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Hepcat2
Guest
I see a very serious problem for the future of basketball in Lithuania. And it's not just because of the dramatic population decline. A while ago I mentioned in partial jest that the reason Lithuania's population has been declining is that the men are too busy drinking and watching basketball to bother screwing the women. Well it seems that there was much more than a small grain of truth to my statement:
The World's Biggest Drinkers - The Sun
1. Cook Islands
2. Latvia
3. Czech Republic
4. Lithuania
5. Austria
6. Antigua and Barbados
7. Estonia
That is bad. I mean what's the use of a higher GDP if it's simply going to be spent on drinking more? That type of activity tends to be detrimental to the development of basketball skills and everything else that's worthwhile. Higher "sin" taxes enabling lower income taxes would be a step to solving the problem.
The World's Biggest Drinkers - The Sun
1. Cook Islands
2. Latvia
3. Czech Republic
4. Lithuania
5. Austria
6. Antigua and Barbados
7. Estonia
That is bad. I mean what's the use of a higher GDP if it's simply going to be spent on drinking more? That type of activity tends to be detrimental to the development of basketball skills and everything else that's worthwhile. Higher "sin" taxes enabling lower income taxes would be a step to solving the problem.
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Straight forward2
Guest
Here's the deal - LTU basketball has offensive identity. In 90s it was more about offense, in 00s it was more about offense, only in tiny 2013-2015 stretch it was more about the defense. Historically we have offensive identity. Even in 2017 it was all about offense and last 2 tournaments 2019, 2022 as well. We actually were close in those two latter tournaments, but it wasn't enough.
Heading to the future it won't change, IMO. We will remain offensively minded NT. We might be relatively better defensively than in some previous stretches, but only relatively better if any.
Why? FOA, our biggest potential and current stars are offensive players. Sabonis without question and then Buzelis, Jokubaitis also. Buzelis has some defense, even serious like shot blocking, but even he in the space is not elite defender (if he improves he will be solid, but I don't think that elite).
So 3 key players at 1-3-5 which is an ultimate cornerstone in some 2027 if all show up is offensive.
Now postion 2. I take most promising 2 ways SGs in Rubstavicius and Indrusaitis. Yeah, nice upside at both ends, but if you ask whenever they are offensive or defensive players? Surely, still offensive. Brazdeikis and Lelevicius, or say D. Buika (I think that's best 5 SGs in the country) are even more offensively minded.
Potential Buzelis' back-ups at 3 should be Sirvydis, Jogela, maybe Kulboka. All offensive players.
At 4 Murauskas is also offensive player in the first place.
Not to say our defense will be trash necessary, there are a lot of pieces like Marciulionis, D. Giedraitis, Sedekerskis, Krivas, Raupelis and so on who can be good defensive role players, but our key identity will remain offensive and that's how we are. If you look at Greece or France, you often have defensive identity rather than offensive, but LTU's idenity is ultimately offensive.
We have great prospects as Brazdeikis (IK), Jokubaitis, Rubstavicius, Tubelis, Buzelis, Lelevicius, Murauskas and so on and on (all these guys are either borderline NBA or NBA prospects), but at the moment I don't know a single prospect who would have tremendous defensive upside and would be huge prospect because of his defense alone. We have no elite defensive prospects in other words.
The good news is that we potentially can be ridiculously good offensively soon, specially if Buzelis pans out and comes to represent the country.
Heading to the future it won't change, IMO. We will remain offensively minded NT. We might be relatively better defensively than in some previous stretches, but only relatively better if any.
Why? FOA, our biggest potential and current stars are offensive players. Sabonis without question and then Buzelis, Jokubaitis also. Buzelis has some defense, even serious like shot blocking, but even he in the space is not elite defender (if he improves he will be solid, but I don't think that elite).
So 3 key players at 1-3-5 which is an ultimate cornerstone in some 2027 if all show up is offensive.
Now postion 2. I take most promising 2 ways SGs in Rubstavicius and Indrusaitis. Yeah, nice upside at both ends, but if you ask whenever they are offensive or defensive players? Surely, still offensive. Brazdeikis and Lelevicius, or say D. Buika (I think that's best 5 SGs in the country) are even more offensively minded.
Potential Buzelis' back-ups at 3 should be Sirvydis, Jogela, maybe Kulboka. All offensive players.
At 4 Murauskas is also offensive player in the first place.
Not to say our defense will be trash necessary, there are a lot of pieces like Marciulionis, D. Giedraitis, Sedekerskis, Krivas, Raupelis and so on who can be good defensive role players, but our key identity will remain offensive and that's how we are. If you look at Greece or France, you often have defensive identity rather than offensive, but LTU's idenity is ultimately offensive.
We have great prospects as Brazdeikis (IK), Jokubaitis, Rubstavicius, Tubelis, Buzelis, Lelevicius, Murauskas and so on and on (all these guys are either borderline NBA or NBA prospects), but at the moment I don't know a single prospect who would have tremendous defensive upside and would be huge prospect because of his defense alone. We have no elite defensive prospects in other words.
The good news is that we potentially can be ridiculously good offensively soon, specially if Buzelis pans out and comes to represent the country.
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Straight forward2
Guest
I'm not sure I even want to see R. Giedraitis again. Sirvydis showed some nice glimpses of what he can be as a role player. He fits that role better. He always the same. Giedraitis always feels uncomfortable with limited minutes. What we surely can use is Sabonis, Grigonis, Buzekvicius, Ulanovas, Lekavicius. That would be big boost.
We will talk about this in 2024 thread later in detail, but I think 2002 generation guys will also be knocking to the NT doors heavily too. Tubelis got good words after showing up. Probably little doubt that he would take Maldunas' spot next year and play more than Maldunas does. Marciulionis likely might be in the camp finally after hopefully good NCAA season. He potentially will challenge any back-up candidate (still think Lekavicius will go to his likely last tournament with NT though). And Rubstavicius is the most important from all 2002 generation players. It's realistic that after another year (in Australia) he will already be better player than Dimsa, Normantas. I actually expect that cause this season in LKL playoffs he was nearly better than Normantas. He should be drafted in the early second round, or even late first round. In my opinion Rubstavicius is big big piece for LTU going forward. I have him as true starter at position 2. In my opinion he should be better player than Brazdeikis, and I like Iggy.
2000 guys are integrated. Next step is 2002 generation guys.
And with that alone we will be pretty much stacked, yet it's only a scratch. Later 2003 Lelevicius should be in and massive 2004 generation with Buzelis, Murauskas, Krivas and then golden 06-07 with Jakucionis, Indrusaitis and Co.
I'm literally breathless about potential 2027/2028 roster:
Jokubaitis, Marciulionis, Jakucionis
Rubstavicius, Lelevicius, Indrusaitis
Buzelis, Brazdeikis
Murauskas, Sedekerskis
Sabonis, Tubelis
(elite 21yo Buika waiting his turn)
Such players as Sirvydis, Kulboka, M. Jogela, Blazevic, D. Giedraitis, Velicka, Laurencikas, Krivas, I. Sargiunas, Raupelis and some other good prospects (many of them will be EL players) will be boderliners or say pushed aside just because there won't be enough place in the roster. If my projection is correct, NTs boderliners may collect NT that could be more or less on the same tier with regular 10's NT team in terms of talent.
