Lithuanian Basketball League (LKL) 2020-21

[Hepcat]

Incidentally, why did Arnas Butkevičius not play in yesterday's game against Juventus?

[Straight forward]

Incidentally, why did Arnas Butkevičius not play in yesterday's game against Juventus?

Probably Covid.

[Hepcat]

That's what I feared.

[Hepcat]

Didn't watch the game, but judging be hihglights - it was a clearest foul....

I agree. It was obvious to all including Marčiulionis. I don't understand why the refs didn't call it.

[auris1]

It doesn't change the fact Urbonas cries too much. But it's not true that it's the only one thing he does well. For its money Juventus has a good team and coaching/chemistry wise it's quite good there. He did a lot for a basketball in Utena. As for being a coach outside that town i'm not sure, but i would like to watch.

Spot on , in my opinion . Also , I think we need more people like him , not less.
Another thing is that he needs time for development as a coach , such as making mistakes and just learning from it and getting better. He seems decorated enough to deserve a chance to be involved in NT second team level . Its not like we have tens of good coaches wasting around. I mean , if not him ,who else ?
Maksvytis is way ahead of him . Kiltinavicius and Petrauskas are growing bit by bit , Kairys is out , i guess?

So this got me thinking - who are the leaders of games coached in LKL ?
It must be Sireika overall , but it would be nice to see some actual numbers . Ludux?

[Mindozas]

Spot on , in my opinion . Also , I think we need more people like him , not less.
Another thing is that he needs time for development as a coach , such as making mistakes and just learning from it and getting better. He seems decorated enough to deserve a chance to be involved in NT second team level . Its not like we have tens of good coaches wasting around. I mean , if not him ,who else ?
Maksvytis is way ahead of him . Kiltinavicius and Petrauskas are growing bit by bit , Kairys is out , i guess?

So this got me thinking - who are the leaders of games coached in LKL ?
It must be Sireika overall , but it would be nice to see some actual numbers . Ludux?

I only found some numbers before 2018/19 season with only coaches who had to work in it, so Sireika had a big lead with 715 games. Then 36 in that season, 24 in previous one and already 25 in current, which makes exactly 800 games under his belt

https://www.lkl.lt/straipsniai/2330/betsafelkl-treneriai-kurie-sekmingiausi-o-kurie-dar-tik-irodineja-savo-verte

[Mindozas]

LKL admitted refs mistake in Rytas-Juventus for not calling a foul on Crawford and suspended two refs Sukys and Vecerskis for 1,5 month and 2 weeks respectively. Also apologized very very sincerely... I think Juventus should feel much better now

[Hepcat]

I just hope the loss doesn't end up dropping Juventus from third to fourth in the final LKL standings.

[Hepcat]

Every year i have different one or two teams in LKL that I like to watch- this year that happens to be Utena and Siauliai . Klaipeda and Prienai were ones in some other previous seasons .
Absolutely least favourite is Alytus , for many years .
Utena managed to get ridiculous amount of above average LKL players , some in twilight , still ...
Kariniauskas gave them a spark and yet this team is with very real ceiling of limited capabilities .
Urbonas in a way is the strongest , yet , somehow weakest link of this team as well .
Yes , they crushed Lrytas in KML but then sort of faded away , where as Lrytas went from strength to strength afterwards.
Shame as they aren't really developing any young kids , bar having them nominally on the roster.
Also , dabbing into 3x3 during LKL season seems a bit rash .
But that's a small town team for you. And a good one at that

Why would Alytus be the team you like the least?

In LKL action typically I've pulled for whichever team has less foreigners on the roster. As a result I usually cheer for the smaller market teams against Žalgiris, Rytas and Neptūnas. The foreigner quotient is of course much reduced in Rytas and especially Neptūnas this year but that could be a temporary phenomenon.

I was drawn to Nevėžis in the past because I liked both the gaudy green and orange uniforms and the team name ("No Crabs" - and yes I know it's a river running through Kėdainiai) but Nevėžis has now gone away from those team colours and multiple sponsorship changes resulting in team name modifications have soured me on the team.

I've now settled on Lietkabelis as my home team because my mother was born in Panevėžys. Moreover Lietkabelis was established way back in 1964 and thus has a time-honoured history that's the third longest of the teams in the LKL. Finally the team name of "Raindrop" is very cool.

I've also settled on Alytaus Dzūkija as my second "home" team. Quite simply my family's origins are in Dzūkija. My grandfather moved the family homestead from Ūdrija near Alytus to Lauckaimis near Kudirkos Naumiestis shortly before my father was born. Secondly the club has a relatively untarnished history of sponsorship changes resulting in name modifications. Finally the lynx logo is wild cool. The lynx logo should though be incorporated onto the uniform somehow.





I also like Pasvalio Pieno Žvaigždės a lot. First of all Pasvalys is only the 40th largest municipality in Lithuania with less than 8300 people yet has the 5th best basketball team in Lithuania. Secondly the team has always had eye catching uniforms with the current double-blue striped edition being both imaginative and pleasing to the eye:



Finally a team named "Milk Stars" is beyond cool! And yes I know it's named after a Lithuanian dairy conglomerate based in Pasvalys but I'm a dairy enthusiast. I worked at the Silverwood's ice cream plant for part of the summer in 1972. I now have a small collection of milk bottles that dairies in my general area used from the 1930's to the 1970's which I keep displayed in a kitchen pantry:







The bottles are not only aesthetically pleasing but remind me of the bygone days when I was a kid during which we got home milk delivery:





Finally Juventus has captured my attention this year for the first time. Previously I was always put off by the fact that I associated the team's name with an Italian soccer club. But the club's success in putting together a medal contending LKL team from Lithuanian players that the big budget teams didn't want has captured my fancy. The presence of five players contending for a spot on this spring's Lithuanian 3x3 team on the Juventus roster hasn't hurt either. I'd really like to see Juventus do well in the LKL playoffs.

