2019 World Cup Qualifying Odyssey!

[Straight forward]

That's young enough to play this summer or next if he's needed (and good enough).



Hopefully we see all those fellows in Youth tournaments and 2023 WC qualifiers beginning in 2021.

No Youth tournament for Kulboka, Sedekerskis, Masiulis, Jogela anymore. And some of them will make a debut in EB 2021. It's not about when they will be here and there, it's about looking to the longer perspective and groping the whole picture. The times of idiot coaches only watching at the passports of the players are long gone. You have to constantly check all the players and give chance to the most talented if they deserve it, not looking at the passport. Our basketball school is very weak in terms of coaching, but luckily there's ome real coach in Jasikevicius and I would actually like to see Maksvytis taking the job if Saras won't be available.

[LuDux]

After cutting Walton there's 0% chance of Zalgiris letting Jokubaitis play in NT

[Hepcat]

At 1 he could have both Velicka, Jokubaitis if he worked hard on it.

And Kulboka isn't among my favourites youngsters. My favourite young players are Marciulionis, Sirvydis, Kancleris, Sedekerskis and Brazdeikis (Jokubaitis, Jogela at lesser extent). But Kulboka is one of our best prospect who has great upside, and he was available.

None of those fellows looks anywhere close to being ready to play on the big team in 2019 or 2020. So why take them for this window? Most of the players Coach Adomaitis has selected have at least an outside chance of being needed this summer, depending on injuries to some of the more likely participants of course.

[Hepcat]

So I see that now Laurynas Birutis is out as well as Artūras Gudaitis with knee surgery. Depth at C could be a very real problem for the Lithuanian team this summer. It looks like Coach Adomaitis will be reduced to choosing one or two from among Evaldas Kairys, Martinas Geben, Egidijus Mockevičius and Darjuš Lavrinovič.

[madmax]

I honestly think that 40 years old Lavrinovic is still the best option out of this lot...

[Straight forward]

So I see that now Laurynas Birutis is out as well as Artūras Gudaitis with knee surgery. Depth at C could be a very real problem for the Lithuanian team this summer. It looks like Coach Adomaitis will be reduced to choosing one or two from among Evaldas Kairys, Martinas Geben, Egidijus Mockevičius and Darjuš Lavrinovič.

D-Mo is running young and healthy out there... With those absences Adomaitis will have a huge pressure to invite D-Mo. He just must be in the national team under circumstances because we lack both 5 and 4 high quality players. Unless Adomaitis will find ways to involve Jankunas and Kavaliauskas which is would be nearly a miracle I think.

[Hepcat]

I honestly think that 40 years old Lavrinovic is still the best option out of this lot...

Sadly you may be correct, other than the detail that Darjuš won't turn forty until November.

D-Mo is running young and healthy out there... With those absences Adomaitis will have a huge pressure to invite D-Mo. He just must be in the national team under circumstances because we lack both 5 and 4 high quality players. Unless Adomaitis will find ways to involve Jankunas and Kavaliauskas which is would be nearly a miracle I think.

I'm not even thinking in terms of Antanas Kavaliauskas anymore. He wasn't one of the big time contributors to the team in the 2012-16 period and he's not been at all impressive with Žalgiris these last two seasons. I'm hoping that Coach Adomaitis can find a jewel in the rough among the younger centers this summer.

[Hepcat]

After cutting Walton there's 0% chance of Zalgiris letting Jokubaitis play in NT

Coach Jasikevičius gave Rokas Jokubaitis major minutes against cellar dwelling Šiauliai earlier this week and his numbers were simply dreadful. Jokubaitis needs a lot more seasoning to be considered for Team Lietuva.

[LuDux]

In last 6 Euroleague games before injuries Kavaliauskas averaged 14.2 minutes, 10.2 points shooting 71% from the floor and 95 (21/22) from the line and 3.2 rebounds.

We need 3rd center as injury insurance anyway and I doubt even healthy Gudaitis could serve as JV or Domas replacement. JV and Domas playing around 25 minutes cover C position and give 10+ minutes at PF. Now we have around 25 minutes at PF and SF left that we can fill any combination of Kuzminskas Bendzius Maciulis Ulanovas and Kavaliauskas/Jankunas/Motiejunas if they choose to attend

[Straight forward]

We need 3rd center as injury insurance anyway and I doubt even healthy Gudaitis could serve as JV or Domas replacement. JV and Domas playing around 25 minutes cover C position and give 10+ minutes at PF. Now we have around 25 minutes at PF and SF left that we can fill any combination of Kuzminskas Bendzius Maciulis Ulanovas and Kavaliauskas/Jankunas/Motiejunas if they choose to attend

That was one complicated theory Why healthy Gudaitis couldn't serve as JV and Domas replacement (I think you want it to say backup)? Gudaitis was surely better than Kavaliauskas. Better rebounder, tougher post defender, way better rotation defender. Kavaliauskas only has slight advantage as more skilled and consistent scoring big, but just a slight because Gudaitis is way better pick and roll center. In my opinion Kavaliauskas barely would survive in current Armani to be honest He was good only because Saras is brilliant at utilizing individual strength and putting players in the right place. With that said I would like Kavaliauskas as a back-up center now.