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Straight forward2
Guest
I'm smiling thinking about rebounding potential of 2024 and going further. Sabonis is the best rebounder on the planet. Sedekerskis so far the best rebounder of EL. He even grabbed 14 rebounds in ACB, for a forward it's insane numbers. We might have the best rebounding duet in 2024 Olympics if we get there.
Rebounding upside becoming even more promising knowing that Buzelis can be thrown at 2 (much like Franz for Germany these days) and Murauskas at 3. That would make silly line-up length wise.
To me the main issue remains - true defensive center. But I can't ask too much. Such white countries as Lithuania, Serbia can't expect to have good defensive bigs all the time. From top 20 best shot blockers of all time, we have only 1 white folk - Mark Eaton. In current NBA only say Kessler, Holmgren comes as white good defenders, shot blockers. I'm looking forward whenever new trend of basketball will take place with such white players as Holmgren, Buzelis, Cooper Flagg (all white top picks potentially) who all have good shot blocking upside. But "white countries" will barely be able to truly match USA or European countries who have many citizens with African/American roots in this department. Serbian L is right. The key is to have dominant rebounders as bigs (Sabonis and Tubelis/Krivas fits the narrative well) and a good perimeter D. We should have that.
Nevertheless, I'm looking forward how Raupelis develops, he's playing too little yet in NKL as 16yo to make some conclusions, and Arturas Butajevas who can develop himself into nice mobile center. These 2 names shouldn't be overlooked, but that's a very very long shot. More like thinking about the 30's (and in my opinion first half of 30's might be golden age for LTU BB).
When it comes to 20s, we should live with what Sabonis/Tubelis/Krivas center position will bring. That's very intriguing cause none of them are as rigid and limited defensively as Valanciunas who has been covering C position last 12 years and all of them are less old school offensively (even Krivas, because of his passing, agility and most importantly quicker decision making and ability to play within the flow). Finally we'll make a modern shift, starting with 2024 (Sabonis should be big time No.1 option at the frontline). It has been devastating and frustrating decline, but very likely it ended with 2023.
Rebounding upside becoming even more promising knowing that Buzelis can be thrown at 2 (much like Franz for Germany these days) and Murauskas at 3. That would make silly line-up length wise.
To me the main issue remains - true defensive center. But I can't ask too much. Such white countries as Lithuania, Serbia can't expect to have good defensive bigs all the time. From top 20 best shot blockers of all time, we have only 1 white folk - Mark Eaton. In current NBA only say Kessler, Holmgren comes as white good defenders, shot blockers. I'm looking forward whenever new trend of basketball will take place with such white players as Holmgren, Buzelis, Cooper Flagg (all white top picks potentially) who all have good shot blocking upside. But "white countries" will barely be able to truly match USA or European countries who have many citizens with African/American roots in this department. Serbian L is right. The key is to have dominant rebounders as bigs (Sabonis and Tubelis/Krivas fits the narrative well) and a good perimeter D. We should have that.
Nevertheless, I'm looking forward how Raupelis develops, he's playing too little yet in NKL as 16yo to make some conclusions, and Arturas Butajevas who can develop himself into nice mobile center. These 2 names shouldn't be overlooked, but that's a very very long shot. More like thinking about the 30's (and in my opinion first half of 30's might be golden age for LTU BB).
When it comes to 20s, we should live with what Sabonis/Tubelis/Krivas center position will bring. That's very intriguing cause none of them are as rigid and limited defensively as Valanciunas who has been covering C position last 12 years and all of them are less old school offensively (even Krivas, because of his passing, agility and most importantly quicker decision making and ability to play within the flow). Finally we'll make a modern shift, starting with 2024 (Sabonis should be big time No.1 option at the frontline). It has been devastating and frustrating decline, but very likely it ended with 2023.
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Straight forward2
Guest
One of these days when I'm locked in for BB, so couple of more thoughts on the future (and present) pieces.
Few more reason why Matas Buzelis success and dedication to NT will be the key if we expect to build great team. IMO, he's the only true answer defensively at 3. Buzelis may struggle to guard small agile guards a bit, but with his size and active hands (he's really good at deflections) he can be a really good defensive piece at 3. And he's probably the only prospect with a good defensive upside at 3. Some will say Sedekerskis can play here, but I want Tadas to play 4. You can see what good things happen when you allow him to crash the boards. He will outrebound you and will brake the glass and will use his physicality. He has to play almost entirely 4 and even some 5. Brazdeikis is a bad defender and will never be good. Sirvydis also (even though has better motor and active hands). One more piece that may be solid defender at 3 is Lelevicius. As 201cm he can and will be used at 3 some, but I think he will be more of a 2 and exactly in this position with his length and skill can be most dominant. At 3 Lelevicius may lack a bit of size and strength to certain extent probably. Nevertheless I see the need of Buzelis at 3 as one of the keys of future NT. He can be glue guy with his help defense a little bit, and he is solid laterally and can combine interior and perimeter defense.
Another reason is why Buzelis is the key at 3 cause it sets nearly perfect chemistry with Paulius Murauskas who offensively is one of the keys of the future. Murauskas is a great and I would even say underrated prospect. His offensive upside is nothing but massive. IMO, we should compare Murauskas with such players as Kleiza, Stombergas. The best comparison from LTU players is Kleiza. That's the only 2 forwards in history with legitimate in and out scoring. Both can cook from perimeter and both can post up. Now Kleiza was much more athletic, that's true. But while both stand 6.8 (203-204cm), Murauskas has longer wingspan. He's a better passer and better decision maker than Kleiza. Both are tough inside for their size and great rebounders (I think Murauskas is even better cause he grabs now ridiculous 6,5rpg in just 16mpg for Wildcats) and I would say that Murauskas has more moves and more fundamentally sound post game. Whenever Murauskas can be as deadly scorer as Kleiza was will remain to be seen (probably not), but knowing his way better facilitation and passing game and overall being higher IQ player, at the end of the day Murauskas can be even superior to Kleiza in the NT. The main problem, and here I come back to Buzelis, that Murauskas has pretty crappy lateral quickness. He not only can't to stay with guards, but also may struggle with faster small forwards. That's why we need Murauskas at 4. He is a pretty good and competitive post defender and good rebounder. He has better core strength and love the contact more than Buzelis (who essentially has guards mentality). So if Buzelis covers the 3, we can comfortably land the most offensively talented 4 prospect Murauskas at 4 and that creates perfect chemistry at 3-4 positions.
Essentially I see nearly perfect solutions for 4 position which recently seemed as nearly most problematic. Sedekerskis will be a defensive STUD at 4, and Murauskas will be primarily offensive STUD at 4 (and solid defensively at this position). And that basically closes this position entirely. We can speak about Tubelis playing here a bit too, or anyone else, but there's no much need cause former 2 potentially will be incredible luxury already.
