Kaunas Zalgiris Thread

[Straight forward2]

Today Brazeikis suddenly started from the start and was perfect by scoring 12 pts. But then Trinch took him off from the game and that's it. What is it? Meanwhile, his favourite player Giedraitis played a lot and in 27 min his PIR is minus 2. And he wasn't any kind of defensive changer. Sirvydis, by the way - 12 seconds. Thank God, I'm not Zalgiris fan. I would be pissed off by Trinchieri's rotations.

Obviously Trinchieri likes Giedraitis because of his defence. He will never be high efficiency guy, but he gets his job done. Regarding Sirvydis, he has to go with either him or Iggy in certain games. There's a big traffic in positions 2/3 so sometimes some-one wouldn't play. I'm against Sirvydis playing so inconsistent minutes, specially when Trinchieri losing.

As for Iggy, he is good when he has complete freedom and allowed to do his things. Take some difficult shots, to play with swagger. Strong EL teams as OLY and even current Zalgiris to certain extent try to take away that from him and he will struggle. For him it would be best to play for some more style wise open Eurocup team or some low EL team as ALBA maybe. Iggy is just a shadow of himself as system player and Trinchieri asks him to be system player.

 

[Straight forward2]

Franscisco is good for Zalgiris, but he probably won't make NT. He's not even close to be elite guard in EL. He's galaxies away from say prime Lorenzo Brown. Not even close to be able to lead FIBA powerhouse, but good enough for Zalgiris.

Now, it's even more obvious. Francisco can't pass and that's a big problem for Zalgiris. I totally agree with Suliauskas. I was repeating he can ball, but he can't pass and thus Zalgiris lacks failitator. I was laughing when people were doubting whenever Jokubaitis is good enough to be a starting level PG for Zalgiris I said he wouldn't even be as starter, he would be franchise player, best player. Trinchieri and Zalgiris management had to say him you will be the key, the leader, the face of the team, and they failed with it. Whatever they talked him, Maccabi just said that they see him as main PG and that made the decision. Now what we see that no-one can move the damn ball in Zalgiris and such as Sirvydis standing open for weeks and the ball doesn't reach him. Francisco is so bad passing off the step out that it hurts my eyes. And when I see that I realize how amazing Jakucionis already would be in EL LOL He's a master in such situation. He would turn the ball over here and there, but also would just move the ball like fucking god compared to reckless scrubs as Fransciso, Walker and other second rate players. Jokubaitis is Magic Johnson in terms of reading the game, IQ and passing, LOL. Zalgiris screwed big time letting Jokubaitis go. Such players as Walker, Sirvydis, even Francisco would be better playing with Jookubaitis and he would feed them. Birutis and Smailagic would also be way better. I'm all for high IQ, decision making and passing ballers in comparison with those agile, athletic, but reckless and limited second rate afro- Americans or afro- French. It's not a winning BB. Only dudes like Lorenzo Brown who not only has agility, but also elite decision making can be true ballers in Euroleague.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AGuYlWp2b74&ab_channel=AugustasŠuliauskas

 

[Straight forward2]

Franscisco is good for Zalgiris, but he probably won't make NT. He's not even close to be elite guard in EL. He's galaxies away from say prime Lorenzo Brown. Not even close to be able to lead FIBA powerhouse, but good enough for Zalgiris.

Now, it's even more obvious. Francisco can't pass and that's a big problem for Zalgiris. I totally agree with Suliauskas. I was repeating he can ball, but he can't pass and thus Zalgiris lacks failitator. I was laughing when people were doubting whenever Jokubaitis is good enough to be a starting level PG for Zalgiris I said he wouldn't even be as starter, he would be franchise player, best player. Trinchieri and Zalgiris management had to say him you will be the key, the leader, the face of the team, and they failed with it. Whatever they talked him, Maccabi just said that they see him as main PG and that made the decision. Now what we see that no-one can move the damn ball in Zalgiris and such as Sirvydis standing open for weeks and the ball doesn't reach him. Francisco is so bad passing off the step out that it hurts my eyes. And when I see that I realize how amazing Jakucionis already would be in EL LOL He's a master in such situation. He would turn the ball over here and there, but also would just move the ball like fucking god compared to reckless scrubs as Fransciso, Walker and other second rate players. Jokubaitis is Magic Johnson in terms of reading the game, IQ and passing, LOL. Zalgiris screwed big time letting Jokubaitis go. Such players as Walker, Sirvydis, even Francisco would be better playing with Jookubaitis and he would feed them. Birutis and Smailagic would also be way better. I'm all for high IQ, decision making and passing ballers in comparison with those agile, athletic, but reckless and limited second rate afro- Americans or afro- French. It's not a winning BB. Only dudes like Lorenzo Brown who not only has agility, but also elite decision making can be true ballers in Euroleague. And Jokubaitis even today is better than Francisco, let alone after 3 years when he will be 27yo.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AGuYlWp2b74&ab_channel=AugustasŠuliauskas

 

[Dreamcatcher2]

​​​​​Zalgiris collapsed at home against Bayern, making even a play-in spot almost unreachable. Naturally, discussions have been taking place in the days following the loss. The big question is: who is more to blame - Trinchieri or the players? I’d say both.

