Lithuanian national team - 2012

[Shawshank]

from 2011 out LAvrinovic,Petravicius,Songaila,Delininkaitis
2012 IN Seibutis,Kleiza,Maciulis,Motiejunas and its ok.If kaukenas cant play because if injury then gecevicius.


LTU 2012 i would like to see:

Kalnietis,Jasikevicius
Pocius,Seibutis,Kaukenas (Strong SG lineup)
Maciulis,Jasaitis
Kleiza,Jankunas,Motiejunas (Strong PF lineup)
Javtokas,Valanciunas

[vaslover]

Guys, is it possible to consider Deividas Dulkus as a candidate in LIthuanian NT 2012?
Last night this guy in NCAA scored 32 points ( 4/4 2 pts, 8/10 3 pts!!!) for his University!

[Mindozas]

Guys, is it possible to consider Deividas Dulkus as a candidate in LIthuanian NT 2012?
Last night this guy in NCAA scored 32 points ( 4/4 2 pts, 8/10 3 pts!!!) for his University!

Indeed it was impressive performance stats-wise, cause I didn't see the game, but his overall stats aren't that great - 6.2ppg. However, I think he will be called to training camps, but I guess that's about all. I didn't see him playin', but as far as I know he is SG and this position is well covered in our NT

[vaslover]

Indeed it was impressive performance stats-wise, cause I didn't see the game, but his overall stats aren't that great - 6.2ppg. However, I think he will be called to training camps, but I guess that's about all. I didn't see him playin', but as far as I know he is SG and this position is well covered in our NT

Anyway,his stats,even if it was just one game, for any european player in NCAA seems quite impressive.

[macleopard13]

Here are the possible candidates:

C = Valanciunas, a hardworking youngster who is an amazing shot blocker and dunker. If he will be used correctly by Kemzura, he can be a dangerous opponent.
C = Javtokas, even though his game has gotten weaker, he can still provide us with boards and few points. No other Lithuanian center is as physical as him.
PF = Motiejunas, very gifted offensively, quick for a guy his size, he can provide us with a few boards.
PF = Jankunas, his game has gotten weaker, but he still can put up some amazing numbers. The only problem is his speed.
SF = Kleiza, though he's not looking good right now, I think he'll recover and turn out to be one of the leaders of the NT again
SF = Maciulis, don't know how he's playing right now, but if plays like he did before his injury (in 2010 World Championship), he'll be a good player to have on the team.
SG = Seibutis, fast, athletic and a hard worker, he'll be a great asset to the team.
SG = Gecevicius, a pretty good 3-PT shooter
SG = Pocius, fast, athletic, excellent dribbler and a decent 3-PT shooter. Defense is his problem, but I think he'll overcome the challenge and be an excellent defender, just like in EuroBasket 2011 and 2010 World Championship.
PG = Jasikevicius, the old man still got game. He has high basketball IQ, isn't particularly selfish, is full of experience, and still makes amazing passes. Age didn't affect his game that much.
PG = Kalnietis, fast and athletic. His decisions on court, however, aren't always great.
PG = Delininkaitis, this guy gets often criticized by fans, but I think he is crucial. He is an excellent 3-PT shooter and can produce with limited playing time.
(PG = Vytenis Cizauskas, he had a solid performance in 2011 U-19 World Championship. He is fast and bold and has experience working with Valanciunas. But I don't know how his game would translate playing against international stars.)

Other candidates:
SF = Jasaitis, the only reason he was on the Lithuanian NT is because of his 3-PT shooting abilities. Now he doesn't have that (he was 0/32 from 3-PT line), so he won't be needed anymore.
PF = Songaila, he's playing poorly in a relatively-unknown Turkish team. I'll be very surprised if he's called up as a candidate.
SG = Kaukenas, I hope he gets well before the training camp, but it's unlikely that he'll be able to fully recover and play like he used to play. He'll be turning 35 this year.
F/C = Darjus Lavrinovic, his days are numbered. He turned from being a pretty efficient player a few years ago to being a below-average PF/C in Europe.
PF = Ksystof Lavrinovic, he started the season pretty well, and was a very efficient player, but I don't know how he'll turn out from the injury. He wasn't that great during Eurobasket 2011.
C = Petravicius, I doubt that the Lithuanian NT will want him because of his pulmonary embolism. He obviously can't play 100%.