If Buzelis pans out and becomes long term NT piece, I can see us solving position 3 completely. If not, we'll have plenty of solid/good offensive pieces, but may lack real deal defensive presence. Essentially I don't have any problems with 1-4 positions. In my opinion, we potentially we'll have all kind of pieces that will be needed to build a very good team or even great one. But I don't see piece at 5 which would be a great piece for FIBA basketball. Unless prime Sabonis will be that piece. So far we seen that Domas struggled to certain extent in FIBA and he doesn't have enough defense. We'll see how Tubelis and Krivas fit here and I expect mprovement compared to Valanciunas cause both guys are way better defensively than Jonas, but I don't see complete or spot on piece at 5 for contemporary FIBA game. It should be laterally quick, skilled (can pass) and defensively minded piece if you ask me. If Sabonis brakes out offensively in FIBA and plays a bit better defense than he previously showed, it could be just good enough to say we have absolutely everything what's needed in 2027 and 2028 stretch potentially.
Here's terrific video which shows why Murauskas has an upside to be a go to guy if necessary. And it comes form one game against Turkey, going against elite defender Berke in some possessions. And obviously I agree with Wilko about Murauskas position:
https://twitter.com/wilkomcv/status/1714821164894413070
Few more reason why Matas Buzelis success and dedication to NT will be the key if we expect to build great team. IMO, he's the only true answer defensively at 3. Buzelis may struggle to guard small agile guards a bit, but with his size and active hands (he's really good at deflections) he can be a really good defensive piece at 3. And he's probably the only prospect with a good defensive upside at 3. Some will say Sedekerskis can play here, but I want Tadas to play 4. You can see what good things happen when you allow him to crash the boards. He will outrebound you and will brake the glass and will use his physicality. He has to play almost entirely 4 and even some 5. Brazdeikis is a bad defender and will never be good. Sirvydis also (even though has better motor and active hands). One more piece that may be solid defender at 3 is Lelevicius. As 201cm he can and will be used at 3 some, but I think he will be more of a 2 and exactly in this position with his length and skill can be most dominant. At 3 Lelevicius may lack a bit of size and strength to certain extent probably. Nevertheless I see the need of Buzelis at 3 as one of the keys of future NT. He can be glue guy with his help defense a little bit, and he is solid laterally and can combine interior and perimeter defense.
Another reason is why Buzelis is the key at 3 cause it sets nearly perfect chemistry with Paulius Murauskas who offensively is one of the keys of the future. Murauskas is a great and I would even say underrated prospect. His offensive upside is nothing but massive. IMO, we should compare Murauskas with such players as Kleiza, Stombergas. The best comparison from LTU players is Kleiza. That's the only 2 forwards in history with legitimate in and out scoring. Both can cook from perimeter and both can post up. Now Kleiza was much more athletic, that's true. But while both stand 6.8 (203-204cm), Murauskas has longer wingspan. He's a better passer and better decision maker than Kleiza. Both are tough inside for their size and great rebounders (I think Murauskas is even better cause he grabs now ridiculous 6,5rpg in just 16mpg for Wildcats) and I would say that Murauskas has more moves and more fundamentally sound post game. Whenever Murauskas can be as deadly scorer as Kleiza was will remain to be seen (probably not), but knowing his way better facilitation and passing game and overall being higher IQ player, at the end of the day Murauskas can be even superior to Kleiza in the NT. The main problem, and here I come back to Buzelis, that Murauskas has pretty crappy lateral quickness. He not only can't to stay with guards, but also may struggle with faster small forwards. That's why we need Murauskas at 4. He is a pretty good and competitive post defender and good rebounder. He has better core strength and love the contact more than Buzelis (who essentially has guards mentality). So if Buzelis covers the 3, we can comfortably land the most offensively talented 4 prospect Murauskas at 4 and that creates perfect chemistry at 3-4 positions.
Essentially I see nearly perfect solutions for 4 position which recently seemed as nearly most problematic. Sedekerskis will be a defensive STUD at 4, and Murauskas will be primarily offensive STUD at 4 (and solid defensively at this position). And that basically closes this position entirely. We can speak about Tubelis playing here a bit too, or anyone else, but there's no much need cause former 2 potentially will be incredible luxury already.
If Buzelis pans out and becomes long term NT piece, I can see us solving position 3 completely. If not, we'll have plenty of solid/good offensive pieces, but may lack real deal defensive presence. Essentially I don't have any problems with 1-4 positions. In my opinion, we potentially we'll have all kind of pieces that will be needed to build a very good team or even great one. But I don't see piece at 5 which would be a great piece for FIBA basketball. Unless prime Sabonis will be that piece. So far we seen that Domas struggled to certain extent in FIBA and he doesn't have enough defense. We'll see how Tubelis and Krivas fit here and I expect mprovement compared to Valanciunas cause both guys are way better defensively than Jonas, but I don't see complete or spot on piece at 5 for contemporary FIBA game. It should be laterally quick, skilled (can pass) and defensively minded piece if you ask me. If Sabonis brakes out offensively in FIBA and plays a bit better defense than he previously showed, it could be just good enough to say we have absolutely everything what's needed in 2027 and 2028 stretch potentially.
Here's terrific video which shows why Murauskas has an upside to be a go to guy if necessary. And it comes form one game against Turkey, going against elite defender Berke in some possessions. And obviously I agree with Wilko about Murauskas position:
https://twitter.com/wilkomcv/status/1714821164894413070
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Straight forward2
Guest
With the emergence of Jakucionis and his dominant triple double threat I can see that he will be the focal guard of LTU NT long term. The amount of pure guards who can be pure decision makers with the ball, I'm starting to want Jasikevicius in the NT even more. He likes to play with 3 decision makers on certain line-ups and NT since 2027/2028 will be able to provide with very interesting options. I can see Jokubaitis, Marciulionis, Jakucionis playing together some. Now that Marciulionis showed that he can shoot, they can play together, sticking to positionless guard basketball. Previously Marciulionis looked like unplayable as spot up option, but not now. And even if you give Marciulionis the ball as primarily ball handler and having Jakucionis and Jokubaitis at perimeter next to him it still would be very intriguing and opposing defense would be in trouble. Absolutely tons of decision making and aggression and at 4 you still you can have guy as Buzelis or Murauskas who in their own right have plenty of offense and ISO presence, and in such line-up all they would need to do is to stretch the floor and to attack close outs, nothing much cause creativity would go off charts already.
I'm yet don't fully realize the upside of pure guard Buika. I think he will be very good, but no idea how good yet (he may end up even being the second best guard prospect after Jakucionis overall). But even Buika so far aside, Jokubaitis, Marciulionis, D. Giedraitis, Jakucionis, Indrusaitis is a big luxury of pure guards. Generally 4 of them are good defensive players as well, only Jokubaitis is not good one. I believe under these circumstances our swingmen players as Rubstavicius, Leleavicius, Sirvydis will be playing more at 3 than they naturally would if LTU wouldn't have so many elite pure guards coming.
We need Jasikevicius for next or the one after the next Olympic cycle. Only he can optimally utilize these luxurious 3 next cycles. Maksvytis already wasted tons of talent even if it has been coming in the small packages thus far.
I secretely wish that Purlys gets some PRO action. Most likely it's another disappointment as with absolute majority with LTU coaches, but the way he won U16 with radically small BB and how he generally thinks about BB makes certain hope. He is modern BB mind and already showed some actual jobs, not only words. I would love to see him being an assistant in LKL next season and getting chance to coach as a head coach in upcoming 3 years. Maybe he could become next proper level modern NT coach. Upcoming tons of guards would be perfect for him. He knows how to play small ball and win with it.
But now we can only pray for Jasikevicius if we want proper level coaching of LTU NT.