I started disliking Trinchieri this season, mainly because of his rotations and the way he treats certain players, and it seems I wasn’t wrong. However, when, in a must-win home game, only Francisco steps up as a real threat, the responsibility also falls on the players.

As for Trinchieri, if he weren’t a respected coach but someone like Maksvytis, he’d probably be on the verge of being fired. In fact, I believe that with Maksvytis, Zalgiris wouldn’t be doing any worse - maybe even better.

There’s also responsibility on those who re-signed Manek and brought in Mitchell. The lack of strong foreign players is a major issue. Local players won’t win games in EL - at best, they might pull off a few isolated victories. That’s why you get Francisco scoring 33 points while nobody else steps up. You have Sirvydis missing all five of his three-pointers (four of them wide open), while Bayern’s shooters, on the other hand, hit more than 50% of their attempts (OK, Obst is a local player, but still).
​

 

[Toruko2]

test1

 

[Straight forward2]

I was never thinking about T. Sabonis as a head coach, but it would be super interesting to see at the HC position. To me his persona is more of an assistant, but maybe he is that young coach after Saras that we are looking for? As NT I'm all in for kicking our Trinch and try Sabonis.

 

[Straight forward2]

This recent version of Brazdeikis reminds his 2022/2023 version when he landed in Europe. Seems better conditioned, pretty mobile and determined. Hopefully we'll see this version in the NT this summer. If he would be such kind of player on a constant basis he would be one of the best in Europe, but well he's not.

 

[Dreamcatcher2]

This recent version of Brazdeikis reminds his 2022/2023 version when he landed in Europe. Seems better conditioned, pretty mobile and determined. Hopefully we'll see this version in the NT this summer. If he would be such kind of player on a constant basis he would be one of the best in Europe, but well he's not.

He's still the same player. He hasn't changed. And why would he? Naturally, his shots don’t always fall, and at times he faces tough defense, not realizing when a match-up isn’t in his favor for his usual isolation plays. The only real difference this season is that Trinchieri has decided in certain games that Ignas isn’t good enough to play or even make the roster. As a result, Brazdeikis has been eager to prove himself, seemingly trying to convince the Italian coach that he was wrong. I didn’t like that - it’s poor treatment of the best Lith player in Zalgiris.

 

[Straight forward2]

He's still the same player. He hasn't changed. And why would he? Naturally, his shots don’t always fall, and at times he faces tough defense, not realizing when a match-up isn’t in his favor for his usual isolation plays. The only real difference this season is that Trinchieri has decided in certain games that Ignas isn’t good enough to play or even make the roster. As a result, Brazdeikis has been eager to prove himself, seemingly trying to convince the Italian coach that he was wrong. I didn’t like that - it’s poor treatment of the best Lith player in Zalgiris.

I would say Trinchieri misshandled Iggy and Sirvydis. Specially Sirvydis cause he was ignoring him a bit even when he was playing really well. Iggy on other hand really sucked so many times. Like he comes out and makes some silly foul or some horrible defensive play, like not even trying hard enough. So that caused Iggy's problems. Even if Trinchieri overdid with it, I at least understand why he had a problem with Iggy. Sirvydis on other hand was just ignored and his minutes was limited when he played well. But not to be entirely high on Sirvydis, I have to say I hate to see those long missing streaks. That's not good. Off course, even Milaknis had some slumps, but I would love more consistency for Sirvydis in terms of shooting and he should go to the rim more too.

My problem with Zalgiris staff overall, why Trinchieri needed Iggy? He will never be system player. Never. He's best when he acts like an ultimate ISO players, playing with huge swagger. In his mind he's much better player than his actual skills allow and that's his strenght. You have to allow him to play like this and take some tough shots too. If you take away this swagger from Iggy he becomes extremely bleak player, basically a no-body. He was good in EL only when Maksvytis was giving him freedom.

To me Brazdeikis is not the best Lithuanian. I would give an edge to Sirvydis. He's more complete overall. Just Trinchieri really mishandles him and treats like shit. He should be having much more complete and deeper role. But with that said, in shape and aggressive Iggy is a good piece for both NT and Zalgiris currently.

 

[Dreamcatcher2]

I hate to see those long missing streaks. That's not good. Off course, even Milaknis had some slumps, but I would love more consistency for Sirvydis in terms of shooting and he should go to the rim more too.

Sirvydis hasn’t proven himself to be a good shooter this season. His three-point shooting is merely average and simply inconsistent, but what’s more unsurprising is his struggle from the ft line - just over 60% in both EL and LKL. Considering that he’s not a strong defender either, his impact is quite limited without reliable shooting. He can drive to the basket occasionally, but since he’s not a primary ball handler, he doesn’t get many opportunities to do so. At this point, Brazdeikis is still the better player in my eyes.

