2023 Lithuanian NT

[Straight forward]

Dude, Pau scored 19pts against Lithuania in 2008. That's a fact. Besides, he had great defensive performances in 2010. In 2015, 2016 he was too old. JV wasn't a kid back then, specially 2016. Why you try to deny something what Kalnietis, Saras, Kleiza always emphasized? Kleiza talked about in recent podcast. Kalnietis once said "Kleiza was our leader, but the Javtokas was even more important. He was covering all the defense". I remember these words very well.

[Straight forward]

I believe that 2 nba level 18pts average centers would help NT win more medals that 2 defensive type 6pts average euroleague centers.

No double teams for Jonas and Domas because shooters all around them in ltu NT 00s? Easy game for our nba centers compare to todays double teams they are facing.

Nobody would double team Domas or Jonas when Saras,Siska,Macas is waiting for a ball. Easily atleast 2 medals more.

Now you contradict your self. You recently repeated many times that it shouldn't be best 12 players, it should be best puzzle of 12 players. Those pieces who make the best team. 00's team basically had zero issues offensively. We were best offensive team in 2003 with 91ppg. But we could also play the D cause we had Eurelka, M.Zukauskas, Siskauskas. And later Javtokas. With JV and Domas the D would be shit, that's a fact.

The least that team needed is to watch how JV slowly bouncing the ball in the paint and takes weeks to make a decision. I mean we had freakin Jasikevicius and Siskauskas, likely 2 best decision makers in Europe at that moment and Macijauskas who could shoot the light out every single game.

[Shawshank]

Javtokas peak in NT was 2010-2012 thats not 00s. What kalnietis said that was about 2010s Javtokas.Stop mixing up things and show your limitations about what happend.

Gasol 37pts in 2003, Gasol 25pts in 1/4 2006, 2008 semifinal Gasol fouled entire froncourt with 19pts .So where was those Zukauskas/Javtokas elite defence in 00s?

Valanciunas was 23-24 in 2015-16 .So Brazdeikis at 23 is young,but Jonas at same age was already experienced veteran? what a double standarts.

I repeat Javtokas was as old as Gasol every time they met. Age is not excuse they both are born in 1980.



But ok ok i got it your point Zukauskas/Javtokas with their 6 pts european averages play such big part in 00s that even for 2 high quality nba centers from the future its would be impossible to help more 00s NT than those 2 very limited offensive centers did.

To honestly believe that Javtokas/Zukauskas was better overall players than Valanciunas/Sabonis just wow This is tottaly diffrent level of basketball insanity even for you dude

[Straight forward]

Lately your posts are pathetic, dude. You contradict your self, jumping from hyper pessimism (at the start of this thread) to hyper optimism now (we were so close!). You're not worthy replies cause you can't even read. I'll give you few more cents maybe you'll get it, maybe not, but I'm tired schooling people who don't even want to learn to pay attention. In 10 years you didn't learn to read, that's the saddest part. At least you improved some of your English though.

To keep more or less prime Pau with 19pts is good. It's not 37 at least.

Valanciunas prior 2016 already saw 5 official tournaments. How is that not experienced? I mean 24yo JV already was matured enough. He had a successful EB a year a go in 2015.

So what? Players decline in different pace. Lukauskis is playing well at 43. Does that mean all players of his age group should be able to do the same? Javtokas declined sooner than Pau. Pau is pretty exceptional you know...

And for the last time (how many times I already wrote this?). Javtokas is not better player than JV, Domas. He's much better defender and thus much better fit for 00's team. Maybe this way you will actually get it

Anyway, it's my last reply for you for a while now. It's not about different opinions, it's about your inability to keep up with argumentation and conversation culture. Unfortunately you highly lack tons of cognitive skills due to your lack of education - lack of precise reading, getting what others say, attention, self-reflection, your language is poor, lack of respect, instant jumping to conclusions and etc. Practice, practice, practice. Without that you here are just an object of patronizing.

[Shawshank]

LTU NT 2022 leaders best moments in recent eurobasket put by fiba

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2RrLqfdtUZU&t=277s

[Straight forward]

"Our defense suffered the most and this is where the most corrections should be made in the future."

That's all I wanted to hear from Maksvytis and looking forward to corrections and adjustments.

[Shawshank]

Good thing no emotional desicions was made after eurobasket 2022.

I have no problems with coaching staff of 2022 .It was good coaching compared to 3 assistents coaches disaster in 2021.