Future candidates from NCAA:
SG = Deividas Dulkys, hasn't proved himself a reliable player yet. But his dunks are pretty amazing and he does have potential.
PG = Martynas Bareika, just arrived there and hasn't played much.
SF = Gilvydas Biruta, a very streaky player (he had 29 mins, 17 pts and 12 rebs in one night and 31 mins, 3 pts and 2 rebs another night), but has potential.

[Straight forward]

Here are the possible candidates:
SF = Jasaitis, the only reason he was on the Lithuanian NT is because of his 3-PT shooting abilities. Now he doesn't have that (he was 0/32 from 3-PT line), so he won't be needed anymore.

One of the most productive NT players of last 4 years. And no he's not in NT only because of his shooting. Far from that.

[macleopard13]

Well, he's also a decent rebounder and can grab a few steals. But still, he's one of the few guys who could shoot behind the arc. And if he continues his 3PT missing streak even on Lithuania NT, that'll be a problem for us.

My roster puts the Lithuanian NT age average at 24.9 years. What do you think?

[Straight forward]

My roster puts the Lithuanian NT age average at 24.9 years. What do you think?

Interesting. I'm all for young team, but Čižauskas is not ready for the NT.

My optimal roster from today's perspective is this:

Kalnieits, Šaras
Pocius, Gecevičius, Seibutis
Mačiulis, Jasaitis
Kleiza, Motiejunas, Jankunas
Valanciunas, Javtokas

Waiting for the camp to see Kemzura experimenting with JV, Motiejūnas and Kleiza in one line-up. That would be some flexible and not sleepy frontline.

[egisz]

Interesting. I'm all for young team, but Čižauskas is not ready for the NT.

My optimal roster from today's perspective is this:

Kalnieits, Šaras
Pocius, Gecevičius, Seibutis
Mačiulis, Jasaitis
Kleiza, Motiejunas, Jankunas
Valanciunas, Javtokas

Waiting for the camp to see Kemzura experimenting with JV, Motiejūnas and Kleiza in one line-up. That would be some flexible and not sleepy frontline.

My would be very similiar with Kleiza more on SF position, Kaukėnas (if healthy and prepared) instead of Gecevičius or Seibutis. And i believe that Valančiūnas, Motiejūnas, Kleiza in one line-up would be tall, but at the same time enough fast combination of players. "Lowering" of Kleiza also would make team physically stronger, which might be important playing against such physically tough teams like France and USA. In my opinion, its important to have at least 3 players, who could play in PG and 3 which could play in C position. What do You think? I'm not trying to say that im expert and just want to discuss this

PG: M. Kalnietis, Š. Jasikevičius
SG: R. Kaukėnas, M. Pocius, and one of R. Seibutis/M. Gecevičius/S.Jasaitis
SF: L. Kleiza, J. Mačiulis
PF: D. Motiejūnas, P. Jankūnas and one of D. Lavrinovič/K. Lavrinovič/
C: J. Valančiūnas, R. Javtokas

[macleopard13]

My would be very similiar with Kleiza more on SF position, Kaukėnas (if healthy and prepared) instead of Gecevičius or Seibutis. And i believe that Valančiūnas, Motiejūnas, Kleiza in one line-up would be tall, but at the same time enough fast combination of players. "Lowering" of Kleiza also would make team physically stronger, which might be important playing against such physically tough teams like France and USA. In my opinion, its important to have at least 3 players, who could play in PG and 3 which could play in C position. What do You think? I'm not trying to say that im expert and just want to discuss this

PG: M. Kalnietis, Š. Jasikevičius
SG: R. Kaukėnas, M. Pocius, and one of R. Seibutis/M. Gecevičius/S.Jasaitis
SF: L. Kleiza, J. Mačiulis
PF: D. Motiejūnas, P. Jankūnas and one of D. Lavrinovič/K. Lavrinovič/
C: J. Valančiūnas, R. Javtokas

I don't know about Kaukenas - if he does recover, then he better play like he played at the beginning of the Euroleague season. If not, then we don't need him. The youngsters should be allowed to play.

