2023 Lithuanian NT

[Hepcat]

Butkevicius is injured and is out too.

What on earth? Did Butkevičius get drunk and fall down the stairs or something? Just a few weeks ago he was playing pretty nearly his best basketball of the season against Rytas.

[Shawshank]

According to Knet ranked rating its already clear from top 10 current ltu players 5 are surely out

Domas,Ulanovas,Butkevicius,Giedraitis,Grigonis


+NT is missing also 11th Gudaitis and 12th Lekavicius . 14th Dimsa had surgery but planing try to play straight after rehab


If Brazdeikis in LTU 2023 will have 5 of top 12 current players.

If Brazdeikis also out NT will collect 4 of top 12 players --.> 33% of best players



People likes to remember 2010 example that NT missed veterans Jasikevicius,Kaukenas,Songaila,Brothers

Absences of 2023 is more seriuos and bigger .


By 2010 those veterans was atleast 32+ old and wasnt same players anymore like they were in 2003-2008 either way . Later tournaments of 2011-2012 only shown that

[Straight forward]

Look at USA, they have only one 1 top 10 player Haliburton, and even he is top 10 statistically, not in terms of leadership. USA and Lithuania have deepest BB traditions in the world and we are very similar towards WC. F.e. Sabonis, Marciulionis, Jasikevicius, Siskauskas never played in WC.

[Shawshank]

USA before nba for manny decades sended stronger students teams to universiade game that world championship .Americans never took world championship seriuosly


But LTU collecting just 30-40 % of top 12 players is fiasco of federation and their hired coaching staff

[Straight forward]

Plus Sabonis, Butkevicius, Grigonis skipped because of health...So we just have Ulanovas and Giedraitis as top 10 guys who just decided to skip because of some random reasons.

[Straight forward]

Lol, fiasco because Ulanovas, who's not playing for decades already anyway, and in the NT sucking Giedraitis skipped...Save your conspiracy theories energy for next case dude. Injuries are injuries.

[Shawshank]

Every summer we will have injured NT players.

Dinosour expert where do you see conspiracies? im saying cold facts in numbers of best ltu players


Collect only 4-5 players out of top 12 i never remember thats happening in 30 years.

Even 2010 had more players from top 12

[Shawshank]

https://www.instagram.com/p/CuT_SOOtU8j/?utm_source=ig_embed&ig_rid=949583b8-c830-4e97-8bb9-0b2e82107442

only good thing lenght and size even for 33% of 2023 NT wont be a problem


Valanciunas,Dmo,Birutis,Sedekerskis,Kuzminskas


In PG-SF positions everywhere problematic situations

[Straight forward]

I only say that Gedvilas has zero to do with this You randomly searching for scapegoat. I don't think Butkevicius tore his ankle just to show how he hates Gedvilas I would look at things from different angle. Generally all top 4 players didn't say no to the NT, but only injuries stopped them. JV and Jokubaitis IN, Grigonis and Sabonis out due to injuries. Top 5 is probably Brazdeikis the way he played in EB and the way he looked in the second half in EL. So basically we have top 5 players saying Yes, unless injury. Both Sabonis and Grigonis "wants to completely deal with their injuries".

If there was no injuries for Sabonis, Grigonis, Butkevicius, no-one would care much that Ulanovas (always absent), Giedraitis (irrelevant in NT) and Lekavicius (somewhat on the decline side) skips NT.

Seriously, who said no from healthy players who are really relevant players? Lekavicius that's it. I'm not gonna pretend that for 4 years not playing Ulanovas had any other plans than to continue his retirement. He's not gonna be any younger or better rested in 2024. All this situation is making too much fuzz. Jasikevicius and Siskauskas were eagerly skipping 2006 (in their total prime) and 2010 World cups.

JV is the best example that all this blaming federation is just nonsense. You want, you come, and you even calling out others. As well as Jokubaitis who in last 2 years played tons of games.

[Straight forward]

https://www.instagram.com/p/CuT_SOOt...9-0b2e82107442


only good thing lenght and size even for 33% of 2023 NT wont be a problem


Valanciunas,Dmo,Birutis,Sedekerskis,Kuzminskas


In PG-SF positions everywhere problematic situations

That size at 5 will actually be a problem. 3 slow centers is a recipe for disaster unless Maksvytis will pull out some sort of genius zone defense (which he should I think). I would think about Kairys as third center if Tubelis is not ready. The dude can step out even switch all to certain extent. He outplayed all Zalgiris' centers in LKL finals. We need some-one at least relatively mobile at 5 and I don't see other options other than Tubelis and Kairys.

Length at 2-4 is not a problem generally. We can even throw good defensive line-up with Dimsa, Radzevicius, Sedekerskis. Or to go with more offense throwing in Brazdeikis, Sirvydis.

Size here is not a problem (even at 1 Jokubaitis, Dimsa, D. Giedraitis, Margiris are all OK with size). A problem is a lack of talent.

ATM, I want to see how reserve NT looks and which pieces should be integrated to senior NT, but if I have to go tomorrow to WC I probably go with this:

Jokubaitis, Dimsa, Radzevicius, Sedekerskis, Valanciunas (introducing some sort of zone defense)

Throwing Brazdeikis, Kuzminskas off the bench for instant offense and very likely Sirvydis too. Hopefully against bench guys these will be less vulnerable defensively. Throwing D-Mo in who can feed shooters (Kuzminskas, Sirvydis) and find cutters (Brazdeikis) with his passing presence, or playing perfect short role and p'n'r with Jokubaitis (this guy will have to play heavy minutes, I doubt we can survive longer with Dimsa or anyone else at 1).

Extra option to go with grinding defensive line-up, even trying to switch all - Tubelis/Kairys, Sedekerskis, Radzevicius, Giedraitis/Margiris, Dimsa. Probably the idea would be is to make stops and to run to transition as aggressively as you can.

I really don't see how Birutis is needed. To me JV and D-Mo are nearly too much. They are too similar at the moment.

[Toruko]

The fight between Greece without Sloukas and Giannis and LTU will be interesting to watch. I am really eager to watch the game of Rogkavopoulos if LTU will have an answer for him.

[Straight forward]

The fight between Greece without Sloukas and Giannis and LTU will be interesting to watch. I am really eager to watch the game of Rogkavopoulos if LTU will have an answer for him.

I think you confused Rogavopoulos (I will call him Nikos) with Giannis Nice, solid prospect, but just tuned 22. He's not on the level of Brazdeikis, Sedekerskis even ATM. Can get off as he did against B Serbia in qualification, but not yet some sort of elite or even close to that player. In Turkey not too efficient from the field. I think he's somewhere were our current Sirvydis stands.

[Toruko]

I think you confused Rogavopoulos (I will call him Nikos) with Giannis Nice, solid prospect, but just tuned 22. He's not on the level of Brazdeikis, Sedekerskis even ATM. Can get off as he did against B Serbia in qualification, but not yet some sort of elite or even close to that player. In Turkey not too efficient from the field. I think he's somewhere were our current Sirvydis stands.

Wait and see what kind of weapon he is.

[Straight forward]

Wait and see what kind of weapon he is.

I've seen some, I think he's a good prospect and will be very solid piece for Greece, even one of the keys long term, but ATM he's not there how you put it "will you have an answer for him".

[Straight forward]

The ones who survived a lack of Arvydas Sabonis' call:

https://www.instagram.com/p/CuT_SOOtU8j/?utm_source=ig_embed&ig_rid=01f89f0b-5f1f-4a19-b1b1-04cc9e388387