One last seconds made/missed shot againts best teams doesnt make coaches/players useless or bad. First 39,5 minutes shown that they are very high quality NT even when they played best teams.

Im for continuity what i saw in eurobasket 2022 . To go far in one game playoofs tournament any NTs needs some luck too.

in 2023 same coaching staff and 9 main players gonna comeback one year smarter and tougher emotionally.

Next summer if i would be coach i would do what Popovich did with Spurs in 2013/2014 in first week of training.

Show last 5 minutes of those 4 games of eurobasket on big screen that all NT players would see mistakes they did and remind them one shot sometimes can decide NT is playing semifinal or going home after 1/8.

[Straight forward]

Maksvytis shortly, but correctly expressed 2 main issues of NT 2022. The biggest - defense. Second - closing games.

We won't become good closing team until we have guys who are true leaders of EL or NBA teams. In NBA Sabonis was pretty much franchise player for Indiana, but bigs do not close games. And even Sabonis is more like 2nd or 3rd best player for winning NBA team. There's no other leaders of their clubs. Grigonis sort of was of Zalgiris, but only for a half of year, he's not the leader. He's a solid role player. In the future I think we will have such breed. We have good prospects, but it's not gonna happen in one year.

While defense can be improved easier. You can improve defense with good role players. Elite offense and game closing can come only with true perimeter stars and leaders, so it's much harder to do it. You either have it or not. If there's no such guys you can't do much. That's why I say that our main goal should be improved defense for 2023 and Maksvytis agrees obviously.

I see Domas, JV, Kuzminskas, Butkevicius, Brazdeikis, Grigonis, Lekavicius, Jokubaitis as 8 locks from 2022 roster.

Main candidates for 4 last spots would be Ulanovas, D. Giedraitis, Tubelis, Sedekerskis, Marciulionis. These guys can play D and provide as role players. Yes, I would even want to see if Marciulionis can bully his opponents defensively for 10 minutes already in the exhibition stage (PS: both Margiris and Zemaitis perimeter D is overrated, they are not NT material).

[Shawshank]

2 raw ncaa rookies and one very young guard gonna fix bad NT defence ? haha what a fantasy

never saw inexperienced rookies not from nba/euroleague being some elite defenders in fiba especially guards .Defence is not just speed,lenghts or so on. To be good in defence without experience in that level its very difficult and we gonna put 3 inexperienced kids who never even defended such level players ale be our stoppers ? jeazz where such fan comes

Dinosour experience you literally are clueless what works and what wins in men basketball.

Simply look what coaches are doing in those fiba games maybe you gonna learn thing or two.Less reading just about potential theories of kids tallents.



NT 2015 didnt have closer,but they had good team defence with smart experience players in all positions that was making no stupid desicions in game endings.

Closing games is not just hit game winner,its more of making fundementally smart 4-5 desicions in last 3 minutes to give your team best chance to win.

in 2022 we saw chaos comming from our 3 main guards in game endings.Good moment in attack was changed with tottaly brainless desicion in the next one. This will get you beat.


Our 2022-2024 NT wont be good defensive team.

We can bring Normantas/D.Giedraitis that will get Zemaitis role or Sedekerskis in Echodas place it doesnt fix alot. We have what we have right now Kemzura and Maskvytis repeats that again and again.

But can we play smarter game endings? yes for sure.Thats why i want same 9 main players back,that went through that pain in those endings and should be one year smarter and mentally stronger.

No better coach exist than painfull experience.

btw Ulanovas is not candidate,he is 100% lock. It will depend more if Ulanovas will want to play but not will he make team.

[Toruko]

never saw inexperienced rookies being some elite defenders.Defence is not just speed,lenghts or so on. To be good in defence without experience in that level its very difficult and we gonna 3 inexperienced kids who never even defended such level players ale be our stoppers ? jeazz where such fan comes

You did see at least one. There are not many of them but there are some young guns who can fix many problems by themselves. Garuba was one of them. He still is very young actually but you are right about the level of competition. A really low level league like LKL shouldnt have defenders of this caliber. One or two good defenders wouldnt be bad for this Lithuanian team though.

[Straight forward]

LOL. I would suggest to ignore the madness.

Lietuva 2022

Jokubaitis,Velicka,Kalnietis
Grigonis,Normantas
Ulanovas,Butkevicius,
Sedekerskis,Tubelis,Skucas
Sabonis,Valanciunas

Coach Maskvytis 3rd asistant and teams psychologist J.Maciulis for toughen up our players before games.