I'm yet don't fully realize the upside of pure guard Buika. I think he will be very good, but no idea how good yet (he may end up even being the second best guard prospect after Jakucionis overall). But even Buika so far aside, Jokubaitis, Marciulionis, D. Giedraitis, Jakucionis, Indrusaitis is a big luxury of pure guards. Generally 4 of them are good defensive players as well, only Jokubaitis is not good one. I believe under these circumstances our swingmen players as Rubstavicius, Leleavicius, Sirvydis will be playing more at 3 than they naturally would if LTU wouldn't have so many elite pure guards coming.
We need Jasikevicius for next or the one after the next Olympic cycle. Only he can optimally utilize these luxurious 3 next cycles. Maksvytis already wasted tons of talent even if it has been coming in the small packages thus far.
I secretely wish that Purlys gets some PRO action. Most likely it's another disappointment as with absolute majority with LTU coaches, but the way he won U16 with radically small BB and how he generally thinks about BB makes certain hope. He is modern BB mind and already showed some actual jobs, not only words. I would love to see him being an assistant in LKL next season and getting chance to coach as a head coach in upcoming 3 years. Maybe he could become next proper level modern NT coach. Upcoming tons of guards would be perfect for him. He knows how to play small ball and win with it.
But now we can only pray for Jasikevicius if we want proper level coaching of LTU NT.
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Straight forward2
Guest
Another angle of how things developing. Legitimate 2 way players:
Marciulionis, Jakucionis
Indrusaitis
Buzelis
Krivas
In my opinion these five are 2 way players without any drag up. They have elite profiles at both ends. In my opinion in 10s we didn't have a player of such kind. Not a single one. We only had that breed in 00's last time, and that was Siskauskas.
Now players who are close to be that are these:
Rubstavicius (great motor at D, but a little lack of lateral quickness), Lelevicius (same generally, even if I have him slightly better defensively than Rubstavicius)
Sedekerskis (some would say he doesn't have enough offense, but he's 10ppg kinda guy with an upside to be 14ppg piece in EL in his prime for a good team)
Tubelis (I think he has defensive insticts, but lacks motor and positive attitude towards that, not consistent focus)
(D. Giedraitis is absolutely elite defender, but I think he lacks size and athleticism to become elite offensively.)
We had players who resemble such pieces in 10's as to certain extent as Kalnietis, Seibutis, Maciulis, Ulanovas. But Kalnietis and Seibutis didn't have such high offensive upside as Rubstavicius, Lelevicius have. They never were elite at anything, just as Ulanovas. Maciulis was elite defender, and comparison with Sedekerskis I think is spot on (besides Maciulis provided elite 2 way performance in 2015 EB).
Overall, Lithuania had these elite true 2 way players in history: Marciulionis, young Arvydas Sabonis and Siskauskas (and maybe young D-Mo, but we did see too little of this pre-injury version in the NT and even club competition).
Players as Karnisovas, Kurtinaitis, Stombergas were not bad defenders, but nevertheless not elite surely, they were primarily offensive, just as Jasikevicius, Macijauskas, Kleiza. And players as Timinskas, M. Zukauskas, Maciulis, Javtokas - were elite defenders, but didn't have elite offense.
Next to Sabas, Rooney, Siskauskas, we can produce 4-5 pure 2 way elite pieces which shows how special can be this upcoming 10-15 years stretch.
Lithuania has been ultimate offensive school of basketball. Ultimate. But now we have a bunch of 2 way players coming and some defensive specimen as D. Giedraitis. That's the huge difference compared to previous stretches of LTU basketball. Off course, offense is not going anywhere too as Jokubaitis, Rubstavicius, Sirvydis, Murauskas, Tubelis, Brazdeikis are all about offense generally in the first place.
PS: I don't have precise picture of prime Chomicius, Jovaisa, Paulauskas. Let alone players from first half of 20th century. So I excluded them all from consideration. Some probably would argue that these 3 players might had been elite 2 way players.
Marciulionis, Jakucionis
Indrusaitis
Buzelis
Krivas
In my opinion these five are 2 way players without any drag up. They have elite profiles at both ends. In my opinion in 10s we didn't have a player of such kind. Not a single one. We only had that breed in 00's last time, and that was Siskauskas.
Now players who are close to be that are these:
Rubstavicius (great motor at D, but a little lack of lateral quickness), Lelevicius (same generally, even if I have him slightly better defensively than Rubstavicius)
Sedekerskis (some would say he doesn't have enough offense, but he's 10ppg kinda guy with an upside to be 14ppg piece in EL in his prime for a good team)
Tubelis (I think he has defensive insticts, but lacks motor and positive attitude towards that, not consistent focus)
(D. Giedraitis is absolutely elite defender, but I think he lacks size and athleticism to become elite offensively.)
We had players who resemble such pieces in 10's as to certain extent as Kalnietis, Seibutis, Maciulis, Ulanovas. But Kalnietis and Seibutis didn't have such high offensive upside as Rubstavicius, Lelevicius have. They never were elite at anything, just as Ulanovas. Maciulis was elite defender, and comparison with Sedekerskis I think is spot on (besides Maciulis provided elite 2 way performance in 2015 EB).
Overall, Lithuania had these elite true 2 way players in history: Marciulionis, young Arvydas Sabonis and Siskauskas (and maybe young D-Mo, but we did see too little of this pre-injury version in the NT and even club competition).
Players as Karnisovas, Kurtinaitis, Stombergas were not bad defenders, but nevertheless not elite surely, they were primarily offensive, just as Jasikevicius, Macijauskas, Kleiza. And players as Timinskas, M. Zukauskas, Maciulis, Javtokas - were elite defenders, but didn't have elite offense.
Next to Sabas, Rooney, Siskauskas, we can produce 4-5 pure 2 way elite pieces which shows how special can be this upcoming 10-15 years stretch.
Lithuania has been ultimate offensive school of basketball. Ultimate. But now we have a bunch of 2 way players coming and some defensive specimen as D. Giedraitis. That's the huge difference compared to previous stretches of LTU basketball. Off course, offense is not going anywhere too as Jokubaitis, Rubstavicius, Sirvydis, Murauskas, Tubelis, Brazdeikis are all about offense generally in the first place.
PS: I don't have precise picture of prime Chomicius, Jovaisa, Paulauskas. Let alone players from first half of 20th century. So I excluded them all from consideration. Some probably would argue that these 3 players might had been elite 2 way players.
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Straight forward2
Guest
Murauskas enters the portal and about to leave Wildcats. Expected. Coach Lloyd didn't flatter Lithuanians this time. Murauskas had a rough first NCAA season role wise. Next season he must have playing time to show his game. He will be more ready to NCAA athleticism and speed of the game.
But what we seen is that he finished the season with amazing 52% threes. From corners he shot amazing 60%. He didn't shoot many shots, but when you are out of rotation and you just get fragmental minutes here and there it's really hard to shoot like that. It should tough mentality. It speaks a lot about his improving shooting and most importantly shooting upside. I'm nearly convinced Murauskas can be a good shooter at 4. If that's the case, he will be scoring machine cause he has plus mid and post/interior scoring game too. Defensively Murauskas lacks latteral quickness to guard fast swingmen and even mobile 3, so I think he should primarily set to develop as mobile 4, both offensively and defensively. At 4 defensively he can actually be pretty nice and hide his defensive deficiencies to certain extent.
