Linas Kleiza - The Rising Star

[Lionel Messi]

? Are there any white defensive studs in the nba. Being white and being slow on the defensive side of the ball tend to go hand and hand. Nothing racist in that analogy but comon lets keep it real ok.

John Stockton was amazing, Manu Ginobili is a very good defender, Ilyasova is tough as nails and a good defender.

There are others, but those are the first three names that pop into my head, for whatever reason.

[sparrow]

40+ point games in the NBA:

Kleiza: 1
Bargnani: 0

Must mean he's better, right?

30-39 point games:

Kleiza: 0
Bargnani: 3

20-29 point games:

Kleiza: 20
Bargnani: 65
--------
Bargs is the more consistent scorer at the NBA level. Kleiza has to have improved a lot just to be as good as Bargnani. Yes, this is a totally arbitrary stat I've cherry picked to show what I want. Just making sure that's clear to everyone.

i honestly don't even know where to start. Cherry picking stats to prove your point is not a great argument.

Bargs has been gifted starters minutes and responsibilities since he came into the league, while Kleiza has been the back-up to one of top scorers in the league. Its actually shocked me that Bargs only has three 30pt. games.

-IMO Kleiza has more tools/athleticism to be a more effective scorer in this league, but now Bargs is going to be fed the ball so he better be as good as you think

[pass first]

? Are there any white defensive studs in the nba. Being white and being slow on the defensive side of the ball tend to go hand and hand. Nothing racist in that analogy but comon lets keep it real ok.

Wouldn't call them studs yet but Jerebko and Casspi showed some good defense imo, footwork too, lateral quickness, stuff like that.

Bogut may be slow, but he is considered a defensive anchor, stud (?). Same for a guy like Laimbeer in the past. Both Gasols are considered good defenders, I'm sure there are more. Gortat is quick, defensive minded. Varejao. I don't think it has any thing to do with race or skin colour, so yeah, I think it's a prejudice.

[dTox]

it's funny at the amount of ppl overreacting to andreafan and not realizing that he's actually f**in with your heads on purpose

[Kabookalu]

John Stockton was amazing, Manu Ginobili is a very good defender, Ilyasova is tough as nails and a good defender.

There are others, but those are the first three names that pop into my head, for whatever reason.

I think Ginobili and Stockton were average at best. Ginobili looks better than he really is because of the system he plays in, Stockton tried making up for his lack of defense by being dirty. Didn't know about IIyasova because every time I see him he looks like he's Delfino's child or something. Kirk Hinrich before was regarded as the best man defender amongst point guards, and some people still consider him the best. And I guess you can say Ricky Rubio? Going back in time, Jerry West was an excellent defender.

IMO Kleiza has more tools/athleticism to be a more effective scorer in this league, but now Bargs is going to be fed the ball so he better be as good as you think

Really? In terms of physical tools I don't think really has much going for him. He doesn't have great lateral quickness which is why he's not a great defender, first step isn't that great, not particularly fast. Only thing he really has going for him is strength. Bargnani despite weighing more and being taller, is comparably fast and has a quicker first step.

[Too Late Crew]

? Are there any white defensive studs in the nba. Being white and being slow on the defensive side of the ball tend to go hand and hand. Nothing racist in that analogy but comon lets keep it real ok.

John Stockton was amazing, Manu Ginobili is a very good defender, Ilyasova is tough as nails and a good defender.

There are others, but those are the first three names that pop into my head, for whatever reason.

Andrei Kirilenko was 1st team all defense once and 2nd team twice.

Kirk Hinric is widley regarded as a top line defender.

Andrew Bogut is maybe the 2nd best defendive center in the NBA

[ash_k]

? Are there any white defensive studs in the nba. Being white and being slow on the defensive side of the ball tend to go hand and hand. Nothing racist in that analogy but comon lets keep it real ok.

Craig Ehlo was a pretty good one!

[Undefeated]

Wow...you make it sound like he's an ok defender. He's not. One of the reasons he left for Europe is because even Denver (!!!) found his defense too poor to play him in the playoffs, and he was completely benched a couple of games and barely got any minutes in several others.

And it's not an effort problem on his part. His problem is that he was too slow. You can work hard at team D, but if your man is getting past you and the rest of the defense can't give much help, it's a problem.

FWIW, I think he's an ok player. But it's not like he's the second coming of anything great. Borderline starter or starter on a bad team unless he can really raise his game a full level higher.

Linas Kleiza IS an average defender. There's nothing that supports that Kleiza is at least a big liability on the defensive end as you're suggesting.

Do you have any quotes that showed Linas was a poor defender in the 2008-2009 Playoffs thus resulting to him sitting on the bench? Because through 14 games of the '08-'09 post-season, Linas had a +/- of -6.8 per 100 possessions indicating he was no where near being a liability on defense.

That's why there's a zone defense to take advantage of Linas' size/width to prevent the defense from scoring inside. Sure, Linas doesn't have the lateral quickness to contain most SFs, though having the grit really does throw defenders off because they KNOW that Linas is going to give them a hard foul lying them to the ground. It's not a physical aspect, but a mental aspect similar to Dwight Howard who block shots by swatting them out of bounds, but it gives intimidation to not attack again knowing your shot is going to get swatted three or five rows into the stands.

[Strategist1]

I like Kleiza. He's the type of Euro player I like. I bash players like Bargs, Jose, and Turk (last year) sometimes cause they are soft.