Kalnietis in playing coach role that will share his experience with 2 upcomming PG.

I would add Brazdeikis but he will not be interested playing in eurobasket.Maybe he will come for 2024 Olympic summer like all canadian/americans players does.

I added few players that have balls and can play tough nose defence. When in Day 1 of eurobasket 2022 Doncic gonna start scoring too much Skucas gonna put his ass on the ground from profilactic stand point.

When nothing works from basketball stand point im putting Skucas+Normantas tandem for few minutes to change atmosphere of the game.

I got alergic from super soft pussy character shooters like Giedraitis,Bendzius,Kuzminskas,Masiulis after watching them last 2 weeks.

[Shawshank]

dinosour expert haha you really dont have life dont you jeazas this men is living in this forum

when did i write that 1,5 year ago? so you going through this forum and reading old news ? Ok got only half roster right so?

but still dont saw your student kids on ltu 2022 roster Name was diffrent but players werent kids,coaches choosen mature dudes like most coaches does if they building winning NT.


Do i need to find and copy your predictions about born 1998-2002 ltu youngsters in 2022 roster?

Men cant win argument in todays date ,so goes back in time and bring 1 year old prediction here and forgets that he himself missed even more

[Shawshank]

2023 world cup when close game comes i want to see such lineup in last 4 minutes of games

Grigonis,Brazdeikis,Butkevicius,Ulanovas,Sabonis and switch everything in defence with good size and mobile players.

Obviuosly we cant play that lineup big minutes because of lack of size in PF position and we need real Pg in game progress,but finishing games Grigonis,Brazdeikis is simply better both defensively and offensively than inexperienced Jokubaitis . Rokas still need 1-2 years experience to be making rock solid pg type desicions in most game endings.

By 2025 Jokubaitis will play 30min in NT,but now still not there in desicion making under pressure

If Brazdeikis will have one of his wild bad shooting games then Jokubaitis IN instead of him in game endings.

But dont wanna see them both at same time in game endings.Too much inexperienced emotional youth brain in desicion making positions in most important moments in game.They did too manny brainless/wild desicions in 2022 endings.

[Straight forward]

I don't mind to see such line-up, but just a reminder - Jokubaitis delivered against Spain in the knock out stage of EB, while Grigonis didn't (also Grigonis didn't deliver against Slovenia in 2021 OQ). The odds hasn't been in favor to hype Grigonis (who also having wild up and downs in EL too ATM), Jokubaitis is not where I would like him to be defensively yet (and maybe will never be, who knows), but he's not a black hole defensively. Jasikevicius throws him in as more reliable defensive player than Lapro for example.

Grigonis,Brazdeikis,Butkevicius,Ulanovas,Sabonis looks pretty good, but I would prefer Jokuibaitis creativity, passing and slashing presence in the key moments. Grigonis tends to struggle to beat physical defense and not always able to split the D (thus taking some wild step back jimmy), while Brazdeikis primarily good for ISO offense and not natural decision maker with the ball. This line-up would be left without reliable creator generally. But it does not irritate me generally, cause the size is great. If Grigonis splits the D he can surely make a right decision. He would be an elite EL player if had a bit more toughness and athleticism.

[Straight forward]

I wonder what's Kemzura cooking for upcoming windows. At first I was pissed NT left without head coach, but when I watched Kemzura's interview...Damn, dude's into that seriously. He even brought B. Matkevicius home. Kemzura seems to be taking this extremely focused and will do that job.

What does he have though? The list should come out soon, kinda expect some surprises, but it should be something like that I guess:

Velicka, Kariniauskas, Zemaitis
Normantas, Girdziunas
Kuzminskas, Radzevicius
Kulboka, Bendzius, Orelikas
Echodas, Miniotas, Geben


The surprise would come if he would invite one of Murauskas, Rubstavicius. This would mean Kemzura wants not only to win, but to make an impact to the NT long term.

PS1: Too bad we can't have D. Giedraitis, A. Tubelis, Sirvydis, A. Marciulionis. Those 4 to me are next youngsters to make NT. The closest cases to the NT from young guys. And we can't test them in windows unfortunately...It's funny that all three

PS2: Oh, and I forgot Blazevic. IMO, it would be interesting to see how he looks today. Vilnius finally has some shit to offer D. Giedraitis, A. Tubelis, Sirvydis, A. Marciulionis, Blazevic.