[Hepcat]

I know that Mindozas, Svajunas and auris1 are first and foremost Žalgiris fans, Madmax is a Rytas fan and that Shawshank is a Neptūnas fan. Any more strong preferences for LKL teams among the membership here?

[Straight forward]

I was witnessing EL level defence on Kariniauskas...and then unfortunately, boom, his wrist is probably completely "f..ed". It may be the same wrist as previously. His LKL season may be over and it even may affect his NT chances.

[auris1]

Why would Alytus be the team you like the least?

In LKL action typically I've pulled for whichever team has less foreigners on the roster. As a result I usually cheer for the smaller market teams against Žalgiris, Rytas and Neptūnas. The foreigner quotient is of course much reduced in Rytas and especially Neptūnas this year but that could be a temporary phenomenon.

I was drawn to Nevėžis in the past because I liked both the gaudy green and orange uniforms and the team name ("No Crabs" - and yes I know it's a river running through Kėdainiai) but Nevėžis has now gone away from those team colours and multiple sponsorship changes resulting in team name modifications have soured me on the team.

I've now settled on Lietkabelis as my home team because my mother was born in Panevėžys. Moreover Lietkabelis was established way back in 1964 and thus has a time-honoured history that's the second longest in the LKL. Finally the team name of "Raindrop" is very cool.

I've also settled on Alytaus Dzūkija as my second "home" team. Quite simply my family's origins are in Dzūkija. My grandfather moved the family homestead from Ūdrija near Alytus to Lauckaimis near Kudirkos Naumiestis shortly before my father was born. Secondly the club has a relatively untarnished history of sponsorship changes resulting in name modifications. Finally the lynx logo is wild cool. The lynx logo should though be incorporated onto the uniform somehow.





I also like Pasvalio Pieno Žvaigždės a lot. First of all Pasvalys is only the 40th largest municipality in Lithuania with less than 8300 people yet has the 5th best basketball team in Lithuania. Secondly the team has always had eye catching uniforms with the current double-blue striped edition being both imaginative and pleasing to the eye:



Finally a team named "Milk Stars" is beyond cool! And yes I know it's named after a Lithuanian dairy conglomerate based in Pasvalys but I'm a dairy enthusiast. I worked at the Silverwood's ice cream plant for part of the summer in 1972. I now have a small collection of milk bottles that dairies in my general area used from the 1930's to the 1970's which I keep displayed in a kitchen pantry:



Finally Juventus has captured my attention this year for the first time. Previously I was always put off by the fact that I associated the team's name with an Italian soccer club. But the club's success in putting together a medal contending LKL team from Lithuanian players that the big budget teams didn't want has captured my fancy. The presence of five players contending for a spot on this spring's Lithuanian 3x3 team on the Juventus roster hasn't hurt either. I'd really like to see Juventus do well in the LKL playoffs.

I know that Mindozas, Svajunas and auris1 are first and foremost Žalgiris fans, Madmax is a Rytas fan and that Shawshank is a Neptūnas fan. Any more strong preferences for LKL teams among the membership here?

Dear Hepcat ,
First at all , my mad respect for you and your relentless enthusiasm towards your love for Lithuanian basketball and our country as such. I share the same feelings . Similar circumstances , although maybe not he same .
Obviously , the reason of why me , you or anyone here support one but not another team is different .
For me Zalgiris was a destiny not a choice , and i hope it doesn't sound too pompous - I was born in Zaliakalnis and i shit you not , Zalgiris on tv was the only time our family got together . Also, true is the fact that during finals against CSKA the city would go silent . I would consider myself overly obsessive as a fan too . I rarely. met anyone interested in basketball as much as i do until i joined this forum . My kids never took interest in bb or watching sports as such , thankfully. No legacy here , and i am so happy about that.
And all of this just to answer one simple question you have asked me -

Why would Alytus be the team you like the least?

This is the only team in LKL that doesn't have a character and its just a pointless . Pointless . Pacesa , this fucking guy is just using his power towards some personal political gains , whatever .
Every team has a face , right ?
Zalgiris is Zalgiris .
Lrytas is Vilnius town to challenge Zalgiris, i dont care about them , but at least they have Marciulionis
Lietkabilis is to take away that second spot from Vilnius with decent mid tier talent as in Masiulis , Valinskas or Normantas and more than decent coach .
Utena is strong with Urbonas and , gaming for medals. Who knows .
Pasvalys wants to be Utena .Strong coach , decent players.
Klaipeda is fucked but with decent local talent .
Prienai is finally getting there with new afterlife from you know who.
Nevezis - so at least we know they care only about developing talent for resale.
Siauliai sticks with Sireika , fair enough , they actually look like a decent team.
Alytus is shit. Also i hate the angle they take for tv broadcasts . Same as Panevezis , just wrong angle

[LuDux]

Nevezis - so at least we know they care only about developing talent for resale.

Kedainiu Norfa

[Hepcat]

I was born in Zaliakalnis....

Yes, Žaliakalnis, the location of Club Venera which I've visited on a number iof occasions! That's certainly a good reason anyway to be a Žalgiris fan for life.

[Svajunas]

I know that Mindozas, Svajunas and auris1 are first and foremost Žalgiris fans, Madmax is a Rytas fan and that Shawshank is a Neptūnas fan. Any more strong preferences for LKL teams among the membership here?

Wouldn't call myself only Zalgiris fan. Im more a fan of the game. However Zalgiris usually snatch the most talented youngsters. But f.e. I saw more LKL games this season with Rytas, then Zalgiris, just because Im following Marciulionis.