JV in Eurobasket played 27 minutes. Sabonis can at least play 5 minutes more. Unless fouling out.

[LuDux]

Why healthy Gudaitis couldn't serve as JV and Domas replacement (I think you want it to say backup)?

Adequate replacement

[Hepcat]

In last 6 Euroleague games before injuries Kavaliauskas averaged 14.2 minutes, 10.2 points shooting 71% from the floor and 95 (21/22) from the line and 3.2 rebounds.

We need 3rd center as injury insurance anyway and I doubt even healthy Gudaitis could serve as JV or Domas replacement. JV and Domas playing around 25 minutes cover C position and give 10+ minutes at PF. Now we have around 25 minutes at PF and SF left that we can fill any combination of Kuzminskas Bendzius Maciulis Ulanovas and Kavaliauskas/Jankunas/Motiejunas if they choose to attend

After the King Mindaugas Tournament this past weekend I now have even more serious doubts about what if anything Antanas Kavaliauskas is still capable of bringing to Team Lietuva. Consider:

On Saturday in the blow-out victory against Lietkabelis, Kavaliauskas played 16:30 minutes and scored 8 points with an Efficiency rating of 12. Respectable.

BUT, the very next day in a tight game against Rytas he played only 4:44 minutes with an Efficiency of 2! And Laurynas Birutis wasn't available! So why didn't Kavaliauskas play more in the final when he could have been needed? Did he suffer an injury? Because otherwise it shows that he doesn't have enough in the tank to play even respectable minutes two days in a row. That's not the type of player I'd want in a tournament where games are played every second day.

[Hepcat]

Edgaras Ulanovas is actually the player around whom there should be some question right now. He just hasn't looked good very often this year. To me it looks as if Arnas Butkevičius should be given a hard look and a fair chance to take Ulanovas' spot in camp this summer.

Man, comparing players with only stats is worthless. Butkevicius wouldn't even make Zalgiris roster. Ulanovas doesn't have the best season so far, I mean Euroleague first of all, at some games he just went unnoticed, but he is just better player between the two

So I was waiting for some playoff or other big games between Rytas and Žalgiris so that we could compare the play of the two fellows against each other. On this basis Butkevičius has taken the first pie out of the oven. Here are their comparative stats from Sunday's King Mindaugas final:

----------------------- MIN --- PTS ---- EFF ----- +/-

Arnas Butkevičius -- 32:45 -- 10 ----- 10 ------ -3
Edgaras Ulanovas -- 26:27 -- 04 ----- 01 ------ -13

Now don't get me wrong. I'm not a hater of Ulanovas. Nor am I saying categorically that Butkevičius is the better player of the two. I am however saying that Ulanovas does not deserve a red carpet laid out for a reserved roster spot this summer. Ulanovas should have to demonstrate over the course of the rest of the season and at the Team Lietuva camp that he deserves a roster spot. In my book he has to earn it. And he's going to face some competition.

Overall though I have an open mind when it comes to roster spots. I'm willing to wait and watch and give players the opportunity to play their way onto the team, or off the team.

[Hepcat]

I'm really looking forward to seeing how the Lithuanian team functions this weekend with Šarūnas Vasiliauskas, Žygimantas Janavičius and Dovis Bičkauskis at the helm of the offence. I'm also interested in seeing what Egidijus Mockevičius and Martinas Geben can bring to the team playing the low post. Who knows, any of these fellows could be called upon to fill out the roster this summer for the 2019 WC.

[Straight forward]

I'm really looking forward to seeing how the Lithuanian team functions this weekend with Šarūnas Vasiliauskas, Žygimantas Janavičius and Dovis Bičkauskis at the helm of the offence. I'm also interested in seeing what Egidijus Mockevičius and Martinas Geben can bring to the team playing the low post. Who knows, any of these fellows could be called upon to fill out the roster this summer for the 2019 WC.

To me there's 2 players who are serious contenders to make WC team to watch - Janavicius and Giedraitis. Janavicius I think is a serious candidate in case Mantas or Lukas wouldn't be available. He's a touch defender and limited, but not a crappy playmaker. We need guards who can play D. As for Giedraitis, he is the best or second best player along with Seibutis in this roster. I want to see him showing some things.