[rikhardur]

LTU - Kleiza happy to be back, targets Olympic berth

TORONTO (Olympic Qualifying Tournament) - Exactly a year ago today, Linas Kleiza suffered the most devastating blow of his career when he underwent knee surgery that forced him out of action for 11 months.

It was all the more tragic as it came after Kleiza led Lithuania to an impressive bronze medal at the 2010 FIBA World Championship in Turkey and was looking forward to helping his country carry that momentum into EuroBasket on its home turf.

Instead, the star forward went under the knife because of a meniscal tear and chondral defect of his right knee. He went on to miss the second half of the 2010-2011 NBA season and watched from the sidelines as F.Y.R. of Macedonia stunned Lithuania by knocking them out at the Quarter-Final stage last summer.

Kleiza made his much-awaited return in mid-January and looks forward to helping Lithuania battle at the Olympic Qualifying Tournament (OQT) and extend their streak of appearances at the Olympics going this summer.

He took time out to talk to fiba.com.

FIBA: Linas, it's good to see you back on the court. Where do you feel you are in your recovery?

Kleiza: I feel about 70 percent. I'm still getting there. The schedule makes it very tough - no practice time, a lot of games. You have to pick up everything on the fly. It's tough especially when you're trying to still rehab and do a lot of work.

FIBA: Can you explain the feeling that you had this time last year?

Kleiza: It was a tough time. You know when you do something like that, it might be career-ending. I missed the second part of the season and the biggest sporting event in my country basketball-wise (EuroBasket 2011) so it was tough. But I had to do it for my future. I still have a lot of basketball left in me.

FIBA: At EuroBasket, were you with the team all the time?

Kleiza: Yes I was trying to be involved as much as I could. But at the end of the day you're an outsider looking in.

FIBA: How did you see Lithuania's fifth-place finish?

Kleiza: It definitely was not a bad result, but everybody was upset with the way we lost to F.Y.R. of Macedonia. But at the end of the day it was a good tournament and made a lot of people happy and now we still have a chance to qualify for the Olympics.

FIBA: What are your thoughts on the draw for the OQT?

Kleiza: We got Venezuela and Nigeria. It's definitely going to be tough but we have to go out there and play. We're going in trying to get a berth for the Olympics, no question about it. Since we became independent (in 1992), we've been to the Olympics every time. If we don't do it, it will be very upsetting and unsuccessful.

FIBA: Are you confident that this Lithuania team can achieve big things?

Kleiza: We're pretty good, we've got a couple of good young players. We just have to come together. It's going to be difficult and challenging not knowing when the season ends for a lot of players and what kind of team we're going to have. It's going to be a challenge.

FIBA: One of those good young players is Jonas Valanciunas. Were you impressed by his play at EuroBasket?

Kleiza: It was his first year with the men's senior national team and it was good for him to get that one under his belt. He has a lot of talent and he's a true centre. He's going to be a force for years to come for our team. We always have had good big guys and that's one of our keys. Every year, you look at it and we have good centres and forwards. So he and Donatas Motiejunas are going to be the future.

FIBA: What can Lithuania fans look forward to from you this summer?

Kleiza: We're going to try to get the best possible team we can. We're known for our chemistry and playing together and winning together. We have a strong team, not unbelievable individual players. Lithuania when we come, we play as a team. When we have 12 guys playing hard, we're pretty successful.

FIBA: What about you personally? Do you see your role changing from what it was in 2010?

Kleiza: I'm not worried about it. Every time you go in, stuff takes care of itself - who's going to be the guy, how we're going to play. I think my role will stay the same, no doubt about it. We need to get back to the way we played in Turkey - play fast, play aggressive and play together.

FIBA: History seems to be on your side when it comes to the Olympics...

