. The only truly growing teams are Canada, Germany, Serbia, Lithuania (maybe Italy, Turkey).

Lithuania sneakily is one of the most growing NTs globally. Mainly because we have been having the best young EL core last 2-3 years with Jokubaitis, Sedekerskis, Brazdeikis and plus there's NBA guy Sabonis who reached new level last year becoming All NBA guy and grew into his early peak which should have continuation for 4-5 next years. 3 of 4 best players in WC were guys within 22-25yo. There's a good chance that 4 best LTUs players in OG will be guys within 23-28 (Jokubaitis, Brazdeikis, Sedekerskis, Sabonis). That's where Lithuania is intriguing. We have one of the youngest legitimate cores. That's not enough talent to challenge the best NTs yet, but our young players are worth more than maybe it looks like looking from aside. There's a good chance this core will make us likely the most competitive since 2012.

Not many teams have better young cores than Lithuania and only few teams can either compete ("run together") as well. That's why our upside for 2024 is a bit mysterious and there's a room for a another big step forward.

I don't know about the other teams, but Serbia with Jokic (Micic and Kalinic too) has a few more levels to their game, no question about that. The reason for success at the World Cup is because Serbia has deep national pool, so we could compensate for the lack of Jokic and others (with right chemistry). But make no mistake that Serbia with Jokic is on completely another level. Playing with or without the best player in the world is not the same, even if we are deep enough to be good without Jokic (and Micic who has been the best Euroleague player). However, with them ceiling of this team is ridiculously high.

 

[Straight forward2]

I don't know about the other teams, but Serbia with Jokic (Micic and Kalinic too) has a few more levels to their game, no question about that. The reason for success at the World Cup is because Serbia has deep national pool, so we could compensate for the lack of Jokic and others (with right chemistry). But make no mistake that Serbia with Jokic is on completely another level. Playing with or without the best player in the world is not the same, even if we are deep enough to be good without Jokic (and Micic who has been the best Euroleague player). However, with them ceiling of this team is ridiculously high.

Yes, but that's why I say essentially Only Jokic, IMO, can substantially improve Serbian 2023 roster, but knowing Jokic's questionable availability, no-one knows if he's even planning to show up. Sort of he is, but still he's not the most loyal player and he will again go deep, probably till the final in the NBA. While Bogi and Avramovic played well and Guduric solidly, there's no essential need for Micic, off course it would add some, but it wouldn't change the picture dramatically, specially that he is worse defender than Arvamovic f.e. While N. Jovic played so well at forwards, no need to overemphasize Kalinic presence too, specially that Jovic will be even better next year. Even though the depth only helps usually. So essentially Serbia had what it's needed to be successful. There's that theory which with I don't necessary agree, but some speculate that without Jokic the team had more coherence. When you have Jokic, superstar, you look at him a lot, but when there's no such figure, guys like Avramovic step up and there's more sense of unity, coherence and pro active carriage. Maybe it was simply bad timing in 2022 to have that bad game, but the fact is Serbia failed with Jokic in 2022, and was successful in 2023 without him. I personally think with Jokic Serbia would be stronger, but that's worth a consideration.

 

[Serbian_Layup2]

Yes, but that's why I say essentially Only Jokic, IMO, can substantially improve Serbian 2023 roster, but knowing Jokic's questionable availability, no-one knows if he's even planning to show up. Sort of he is, but still he's not the most loyal player and he will again go deep, probably till the final in the NBA. While Bogi and Avramovic played well and Guduric solidly, there's no essential need for Micic, off course it would add some, but it wouldn't change the picture dramatically, specially that he is worse defender than Arvamovic f.e. While N. Jovic played so well at forwards, no need to overemphasize Kalinic presence too, specially that Jovic will be even better next year. Even though the depth only helps usually. So essentially Serbia had what it's needed to be successful. There's that theory which with I don't necessary agree, but some speculate that without Jokic the team had more coherence. When you have Jokic, superstar, you look at him a lot, but when there's no such figure, guys like Avramovic step up and there's more sense of unity, coherence and pro active carriage. Maybe it was simply bad timing in 2022 to have that bad game, but the fact is Serbia failed with Jokic in 2022, and was successful in 2023 without him. I personally think with Jokic Serbia would be stronger, but that's worth a consideration.

Every tournament is another story. Serbia relied heavily on Jokic in 2022, everyone was thinking he will do everything by himself. The silver lining of that tournament is that now we know how not to play with Jokic, so in a way I believe that was necessary experience to understand that Jokic alone is not enough and that everyone should be held accountable. I bet next year we are going to see a whole different approach just because of that experience. It's true that Avramovic, Dobric, Nikola Jovic, Petrusev used their chances with Jokic, Kalinic and Micic not playing. That was beautiful to watch and it actually gave us a big boost going forward and quite good depth when those three show up. Blessing in disguise in a way.

If we are talking about Olympics, Jokic is going to play 100% (barring any injuries of course). He can win another championship, but he is not going to miss Olympics. He celebrated together with the team when they came back in Belgrade. He is a part of this team.

Regarding Micic, there is a reason why he is Euroleague MVP and back to back champion. I love Avramovic and he is going to be huge for us in the next couple of years but he is, right now, a great role player. Micic is an elite Euro guard, and can definitely bring another level to our NT. Micic and Avramovic at 1 are a great complimentary combo, total package of what you need from your guards at position 1.​ In 2022 Micic objectively had only one bad game, against Italy. But entire team outside of Jokic played very poorly that game. It means little to nothing regarding new tournament.

I will tell you this about Kalinic, had he played against Germany, I think we would have seen different outcome. There is nothing to overemphasize if you can have one of the most versatile defensive forwards. If you are going to meet Franz Wagner, you better have someone like Kalinic in your roster. Jovic is going to be great, but having Kalinic to do all the dirty work and give you toughness is another dimension to defensive versatility of your team. Actually, Jovic and Kalinic are also perfect combo at forward position. Their offensive/defensive compatibility is obvious at first glance. Jovic still needs time to fully develop, so having Kalinic for couple more years would be great. Not sure about others who missed the World Cup, but I'm pretty sure Jokic, Kalinic and Micic will give ridiculous awareness and versatility to the 2023 roster.

 

[Straight forward2]

Jokubaitis, Grigonis, Ulanovas, Sedekerskis, Sabonis

That's the starting line-up (best player per position) today.