 

[Straight forward2]

Sabonis bossing Trinchieri:

https://www.instagram.com/p/DFvtostOCgF/

 

[Dreamcatcher2]

Sometimes Francisco is amazing. One of the best 3pt-shot creaters in Europe. The best rival's defender was focused on the French fellow and it was useless. And at the same time you can't guard him very close, as he's very fast as well.

It seems Zalgiris screwed EL season by signing Walker, which spoiled team's chemistry. Francisco + good team could be good enough for play-offs.

 

[Straight forward2]

To trash the shit out of Russian ass lickers though Good job.

 

[Dreamcatcher2]

First of all, what a bad game in Vittoria. Secondly, if you loose 2 times to this Basconia, then good bye play-inn for sure. Thirdly, how unplayable Sirvydis can be quite often. 12 min of nothing. Even free throws are missed. - 6 PIR + bad defense. Despite that, he had a chance to make a game winner, but not even close.

 

[Hepcat2]

If and when the game is on the line, I'd rather have the ball in the hands of say Deividas Gailius than Deividas Sirvydis.

 

[Straight forward2]

All younger Zalgiris Lithuanians lack consistency. That's what separates solid players from good or great. Sirvydis, Iggy, Giedraitis show some nice thing here and there, but they go up and down too much. Specially first two. Giedraitis at least brings A defense all the time. Sirvydis may have few more years growing into his prime and becoming more consistent, but I can see already that certain streakiness will be a part of his identity for good. Not a bad player, but doesn't have what Stombergas had, consistent hand. Saulius could knock down a three out of the bed at the middle of the night. Iggy should be close his prime by now, basically prime, but he's still inconsistent, hasn't really grown much since he landed in Europe as 23yo. Nice player in certain days, can bring big offensive boost, but on a daily basis way too inconsistent and defensively vulnerable.

Francisco to my taste is not a guy to lead PO EL team. He doesn't have passing, he's a streaky shooter, his very very up and down decision maker. The team depends on his scoring streaks. Take some Jokubaitis. His scoring may wary here and there, but passing and team control is on consistent level, he will make right decisions. While Fransico doesn't have it and I would take Jokubaitis to lead my team in this comparison.

Trinch is good, but I thought he's better. That's how I would sum up the season no matter the outcome. That's my general impression. I though he would utilize the roster better.

 

[Dreamcatcher2]

Fuck, Zalgiris resigned Francisco. The organization is on a higher level than before when financially the club couldn't afford to keep the best player who averages 14 pts in EL.

 

[Straight forward2]

So the failure the season has nothing to do with your starting player at 1?

I don't see how this is a great achievement. He can't pass and has no fundamentals. He will score in some games and will sink the team in others.

 

[Dreamcatcher2]

So the failure the season has nothing to do with your starting player at 1?

I don't see how this is a great achievement. He can't pass and has no fundamentals. He will score in some games and will sink the team in others.

Why then all Zalgiris fans are so happy now? No way in the past Zalgiris would secure a leader who provided that much in EL. Francisco is among top10 EL guards this season. Who you think Zalgiris could sign instead of him? It would be crazy not to resign him if it's possible.
The main failure was bringing Walker and the way Trinchieri treated all that situation. Also, Manek and Mitchell were useless. Add here Williams who was supposed to be among the best players and you get minus three foreigners which is very bad. In addition, front court is pretty weak.
Francisko was the least problem here. He was very good in general and amazing in some games. And you underrate him saying that he can't pass - he averages 4.3 ast.
Generally, I always considered Trichieri as a fairly solid coach, but I didn't like him in this EL season. I think that Zalgiris could look and do not worse with Maksvytis.

 

[Toruko2]

Why then all Zalgiris fans are so happy? No way in the past Zalgiris would secure a leader who provided that much in EL. Francisco is among top10 EL guards this season. Who you think Zalgiris could sign instead of him? It would be crazy not to resign him if it's possible.
The main failure was bringing Walker and the way Trinchieri treated all that situation. Also, Manek and Mitchell were useless. Add here Williams who was supposed to be the among the best players and you get minus three foreigners which is very bad. In addition, front court is pretty weak.
Francisko was the least problem here. He was very good in general and amazing in some games. And you underrate him saying that he can't pass - he averages 4.3 ast.
Generally, I always considered Trichieri as a fairly solid coach, but I didn't like him in this EL season. I think that Zalgiris could look and do not worse with Maksvytis.

Francisco also struggled a lot at the start of the season and its not like he remained underused. He is a gifted guard but in reading and reacting is a thing he is not able to provide. This and his ups and downs should be the reason why he is not targeted by bigger clubs. It tells a lot considering how thin the PG position is filled in Europe.