I don't know if its because Kleiza developed partly in the NCAA system. I don't know. I like tough players.

I didn't mind Garbojosa when he was here either. BC looks like he has learned from some of his mistakes and is at least getting athletic/tough guys on this team. All he needs to do is get Jose out of here.

IMO, Kleiza can start in the NBA if the right players are around him. Unfortunately, Raps don't have the right players so it might not work at least initially.

But yea, I'm hoping he comes up big for the Raptors this season.

[Lionel Messi]

? Are there any white defensive studs in the nba. Being white and being slow on the defensive side of the ball tend to go hand and hand. Nothing racist in that analogy but comon lets keep it real ok.

John Stockton was amazing, Manu Ginobili is a very good defender, Ilyasova is tough as nails and a good defender.

There are others, but those are the first three names that pop into my head, for whatever reason.

Andrei Kirilenko was 1st team all defense once and 2nd team twice.

Kirk Hinric is widley regarded as a top line defender.

Andrew Bogut is maybe the 2nd best defendive center in the NBA

Yeah I can't believe I forgot Bogut, he's one of my favourite bigs in the league.

[PaperHoops]

Even before the FIBA Championships if you knew anything about Kleiza, you should've known he was capable of this type of performance on any stage at anytime.

Anyone who wasn't giving Kleiza his credit obv doesn't know any better. So, you just don't bother listening to those people. It's pretty simple.

And as soon as people stop giving guys labels like : He's our number 1 option, oh he should score X amount of points.... or so and so will be our 2nd leading scorer... - We can get back to putting our focus on the team and not these cookie cut roles that most fans seem to think define the NBA.

That is for fantasy players and those who play NBA2K. Colangelo has assembled a cast of players who know their roles and know how to be good teammates. The most interesting thing about this team is there is no clear cut number one guy anymore. It's basically there for the taking, and that should bring out some hunger in our players.

I hope Kleiza continues to have a great summer and brings his sharp play come October. He's poised to do as much or more as what we expected Hedo to be able to do in our run and gun offence.

[Kabookalu]

Oh we were including big men too? Pryzbilla is another name, in fact half this board wanted him before his injury.

[turnbuckle]

Is he a star? No. But is he a quality player with a potentially great QPR? Absolutely. As for his D, you're right, he's not a lockdown defender, although better at SF than PF. but then we don't need him to be a lockdown defender, we just need him to work hard at Team D. Just like everyone else on our team of weak defenders.

Wow...you make it sound like he's an ok defender. He's not. One of the reasons he left for Europe is because even Denver (!!!) found his defense too poor to play him in the playoffs, and he was completely benched a couple of games and barely got any minutes in several others.

And it's not an effort problem on his part. His problem is that he was too slow. You can work hard at team D, but if your man is getting past you and the rest of the defense can't give much help, it's a problem.

FWIW, I think he's an ok player. But it's not like he's the second coming of anything great. Borderline starter or starter on a bad team unless he can really raise his game a full level higher.

LOL - he say "he's not a lockdown defender" and you say "Wow....you make it sound like he's an ok defender."

Comprehension problems today? No one is saying he's super quick or a great defender.

[andreafan]

Good point guys , being white just makes you appear slower.

[ash_k]

Good point guys , being white just makes you appear slower.

still looking for trouble, ain't you?..

[Kabookalu]

Oh yeah if he counts since he's half, Shane Battier.

[pegcity]

40+ point games in the NBA:

Kleiza: 1
Bargnani: 0

Must mean he's better, right?

30-39 point games:

Kleiza: 0
Bargnani: 3

20-29 point games:

Kleiza: 20
Bargnani: 65
--------
Bargs is the more consistent scorer at the NBA level. Kleiza has to have improved a lot just to be as good as Bargnani. Yes, this is a totally arbitrary stat I've cherry picked to show what I want. Just making sure that's clear to everyone.

i honestly don't even know where to start. Cherry picking stats to prove your point is not a great argument.

Bargs has been gifted starters minutes and responsibilities since he came into the league, while Kleiza has been the back-up to one of top scorers in the league. Its actually shocked me that Bargs only has three 30pt. games.

-IMO Kleiza has more tools/athleticism to be a more effective scorer in this league, but now Bargs is going to be fed the ball so he better be as good as you think

Bargs has been gifted starter minutes but never given first or even really second option touches cause in our previous offense number one was CB4 and number 2 was the point guard who was playing the pick and roll game with CB4. And with CB4 out of the line up we just played hot potato until someone decides to shoot the ball. So this year I am hoping our offense will have more a structure to provide players with the ball in a position to take advantage of their skillets against a given defensive set. Previous year we have ran the same offense of pick and roll with cb4 and the pg of choice with one of 3 outcomes most of the time:
Ball being dumped into CB4
Point guard pulls up for a shot
Point guard turns the corner either driving for a layup or dishing to the corner.

[Lawnmower Man]

Oh yeah if he counts since he's half, Shane Battier.

Pfft. If we're counting halfsies, then you can include most of the "black" guys in the league.

[geiger444]

white defensive studs, the birdman, not larry bird has been in the tops for blocks and plays decent defense and isnt scared to take a charge or get dunked on, harpring and foster both play with grit and madness and you cant for get hoiberg

[canucks22]

hes not a rising star, hes a good player but not a star.