Kleiza: In the last five Olympics, we came third three times and fourth two times. I was on the Beijing team that came in fourth and it was very heartbreaking. We had a great tournament but we lost to Spain in the Semi-Finals and then to Argentina (in the Bronze Medal Game). We expected bigger and better. It's going to be interesting.

http://www.fiba.com/pages/eng/fc/news/lateNews/p/newsid/50523/arti.html

[Straight forward]

Nice add, rikhardur. I like how Kleiza talks. Just straight forward - we have to be in Olympics, we have a strong young team. Not some bullshit winning

[Danker]

In my opinion :
PG. Kalnietis ,Jasikevicius Delininkaitis?
SG.Pocius,Seibutis,Kaukenas Gecevicius?
SF.Maciulis , Jasaitis Kuzminskas?
PF.Kleiza,Motiejunas,Jankunas K.Lavrinovic or Katelynas?
C. Valanciunas,Javtokas, Petravicius?
Also Delninkaitis can play in two guard spot also Kaukenas can share the ball. Pocius can play in sg and sf .Kleiza can play for sf and pf. Katelynas can play pf and sf spots. Coach can also give a shot for Petravicius and there is my opinion for reserves: Andriuskevicius,Juskevicius,Dulkys,Gailius,D.Lavri novic(i garanteed 80procents that he will get injured)
One more thing is that i think this best what Lithuania can get in 2012 and this squad is full complete for all spots in court

[macleopard13]

In my opinion :
PG. Kalnietis ,Jasikevicius Delininkaitis?
SG.Pocius,Seibutis,Kaukenas Gecevicius?
SF.Maciulis , Jasaitis Kuzminskas?
PF.Kleiza,Motiejunas,Jankunas K.Lavrinovic or Katelynas?
C. Valanciunas,Javtokas, Petravicius?
Also Delninkaitis can play in two guard spot also Kaukenas can share the ball. Pocius can play in sg and sf .Kleiza can play for sf and pf. Katelynas can play pf and sf spots. Coach can also give a shot for Petravicius and there is my opinion for reserves: Andriuskevicius,Juskevicius,Dulkys,Gailius,D.Lavri novic(i garanteed 80procents that he will get injured)
One more thing is that i think this best what Lithuania can get in 2012 and this squad is full complete for all spots in court

I don't think Petravicius will be called up again. His pulmonary embolism increases his health insurance, and, as you know, LT doesn't have much money. Plus, he won't be able to play 100% due to his deteriorating form. As for the other players, I agree. If Kaukenas recovers, then either Gecevicius or Delininkaitis will probably be out. I'd pick Delininkaitis over Gecevicius because Delininkaitis is a pretty reliable shooter and can play the two guard positions.

It's over for Darjus Lavrinovic - he's too streaky, too slow and too old to be considered now. His brother Ksystof plays way better than him. Andriuskevicius can't do much either, but I guess he's better than nothing. Juskevicius has no experience, so I don't know about him. Dulkys is also pretty streaky, though athletic and full of potential. Gailius isn't doing too well in Italy.

But yeah, if Valanciunas, Motiejunas, Kleiza and Pocius are going, then we will have a young (except for Javtokas, Jasikevicius and maybe Kaukenas) and fast team. We should do well with those guys.

[Shawshank]

i agree with mostly what people said here.Only one thing i dont agree: KLEIZA SHOULD PLAY AT PF TO BE SUCESSFULL not sf!
at sf he dont have speed advantage.Kemzura said that at 2010,olimpiacos saw that too.When kleiza plays sf at 2007-2008-2009 he is not as productive as he is at PF.It very hard to find europe PF you has same foot speed as kleiza,and kleiza have body to hold defence againts slover Pf.
So if we are putting valanciunas-motiejunas-kleiza in same lineup you are taking from Linas his biggest advantage is not smart.And we would be too soft under basket with these 3 young players.In 2010 when we have Javtokas-Kleiza-Maciulis we were strong and tough and in the same time fast + we had kalnietis and pocius in the same lineup running like crazy and for other teams was hard to catch them.
In 2012 we will have not only runing game as it was at 2010,we should have pikenroll Jaska to Jonas as we saw at 2011.As i saw last summer kalnietis and valanciunas is not suitable with each other style.For Valanciunas pg as jasikevicius is perfect ,and for kalnietis javtokas defence and rebounds is suitable more for his running game.So i see this year same Kalnietis mostly gonna play with javtokas and jasikevicius with valanciunas.
When its nothing gonna work just leave kleiza against other PF and we always gonna get good shot.

So i see very tough job for coches to decide what PF to take to qualifying olimpic tournament: Kleiza,Jankunas,Motiejunas,K.Lavrinovic,Songaila ?

Other positions is quite obviuos which player gonna play there.