Murauskas developing into truly good three point shooter at 4 (as well as Buzelis playing there occasionally, even though I want him primarily at 3) is one of the more important moments building future NT with little to none disadvantages for a modern contemporary team. Our centers, aside Tubelis, won't shoot much threes, but having Murauskas at 4 (and Sedekerskis making open threes as well) is important. Other than say Kuzminskas, Bendzius at 4, dudes like Sedekerskis, Murauskas are tough dudes and can bang inside defensively. I don't want really soft stretch 4, it doesn't seem that it works well. You need a tough guy who can shoot threes at 4 these days, IMO. That's why I stop talking about Kulboka. Not only god knows that's happening in his head, but also he doesn't have enough of physicality and toughness.
Here's season highlights and you can see the trigger is there. Sooner or later this bucket getter will explode big time. I have zero doubt and zero concern. He's super talented offensively:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GMvU00M0dA0&ab_channel=CollegeBasketballSc outing
But what we seen is that he finished the season with amazing 52% threes. From corners he shot amazing 60%. He didn't shoot many shots, but when you are out of rotation and you just get fragmental minutes here and there it's really hard to shoot like that. It should tough mentality. It speaks a lot about his improving shooting and most importantly shooting upside. I'm nearly convinced Murauskas can be a good shooter at 4. If that's the case, he will be scoring machine cause he has plus mid and post/interior scoring game too. Defensively Murauskas lacks latteral quickness to guard fast swingmen and even mobile 3, so I think he should primarily set to develop as mobile 4, both offensively and defensively. At 4 defensively he can actually be pretty nice and hide his defensive deficiencies to certain extent.
Murauskas developing into truly good three point shooter at 4 (as well as Buzelis playing there occasionally, even though I want him primarily at 3) is one of the more important moments building future NT with little to none disadvantages for a modern contemporary team. Our centers, aside Tubelis, won't shoot much threes, but having Murauskas at 4 (and Sedekerskis making open threes as well) is important. Other than say Kuzminskas, Bendzius at 4, dudes like Sedekerskis, Murauskas are tough dudes and can bang inside defensively. I don't want really soft stretch 4, it doesn't seem that it works well. You need a tough guy who can shoot threes at 4 these days, IMO. That's why I stop talking about Kulboka. Not only god knows that's happening in his head, but also he doesn't have enough of physicality and toughness.
Here's season highlights and you can see the trigger is there. Sooner or later this bucket getter will explode big time. I have zero doubt and zero concern. He's super talented offensively:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GMvU00M0dA0&ab_channel=CollegeBasketballSc outing
S
Straight forward2
Guest
Good article on Buzelis and future of LTU NT. Shout out to Rob Karaznevic, he has a right hand on Lithuanian BB pulse. I'll quote couple of big ones.
"Lithuania is really good, and when I come over there, we're going to win everything," said Buzelis (...)
"I believe that kind of attitude is exactly what our National Team needs," Karaznevic explains. "We are experiencing a medal drought in recent years, our last medal was silver in FIBA EuroBasket 2015 and I think because we haven't won anything in so long we have simply lost our confidence and the belief that we can actually win it all — that same belief that we used to have in the golden days of players such as Sarunas Jasikevicius, Ramunas Siskauskas, Arvydas Macijauskas or Linas Kleiza wearing the Lithuanian jersey."
"That unbridled confidence that Matas is going to bring to the squad could be the thing that makes the difference and finally makes us break through the barriers and come back with a medal," Karaznevic concludes.
Later Ron correctly sums it up here. Even though he had to mention Rubstavicius as I have him as one of top 3-4 top pieces heading forward for Lithuania, but that's no biggie:
"Sabonis is still just 27 years old, Rokas Jokubaitis is not even close to reaching his prime, Deividas Sirvydis had a huge break out year and then we have Azuolas Tubelis, Motiejus Krivas, Augustas Marciulionis, Kasparas Jakucionis and of course Buzelis himself waiting for their turn," Karaznevic states before concluding: "That young core has a ton of potential and Buzelis would undoubtedly be one of its centerpieces."
Regarding Buzelis, Ricky O'Donnell also correctly noticed that Buzelis made the biggest impression at the defensive end. Comparison with Deni Avdija was a bit unexpected, cause I think Matas is more versatile and more explosive, but I think generally it's the right comparison:
"Realistically, I think he'll be in the Deni Avdija ballpark — a multi-positional defender with some playmaking chops that teams can't completely ignore from behind the three-point line," Baumbach says before warning: "If his jumper really gets going, then he could be in the All-Star mix."
Overall, fun article. I will say this. LTU BB never had so many talent coming at the same time (like 7-9 years stretch). It's deeper than all this Stombergas, Siska, Jasikevicius, Macijauskas, Songaila, Javtokas, Lavrinovic Bros kinda stretch. I know for some it sounds surreal, but that's exactly what it is.
With that said I would exclude 4 players from tons of great propsects if some-one would ask around who will round the next LTU generation:
Jakucionis, Buzelis, Rubstavicius, Indrusaitis
These four players alone, IMO, can lift as to next, elite level. After these I would mention 10 more elite prospects names, but IMO those 4 alone can be exactly and enough of what it takes for Lithuania to reach next level. They have the prime skill, IQ, ISO presence and defensive competitiveness.
https://www.fiba.basketball/eurobas...-buzelis-will-be-lithuania-s-future-superstar
"Lithuania is really good, and when I come over there, we're going to win everything," said Buzelis (...)
"I believe that kind of attitude is exactly what our National Team needs," Karaznevic explains. "We are experiencing a medal drought in recent years, our last medal was silver in FIBA EuroBasket 2015 and I think because we haven't won anything in so long we have simply lost our confidence and the belief that we can actually win it all — that same belief that we used to have in the golden days of players such as Sarunas Jasikevicius, Ramunas Siskauskas, Arvydas Macijauskas or Linas Kleiza wearing the Lithuanian jersey."
"That unbridled confidence that Matas is going to bring to the squad could be the thing that makes the difference and finally makes us break through the barriers and come back with a medal," Karaznevic concludes.
Later Ron correctly sums it up here. Even though he had to mention Rubstavicius as I have him as one of top 3-4 top pieces heading forward for Lithuania, but that's no biggie:
"Sabonis is still just 27 years old, Rokas Jokubaitis is not even close to reaching his prime, Deividas Sirvydis had a huge break out year and then we have Azuolas Tubelis, Motiejus Krivas, Augustas Marciulionis, Kasparas Jakucionis and of course Buzelis himself waiting for their turn," Karaznevic states before concluding: "That young core has a ton of potential and Buzelis would undoubtedly be one of its centerpieces."
Regarding Buzelis, Ricky O'Donnell also correctly noticed that Buzelis made the biggest impression at the defensive end. Comparison with Deni Avdija was a bit unexpected, cause I think Matas is more versatile and more explosive, but I think generally it's the right comparison:
"Realistically, I think he'll be in the Deni Avdija ballpark — a multi-positional defender with some playmaking chops that teams can't completely ignore from behind the three-point line," Baumbach says before warning: "If his jumper really gets going, then he could be in the All-Star mix."
