JV at EuroBasket 2013 is Done, Lithuania Gets Silver

Valanciunuts · Post #1701 » by **Valanciunuts** » Sun Sep 8, 2013 8:54 pm

Jonas with 6 points in OT.

Give him the damn ball next game.

BlackFalconGSW · Post #1702 » by **BlackFalconGSW** » Sun Sep 8, 2013 8:54 pm

Cool, great game for both Lavrinivic's.

BlackFalconGSW · Post #1703 » by **BlackFalconGSW** » Sun Sep 8, 2013 8:55 pm

BigVGroupie wrote:Jonas with 6 points in OT.

Give him the damn ball next game.

12+10 and he gets his first double - double. Beast.

VanGuard · Post #1704 » by **VanGuard** » Sun Sep 8, 2013 8:55 pm

pbj wrote:The roar of the might Jonas is majestic.

The beast was hurt

, but seriously there needs to be a .gif of that :lol:

AK47MVP · Post #1705 » by **AK47MVP** » Sun Sep 8, 2013 8:55 pm

And Jonas with another double double. I really really want Kazlauskas to cut Maciulis and Seibutis minutes. Maybe they play good defense but their dumb decisions on offense could have cost LT this win.

rmnts · Post #1706 » by **rmnts** » Sun Sep 8, 2013 8:55 pm

I don't know why didn't play d-mo, kuzminskas or pocius but a win is a win. twins for the wins

Valanciunuts · Post #1707 » by **Valanciunuts** » Sun Sep 8, 2013 8:55 pm

Double double for Jonas, 12 points 10 rebounds.

AK47MVP · Post #1708 » by **AK47MVP** » Sun Sep 8, 2013 8:56 pm

BlackFalconGSW wrote:
BigVGroupie wrote:Jonas with 6 points in OT.

Give him the damn ball next game.

12+10 and he gets his first double - double. Beast.

It is second. He had one in previous game as well.

VanGuard · Post #1709 » by **VanGuard** » Sun Sep 8, 2013 9:02 pm

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mNGPITEKbzU[/youtube]
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UnnW0MQ9IB8#t=14[/youtube]
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yH1qFOXbtEU[/youtube]
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7_hpo8nL2T0#t=42[/youtube]

xprt · Post #1710 » by **xprt** » Sun Sep 8, 2013 9:03 pm

AK47MVP wrote:And Jonas with another double double. I really really want Kazlauskas to cut Maciulis and Seibutis minutes. Maybe they play good defense but their dumb decisions on offense could have cost LT this win.

And to give Seibutis minutes to what? Pocius who plays worser on both ends or Delininkaitis who cant defend anyone

UcanUwill · Post #1711 » by **UcanUwill** » Sun Sep 8, 2013 9:05 pm

BlackFalconGSW wrote:K.lav/D-Mo
Val/k.lav/d-mo

Javt and d.lav garbage minutes.

D.lav has been of of the most if not the most productive and consistent player on a team... Why are you so obsessed with D-Mo, what I told you he is not that great and having him there doesn't guarantee you a win. Twins played a great game the whole way through, I dont get why you had such a problem?

JV4MVP · Post #1712 » by **JV4MVP** » Sun Sep 8, 2013 9:10 pm

LTU has little chance to compete against the Spain's, Greece's, etc. if it takes OT to beat a team such as Montenegro. I guess the goal would be to finish top 6 in order to play Canada in the WC. I understand every game has a probability but still, LTU is grinding out every single one even against significantly worse teams (e.g. Latvia & Montenegro). The only positive about going to OT was that the final result improved the +/- (winning by 7 as opposed to 3)

I'd like Kalneitis to look to score on the PnR drive rather than force tough passes to JV... should be 1) drive to basket, 2) kick out for open three, 3) pass to rolling player. I think JV would be in a good position to grab the offensive rebound on options 1 and 2. I also hate how they run the offence through Kleiza. He's good at being a set shooter and shouldn't bother dribbling. And while he's a good scorer in the post its too high risk for him to get that position... he gets offensive fouls or a TO from a risky interior pass.

And BlackFalconGSW, I'm not sure if you've watched all of LTU's games. The coach changes his starting lineup (e.g. Kuzminiskas didn't play a second in the first two games and started the 3rd one) and tactics based on his opponent. There's no minute allocation for anyone on this team with the exception of Kalneitis. D-Mo played a lot against Latvia because his skillset was good for that matchup. He didn't play meaningful minutes today b.c. his defensive IQ is poor, and Montenegro did not play zone, so it just wasn't a game for him. And the Lav bros played fantastic in the 1st quarter and the end so they had a precedent set. Watch tomorrow against Bosnia & Herzegovina... possible it will be a new starting lineup and different rotations.

Also not sure why Seibutis is being criticized. He played solid defense, grabbed a few boards and had that And 1 play in the end of the game. There are many others who make equally bad mistakes as him.

UcanUwill · Post #1713 » by **UcanUwill** » Sun Sep 8, 2013 9:24 pm

JV4MVP wrote:LTU has little chance to compete against the Spain's, Greece's, etc. if it takes OT to beat a team such as Montenegro. I guess the goal would be to finish top 6 in order to play Canada in the WC. I understand every game has a probability but still, LTU is grinding out every single one even against significantly worse teams (e.g. Latvia & Montenegro).

Chances against Spain are never great. You shouldn't dismiss Lithuania so soon though. Montengro is not a bad team, and even same Spain and Greece are no longer perfect.

