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http://www.google.com/hostednews/can...bw0n0OO70t3R6wQuote:
Kleiza's 27 points lead Lithuania over New Zealand 92-79 at basketball worlds
By The Associated Press (CP) – 1 hour ago
IZMIR, Turkey — Linas Kleiza scored 27 points and Paulius Jankunas added 15 as Lithuania beat New Zealand 92-79 in the opening round of the world championships on Saturday.
He will be our starting SF.
Yah im startin to get a lil excited on Kleiza, everytime i see any scouting reports on the Lithuania team, they always warn of him and such. Then again considering the rest of the roster, he's seems to be only guy to be a lil feared of -_-... anyone else on the Lithuania team worth mentioning?
He might not be, it might be better if Weems start to build chemistry.Quote:
zapffe wrote:
On another note, new Raptor David Anderson of Australia, had an impressive showing against Jordan earlier and they just barely won 76-75. He iced the game with his 2 late FTs...
http://turkey2010.fiba.com/pages/eng...8/article.html
Anderson's line:
22 pts, 9 rebs, 4 ast (2/3 from 3PT, 6/7 from FT)
We shall see when training camp begins. Sonny is undersized for a SF position, unless they decide to move Demar to SF and Sonny to SG. I'm leaning towards Linas starting at this point.
Kleiza is definitely going to start. He is a beast. He is ALOT better than Weems. Starting Weems over Kleiza is just stupid. Kleiza is a proven player, played quite a handful of games at Denver, and played well from what I've seen (maybe 10 games). And I watched many of his games in Europe, and he's a champion and averages nearly 20 a game last year. So yes he's starting, over a guy that is unproven, and all he can do is bring energy and score alley-oops? Kleiza can rebound, shoot and space the floor and can actually play some D.
I think Demar is still too weak for SF position, especially in defense.Quote:
jk1m wrote:
What I like about the team is no spot is reserved (except Bargnani's) and they'll have to earn it during the camp.
Almost nobody in this year's team...Lithuania (as Italy) had better teams in the past.Quote:
Blasterfi9 wrote:
Just a note: he's played as PF, where he made so great last season with Olympiakos. Last year, in the Eurobasket Championship, he played as SF, and were horrible.
I mean, in FIBA games he's best suited as PF and his game changes a lot, so I think we must see his performance in this Championship with caution ;)
Fresh highlights from the Lithuania-New Zealand game earlier (Kleiza has a few of them)...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IV9NjcZO_tI
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RAPS4LIFE wrote:
The one thing that I have been impressed with in watching the highlights of this game and his game against team USA is that Kleiza is really aggressive at taking it to the basket.
It is just too bad he doesn't have better handles.:)
And better shoot selection...:( (despite today's game)Quote:
Buddahfan wrote:
http://static.stuff.co.nz/1283013689/748/4072748.jpg
BLOCKED: Tall Blacks point guard Lindsay Tait drives baseline and eventually had his shot blocked by Lithuania's Linas Kleiza during the opening game at the FIBA World Championship.
Tall Blacks FallQuote:
Tall Blacks fall in World Championship opener
By SCOTT PRESTON in Izmir - Stuff
Last updated 06:39 29/08/2010
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There was no first-game upset for the New Zealand Tall Blacks as they fell 92-79 to Lithuania in their FIBA World Championship opener in Izmir.
Despite a game-high 37 points from shooting guard Kirk Penney, New Zealand fell victim to Lithuania's high screen-and-roll and inside presence as forward Linas Kleiza went for 27 points and eight rebounds.
Kleiza, now with the Toronto Raptors, torched the Tall Blacks with 11-of-15 shooting from the field, including 3-of-5 on three-point attempts, and was assisted by 15 points from big man Paulius Jankunas and 14 points from Jonas Maciulis.
A second quarter disaster, where the Tall Blacks were out-scored 25-10 and allowed Lithuania easy basket after easy basket, ultimately cost them the game. Although they made small runs in the third and fourth quarters, New Zealand could not find the big momentum-changing basket to seriously threaten down the stretch.
"We came out and didn't execute defensively and that set the tone for us," forward Tom Abercrombie said. "Giving up 92 points or whatever it was isn't going to win you many games.