Overall, fun article. I will say this. LTU BB never had so many talent coming at the same time (like 7-9 years stretch). It's deeper than all this Stombergas, Siska, Jasikevicius, Macijauskas, Songaila, Javtokas, Lavrinovic Bros kinda stretch. I know for some it sounds surreal, but that's exactly what it is.
With that said I would exclude 4 players from tons of great propsects if some-one would ask around who will round the next LTU generation:
Jakucionis, Buzelis, Rubstavicius, Indrusaitis
These four players alone, IMO, can lift as to next, elite level. After these I would mention 10 more elite prospects names, but IMO those 4 alone can be exactly and enough of what it takes for Lithuania to reach next level. They have the prime skill, IQ, ISO presence and defensive competitiveness.
https://www.fiba.basketball/eurobas...-buzelis-will-be-lithuania-s-future-superstar
Z
zalias2
Guest
buzelis definitely didnt have a good season, but i feel like scouts underestimate his shooting ability, his mechanics look good and he was decent until he joined ignite. im not sure why, but every ignite prospect loses his shot in g league. im confident he will be a better shooter in the nba
S
Straight forward2
Guest
We'll see. The line in NBA (and G- League) is further and the game is more athletic, faster. This creates very different environment for your shooting. Maybe he will adjust, maybe not so much. His shot to me looks decent, but it doesn't seem that he has very deep range. I think he will be better long mid range jump shooter than three point shooter. But expect him to be in sort of 34-38% three point shooting territory in the NBA and these numbers should be even slightly better in FIBA where the line is closer. So at least when it comes to FIBA and NT I'm not worried. He'll have enough of shooting. And we can put Jakucionis at 1 (deadly), Rubstavicius (or Sirvydis) at 2 (deadly), Murauskas at 4 (potentially deadly) around Buzelis who I see playing primarily 3 (but he can easily play some 2 or even 4). Knowing that in the future we will also use Tubelis at 5 and likely even Butajevas, both guys have a decent trigger from three as well, it makes very nice picture for Lithuania shooting wise. Shooting definitely won't be a problem. We'll have Jakucionis, Rubstavicius, Indrusaitis, D. Giedraitis, Sirvydis, Lelevicius, Murauskas, Buzelis as either elite or good shooters. Not to mention that Jokubaitis shot 55% from three in WC 2023. He wasn't taking too many shots, but still he is solid shooter (40.6% EL career).
S
Straight forward2
Guest
Good word by Iowa coach on Indrusaitis:
Otzelberger: "A guy offensively who's really skilled, tremendous confidence, can really shoot the ball, IQ player, great-feel passer, just tremendous that way. He has great feet defensively. He'll continue to to elevate himself defensively because he's got the ability to do what I think what we're demanding. What we demand defensively is a different standard than probably what he's been accustomed to in the past, but he's done a great job early."
I'm waiting for the time (2029?) when our starting 5 will look like this:
Jakucionis, Indrusaitis, Buzelis, Sedekerskis, Krivas
This is defensively capable line-up which would kill at offensive end as well. And imagine Jokubaitis, Rubstavicius, Sirvydis, Murauskas, Tubelis coming off the bench with the second unite for a deadly offensive punch from the bench.
Elite, potentially funny offense (we are likely talking about superior offense that we were providing in 2004 with 94ppg) + elite 2 way lineup which can make some stops will put us in a good situation to win big. Like truly big. If Lithuania is not collecting some big time wins (likely trophies), we can forget about 1992-2008 stretch when for 2 decades we were legitimate top 4 team in the world, winning Olympic medals and the Euro title. If medals not coming with this upcoming talent, we are destined to be just solid NT for decades.The medals will be not an option for Lithuania. If we won't match world class level (current "A" USA, Canada, Serbia kinda level) with this upcoming talent, we won't see medals for a long long decades...I doubt that after this big punch of talent which is coming basically at the same time (8 years span), we'll see anything relatively close to this. We have a good chance to exceed both 90s and 00s NTs levels. I doubt it can get better than that for such I small country as Lithuania. It's actually a miracle that we have such a good gen coming. I don't see kids playing BB in the courts outside that much these days. Maybe they just stick to official practices, but you have to ball all the time to be good, that's how my gen saw it.
Otzelberger: "A guy offensively who's really skilled, tremendous confidence, can really shoot the ball, IQ player, great-feel passer, just tremendous that way. He has great feet defensively. He'll continue to to elevate himself defensively because he's got the ability to do what I think what we're demanding. What we demand defensively is a different standard than probably what he's been accustomed to in the past, but he's done a great job early."
I'm waiting for the time (2029?) when our starting 5 will look like this:
Jakucionis, Indrusaitis, Buzelis, Sedekerskis, Krivas
This is defensively capable line-up which would kill at offensive end as well. And imagine Jokubaitis, Rubstavicius, Sirvydis, Murauskas, Tubelis coming off the bench with the second unite for a deadly offensive punch from the bench.
Elite, potentially funny offense (we are likely talking about superior offense that we were providing in 2004 with 94ppg) + elite 2 way lineup which can make some stops will put us in a good situation to win big. Like truly big. If Lithuania is not collecting some big time wins (likely trophies), we can forget about 1992-2008 stretch when for 2 decades we were legitimate top 4 team in the world, winning Olympic medals and the Euro title. If medals not coming with this upcoming talent, we are destined to be just solid NT for decades.The medals will be not an option for Lithuania. If we won't match world class level (current "A" USA, Canada, Serbia kinda level) with this upcoming talent, we won't see medals for a long long decades...I doubt that after this big punch of talent which is coming basically at the same time (8 years span), we'll see anything relatively close to this. We have a good chance to exceed both 90s and 00s NTs levels. I doubt it can get better than that for such I small country as Lithuania. It's actually a miracle that we have such a good gen coming. I don't see kids playing BB in the courts outside that much these days. Maybe they just stick to official practices, but you have to ball all the time to be good, that's how my gen saw it.
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H
Hepcat2
Guest
Well maybe but I'd bet against it. When it comes to the future, crystal balls are very cloudy indeed and when it comes to sports there's many a slip twixt cup and lip.
S
Straight forward2
Guest
Just to use another thread, aside NT which is about elections and new coach now, I have to say that this season is pretty amazing for LTU fans.
FOA, I think it's most stacked LKL Liths talent wise in some long long time.
Zalgiris - Brazdeikis, Sirvydis, D. Giedraitis
Rytas - Tubelis
Lietkabelis - Rubstavicius
Wolves - Kulboka (does he still has it? And how good he actually is?)
That's some serious shit.
In EL we'll see Jokubaitis with a big role finally. Sedekerskis should have even stronger season and well Grigonis (but I give up on him big time, not even sure I want to see him with NT jerseys again, IMO, we should move on).
But most importantly amazing things oversees:
Buzelis with Bulls! Some speculate that Buzelis may play most minutes of all rookies and is top 5 candidate to become ROTY. Sabonis looking for yet his best career season most likely.
6 elite NCAA players. Most of them will have huge roles (except probably Indrusaitis and maybe Lelevicius). All eyes on potential leader Jakucionis for Illini. Also Krivas can cement his role to aim first round in the draft. Will be fun to see how Marciulionis and Murauskas will mesh.
Great season ahead.
FOA, I think it's most stacked LKL Liths talent wise in some long long time.