Lithuania is not playing up to its max potential so far, and as you noticed, the rotations and leading roles changes from game to game. This team has hardcore depth and different weapons for every different opponent. Every game is different story in this tournament.

KarolisJ · Post #1714 » by **KarolisJ** » Sun Sep 8, 2013 9:24 pm

Seibutis could be a decent player in this tournament but he doesnt hit jumpshots like he did last season in rytas. well, he doesnt make any shots now. and his passing is terrible.

JV4MVP · Post #1715 » by **JV4MVP** » Sun Sep 8, 2013 9:32 pm

UcanUwill wrote:
JV4MVP wrote:LTU has little chance to compete against the Spain's, Greece's, etc. if it takes OT to beat a team such as Montenegro. I guess the goal would be to finish top 6 in order to play Canada in the WC. I understand every game has a probability but still, LTU is grinding out every single one even against significantly worse teams (e.g. Latvia & Montenegro).

Chances against Spain are never great. You shouldn't dismiss Lithuania so soon though. Montengro is not a bad team, and even same Spain and Greece are no longer perfect.

Lithuania is not playing up to its max potential so far, and as you noticed, the rotations and leading roles changes from game to game. This team has hardcore depth and different weapons for every different opponent. Every game is different story in this tournament.

Agree but what is discerning is that they can never pull away from an opponent, even the lead against Latvia they let slip. LTU's offense doesn't have a go to weapon that can be exploited... feels like a grind to score. They try to force it inside to their bigs or SF but its sloppy and won't work against better teams. There's not enough movement as there was with Jasikevicius and I'm not blaming Kalneitis cause he's more of a SG. I'd rather see Kalneitis look for his shot or drive to the basket rather than force a tough pass. Idk, they just don't pass the eye test... they looked much better in the friendlies.

I think the rotation shuffling is detrimentsl as it doesn't allow players to get in a rhythm. It's good from a fatigue issue but doesn't allow for good basketball from a trusted core group. The Miami Heat showed that you can dominate with essentially a 7 person rotation.

UcanUwill · Post #1716 » by **UcanUwill** » Sun Sep 8, 2013 9:44 pm

Day offs here are like exceptions, so depth can be important. It could go both ways I guess. But if I have to choose, I take team with 12 competent players...

Yeah, Lithuania haven't looked good so far, but only very few teams are passing the eye test honestly. And even those teams already lost a game. You just cant tell what you gonna get.
The standards are high set for team Lithuania, but when you look at it from objective point of view, their chances remain decent.

Laure · Post #1717 » by **Laure** » Sun Sep 8, 2013 9:58 pm

You can take alot of positives from this game. Lavrinovic brothers have shown that they are far from washed up, but most importantly, the team looked better offensively, marginally, but better, the chemistry looks to be good, though the execution is far from ideal. Our strength is the unknown factor - you can never predict who will be the man as we mostly have 12 competent players. This team has great potential , because even now, Kleiza is stinkin' it up, Pocius is a shadow of himself and Kuzminskas is overwhelmed by the occasion. if these guys tune in, Lithuania will be a force to be reckoned with.

Don't forget our boy JV, he seems to get in the groove, atleast on the defensive end.

blocked · Post #1718 » by **blocked** » Sun Sep 8, 2013 11:36 pm

Laure wrote:You can take alot of positives from this game. Lavrinovic brothers have shown that they are far from washed up, but most importantly, the team looked better offensively, marginally, but better, the chemistry looks to be good, though the execution is far from ideal. Our strength is the unknown factor - you can never predict who will be the man as we mostly have 12 competent players. This team has great potential , because even now, Kleiza is stinkin' it up, Pocius is a shadow of himself and Kuzminskas is overwhelmed by the occasion. if these guys tune in, Lithuania will be a force to be reckoned with.

Don't forget our boy JV, he seems to get in the groove, atleast on the defensive end.

The biggest positive from this game is that the coach openly stated that playing Javtokas was a mistake today, and playing people like Pocius or Kuzminskas would result in lost games. In other words, the coach clearly sees who can deliver, and knows the limitations of the new core. It will be interesting to watch as the team progresses.

Jstock12 · Post #1719 » by **Jstock12** » Sun Sep 8, 2013 11:44 pm

I think they are slowly getting to that optimal shape so it's no wonder all of these games so far were tough grinds. However, I have to give credit to opponents - they aren't as bad as you may think. This is probably the weirdest euro championship I have ever witnessed in terms of upsets. You can't tell who are the favorites here. I know that on paper it should be either Spain or Greece, but... Spain lost to Slovenia, Slovenia lost to Croatia - yet Croatia lost to Spain. Then Greece lost to Italy, while Lithuania beat Italy in a preparation game without much trouble. I don't even have a clue what the top3 will look like when it's all said and done. I sure hope Lithuania is in there somewhere though. Would give our boy Val some newly found confidence and sense of accomplishment (not that he needs it I guess) that could add to a much better performance in his second season in the NBA.

UcanUwill · Post #1720 » by **UcanUwill** » Mon Sep 9, 2013 6:41 am

I was surprised when I checked Jonas' averages. Even when he is not playing good, he remains productive. 9/7.3 on great efficiency in 22.5 minutes. Thats decent.

Nikola Vucevic is complete bust. I do think he is very overrated around here, but 6.8 pts. 3.5 rbs. and abysmal FG% ? Ouch.