Zalgiris - Brazdeikis, Sirvydis, D. Giedraitis
Rytas - Tubelis
Lietkabelis - Rubstavicius
Wolves - Kulboka (does he still has it? And how good he actually is?)
That's some serious shit.
In EL we'll see Jokubaitis with a big role finally. Sedekerskis should have even stronger season and well Grigonis (but I give up on him big time, not even sure I want to see him with NT jerseys again, IMO, we should move on).
But most importantly amazing things oversees:
Buzelis with Bulls! Some speculate that Buzelis may play most minutes of all rookies and is top 5 candidate to become ROTY. Sabonis looking for yet his best career season most likely.
6 elite NCAA players. Most of them will have huge roles (except probably Indrusaitis and maybe Lelevicius). All eyes on potential leader Jakucionis for Illini. Also Krivas can cement his role to aim first round in the draft. Will be fun to see how Marciulionis and Murauskas will mesh.
Great season ahead.
H
Hepcat2
Guest
We'll see in the Euro U20 tournament next summer. That'll be the bottom line after the very disappointing summer we just had.
S
Straight forward2
Guest
The picture is getting clearer for upcoming 5-6 years:
Three cornerstones from where the creation will come are clear, NBA material - Jakucionis, Buzelis, Sabonis.
All three can beat their opponent in isolation, but also have tons of creation for others.
Now when you have tons of creation, and with these there won't be too little surely, it's important how our swingmen as Rubstavicius, Sirvydis will develop in terms of shooting. I watched Rusbta SL highs and damn he's tall. His release is high even if he bends a little bit before the shot to gather himself. Sirvuha also shoots through hands. Obviously Indrusaitis and Murauskas shooting development also under the glass. If we can put shooting pieces around 3 leaders, we are flawless offensively. Even certain issues defensively wouldn't be that much a bug.
209cm Buzelis, 204cm shooters as Rubsta, Sirvydis, Murauskas and 198cm Indrusaitis will determine how good we are in terms of shooting. All have promising profiles, but none of them is stellar shooter yet. So tracking their shooting consistency will be a big part of NT development. I believe Jakcuionis will be GOOD shooting lead guard. I really like his trigger. His % goes up and down at the moment, but I see him having what it takes to be good, dynamic shooter at 1.
I wouldn't even complete write down Kulboka. I want to see him in upcoming 2 years till and maybe he can be interesting as a stretch 4 in his prime.
I think we still don't realize how lucky we are with this upcoming huge wave of talent. Underafted Rubsta with his 204cm and still pesky ability to drive and how he shoots and absorbs the contact...Dude, potentially he can be better scoring machine than Siska was in EL, IMO. That size, skill and motor. He's ridiculously overlooked. He will show it, IMO. After 2 years, he'll be on Real or so.
Three cornerstones from where the creation will come are clear, NBA material - Jakucionis, Buzelis, Sabonis.
All three can beat their opponent in isolation, but also have tons of creation for others.
Now when you have tons of creation, and with these there won't be too little surely, it's important how our swingmen as Rubstavicius, Sirvydis will develop in terms of shooting. I watched Rusbta SL highs and damn he's tall. His release is high even if he bends a little bit before the shot to gather himself. Sirvuha also shoots through hands. Obviously Indrusaitis and Murauskas shooting development also under the glass. If we can put shooting pieces around 3 leaders, we are flawless offensively. Even certain issues defensively wouldn't be that much a bug.
209cm Buzelis, 204cm shooters as Rubsta, Sirvydis, Murauskas and 198cm Indrusaitis will determine how good we are in terms of shooting. All have promising profiles, but none of them is stellar shooter yet. So tracking their shooting consistency will be a big part of NT development. I believe Jakcuionis will be GOOD shooting lead guard. I really like his trigger. His % goes up and down at the moment, but I see him having what it takes to be good, dynamic shooter at 1.
I wouldn't even complete write down Kulboka. I want to see him in upcoming 2 years till and maybe he can be interesting as a stretch 4 in his prime.
I think we still don't realize how lucky we are with this upcoming huge wave of talent. Underafted Rubsta with his 204cm and still pesky ability to drive and how he shoots and absorbs the contact...Dude, potentially he can be better scoring machine than Siska was in EL, IMO. That size, skill and motor. He's ridiculously overlooked. He will show it, IMO. After 2 years, he'll be on Real or so.
S
Straight forward2
Guest
Super fun season so far and I have great news for you. We have locked answers for 4 stating 5 positions (long term):
1 Jakucionis
3 Buzelis
4 Murauskas
5 Sabonis
Assuming Sabonis will play high level till 35yo. IMO, with his fitness and healthy lifestyle he'll be elite till that if not longer.
KJ without comments, I gave it in PG thread. There's no doubt he's future leader and key player.
Buzelis will be good. Very good. At worst he'll be superole player with multidimentional impact, and Wagner light at best.
Murauskas has it. He has killers instinct and feel for the most efficient ways to score. He will be a threat at 4 position with his in and out offensive presence and he can rebound.
Domas is Domas. All NBA guy and with KJ's ultra facilitation he'll be better in the NT.
So the only answer that I'm not 100% sure is SG. My main guy is Indrusaitis. He had very nice debut in NCAA and has tons of promise. Dropped 20ppg at U18 and all, but we still have to wait and see how he will look at PRO. He is not transecndent prospect as KJ, but surely very gifted. We have to see how his physicality will translate to PROs. He will add some muscle and might become a bit more rigid. We lost some very gifted SGs this way, like Varnas f.e. Nojus won't be that, but he might lose some of his skoothness duo to that. If that's not happening, he might even spend some years as deep bench guy in the NBA, IMO. He brings more handle, true 3 ways scoring and fundamentals compared to other SG candidates as Rubstavicius, Sirvydis, Lelavicius, Brazdeikis. But Ironically, there's a chance that Nojus main competitor will still be D. Giedraitis. He has a lot of fundamentals and surely more than those 4 lentghy swingmem I mention previously. So SG position is still most hard to answer, but I think Nojus has the best package. His scoring burst can be amazing, very nice combination of IQ, athleticism and skill for a typical size SG.
One interesting thing. I'm starting to believe Buika my challenge both Jokubaitis and Marciulionis at 1. He might become more explosive scorer at 1 and pretty close if not better at facilitation. He has more ISO game than both Jokubaitis and Marciulionis likely, but this thesis is a bit pre-mature. I'll have to see more. Nevertheless I see some signs that he might be more explosive and skilled player than Augis and Rokas. So the back-up PG competition will be all time high and it's nothing even close ever.
The way I see it long term, we have such depth pool:
Jakucionis, Buika, Jokubaitis, Marciulionis
Indrusaitis, D. Giedraitis, Sirvydis, Lelevicius
Buzelis, Rubstavicius, Zibuda, Brazdeikis, Juzenas
Murauskas, Sedekerskis, Tubelis
Sabonis, Krivas, Butajevas, Stombergas
Position 4 at first glance may look the thinnest, but I'm sure that Murauskas/Sedekerskis alone can fully cover it and when you can throw Buzelis and Tubelis, or even Butajevas there two it also makes super deep position. BTW, gut feeling is that Zibuda will play 4 one day if he will add few more centimeters. To me that makes terrific sense, but maybe he won't be that tall. I missed this one with Sirvydis when i was thinking that NBA will try to make a Kulboka out of him
But Sirvydis luckily never added wight on and remained a nice skilled swingman.
Overall we don't lack high level players in all positions and I'm almost 100% sure that we never had deeper talent pool ever. Most importantly we nhave star material in KJ, Buzelis, Sabonis and obvious starting level pieces as Murauskas. Only now injuries and god speed you.
1 Jakucionis
3 Buzelis
4 Murauskas
5 Sabonis
Assuming Sabonis will play high level till 35yo. IMO, with his fitness and healthy lifestyle he'll be elite till that if not longer.
KJ without comments, I gave it in PG thread. There's no doubt he's future leader and key player.
Buzelis will be good. Very good. At worst he'll be superole player with multidimentional impact, and Wagner light at best.
Murauskas has it. He has killers instinct and feel for the most efficient ways to score. He will be a threat at 4 position with his in and out offensive presence and he can rebound.
Domas is Domas. All NBA guy and with KJ's ultra facilitation he'll be better in the NT.
So the only answer that I'm not 100% sure is SG. My main guy is Indrusaitis. He had very nice debut in NCAA and has tons of promise. Dropped 20ppg at U18 and all, but we still have to wait and see how he will look at PRO. He is not transecndent prospect as KJ, but surely very gifted. We have to see how his physicality will translate to PROs. He will add some muscle and might become a bit more rigid. We lost some very gifted SGs this way, like Varnas f.e. Nojus won't be that, but he might lose some of his skoothness duo to that. If that's not happening, he might even spend some years as deep bench guy in the NBA, IMO. He brings more handle, true 3 ways scoring and fundamentals compared to other SG candidates as Rubstavicius, Sirvydis, Lelavicius, Brazdeikis. But Ironically, there's a chance that Nojus main competitor will still be D. Giedraitis. He has a lot of fundamentals and surely more than those 4 lentghy swingmem I mention previously. So SG position is still most hard to answer, but I think Nojus has the best package. His scoring burst can be amazing, very nice combination of IQ, athleticism and skill for a typical size SG.
One interesting thing. I'm starting to believe Buika my challenge both Jokubaitis and Marciulionis at 1. He might become more explosive scorer at 1 and pretty close if not better at facilitation. He has more ISO game than both Jokubaitis and Marciulionis likely, but this thesis is a bit pre-mature. I'll have to see more. Nevertheless I see some signs that he might be more explosive and skilled player than Augis and Rokas. So the back-up PG competition will be all time high and it's nothing even close ever.
The way I see it long term, we have such depth pool:
Jakucionis, Buika, Jokubaitis, Marciulionis
Indrusaitis, D. Giedraitis, Sirvydis, Lelevicius
Buzelis, Rubstavicius, Zibuda, Brazdeikis, Juzenas
Murauskas, Sedekerskis, Tubelis
Sabonis, Krivas, Butajevas, Stombergas
Position 4 at first glance may look the thinnest, but I'm sure that Murauskas/Sedekerskis alone can fully cover it and when you can throw Buzelis and Tubelis, or even Butajevas there two it also makes super deep position. BTW, gut feeling is that Zibuda will play 4 one day if he will add few more centimeters. To me that makes terrific sense, but maybe he won't be that tall. I missed this one with Sirvydis when i was thinking that NBA will try to make a Kulboka out of him
But Sirvydis luckily never added wight on and remained a nice skilled swingman.Overall we don't lack high level players in all positions and I'm almost 100% sure that we never had deeper talent pool ever. Most importantly we nhave star material in KJ, Buzelis, Sabonis and obvious starting level pieces as Murauskas. Only now injuries and god speed you.
S
Straight forward2
Guest
LTU never was in situation when 18yo PG is about to become the best guard in the country already. Give him 3-5 months more and it may not even be a question that he's the best LTU guard overall already.
The same goes with Buzelis. Will he be the best forward this summer already? IMO, yes. I don't see better even now. Sedkerskis, Sirvydis? Maybe. But simply no-one has the size, athleticism and skill package of Matas. He affects the game at both size and seems like a guy already who can drop 10ppg with 23mpg on a constant basis. I don't see any other Lithuanians who could do that on NBA court. Last 3 games he's 13ppg guy in 20min. In FIBA he will have to learn and adjust (differently than KJ), but if I have to rank forwards today as club players I would rank: 1 Buzelis, 2 Sedekerskis, 3 Sirvydis (as for guards I give equal tie for those - Jokubaitis/Grigonis/Jakucionis).
Essentially 18yo and 20yo taking over LTU basketball. We need this shift. Long decades of the lack of talent and now boom 2 basketball prodigies changing the narrative radically. It's the most radical shift, plot twist, transformation in LTU BB history or second one. Off course I mean Arvydas and Rooney as first one, but Rooney wasn't so early bloomer as KJ it seems. Sabonis was a killer as 18yo already, he literally could play big BB among the best at this age, but we don't know how good Rooney was at this age. He probably became a beast more like being 21-23yo. I can't say a word on it cause I don't know.
2027 with 21yo KJ and 23yo Buzelis will be massive I already can't wait. And I think we might be even contending in 2028. Like literally contending. I believe we got so good gems in KJ, Buzelis.
ATM, both KJ (I didn't expect he will reach even another level in terms of facilitation so fast, he's a magician) and Buzelis (the game slowing down for him really fast in last month) are exceeding even my expectations. Both are transcendent players.
The same goes with Buzelis. Will he be the best forward this summer already? IMO, yes. I don't see better even now. Sedkerskis, Sirvydis? Maybe. But simply no-one has the size, athleticism and skill package of Matas. He affects the game at both size and seems like a guy already who can drop 10ppg with 23mpg on a constant basis. I don't see any other Lithuanians who could do that on NBA court. Last 3 games he's 13ppg guy in 20min. In FIBA he will have to learn and adjust (differently than KJ), but if I have to rank forwards today as club players I would rank: 1 Buzelis, 2 Sedekerskis, 3 Sirvydis (as for guards I give equal tie for those - Jokubaitis/Grigonis/Jakucionis).
Essentially 18yo and 20yo taking over LTU basketball. We need this shift. Long decades of the lack of talent and now boom 2 basketball prodigies changing the narrative radically. It's the most radical shift, plot twist, transformation in LTU BB history or second one. Off course I mean Arvydas and Rooney as first one, but Rooney wasn't so early bloomer as KJ it seems. Sabonis was a killer as 18yo already, he literally could play big BB among the best at this age, but we don't know how good Rooney was at this age. He probably became a beast more like being 21-23yo. I can't say a word on it cause I don't know.
2027 with 21yo KJ and 23yo Buzelis will be massive
I already can't wait. And I think we might be even contending in 2028. Like literally contending. I believe we got so good gems in KJ, Buzelis.ATM, both KJ (I didn't expect he will reach even another level in terms of facilitation so fast, he's a magician) and Buzelis (the game slowing down for him really fast in last month) are exceeding even my expectations. Both are transcendent players.
T
Toruko2
Guest
You underestimate the pressure of do or die games. It is something different to play 10 minutes in a NBA rs game or a quarter final knock out quarter final game. Buzelis should be on the roster and you also can try him out during the group stage but be ready that he is going to make some crucial mistakes.