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Everything EuroBasket 2011

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  • #31
    Nice to see Lithuania beat GB. Was not happy to see Jonas only get 4 minutes.
    I was pleased with Bargnani's production. Not happy to see them lose. I missed the spain game but i saw the highlights. Pau Gasol and Marc Gasol are a potent duo.
    We all make mistakes... Tanking is not the answer.. This squad can ball! Let it roll!!

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    • #32
      It has to be hard for Raptors fans to be patient. The franchise has spent over a decade trying to put multiple stars on the floor at once, only to see one premiere talent leave before the next one has been properly groomed.

      Tracy McGrady left for Orlando in a sign-and-trade deal in 2000 just after he and second cousin Vince Carter pushed Toronto to its first playoff appearance in franchise history. Carter was gone by December of 2004, just as second-year power forward Chris Bosh was turning himself into a consistent double-double threat. And by the time former first-overall pick Andrea Bargnani was ready to become a consistent 20 PPG scorer, Bosh was forming his own dream town down in Miami.

      Now, with Bargnani signed through 2014-2015 (he does have an early-termination option for that season), it’s fifth-overall pick Jonas Valanciunas’ turn to end the cycle. President and general manager Bryan Colangelo made the tactful decision to draft the 7-foot Lithuanian despite a murky buyout situation with Lietuvos Rytas (he can join the Raptors in 2012-2013 once his $2.5 million buyout is paid). Obviously it’s a lot to ask of a fan base to wait an entire season for the arrival of a first-round pick, but the ongoing lockout might make that point completely moot. In fact, Valanciunas has an edge on American rookies, who won’t be playing any competitive basketball in 2011-2012 unless the work stoppage ends. Players like Kyrie Irving and Brandon Knight can only work out with private trainers—and will be praying they don’t injure themselves before signing their first NBA deal—while Valanciunas is ready to compete against top professional talent in EuroBasket, which begins today.

      Lithuania, which is hosting this year’s tournament, is in the “Group of Death” (Group A) with Spain, Turkey, Poland, Great Britain and Portugal. That might not be good for fans of the red, green and yellow, but Raptors supporters should eagerly anticipate the first great test of Valanciunas’ career.

      Obviously he shined during the U-19 FIBA Championships, where he pushed Lithuania to gold while earning MVP and leading the tournament in points, rebounds and blocks. But outside of Brazil’s Lucas Noguiera, an unpolished but athletic young center, and America’s Patric Young, the tournament was void of any reputable big man for Valanciunas to battle in the post.

      That won’t be the case in Group A, where he’ll face Spain’s Serge Ibaka, Marc and Pau Gasol and Portland Trail Blazers draft pick Victor Claver as well as Turkey’s Omer Asik, Ersan Ilyasova, Enes Kanter and Hedo Turkoglu. If and when Lithuania moves into the single-elimination portion of the tournament, European bigs like Germany’s Chris Kaman (ok, he’s from Grand Rapids), Italy’s Bargnani, France’s Boris Diaw, Russia’s Timofey Mozgov, Ukraine’s Kyrylo Fesenko and Georgia’s Zaza Pachulia will be lurking.

      Lithuania’s first two games come against Great Britain and a Marcin Gortat-less Poland squad, so Valanciunas will get his first major test Friday against Turkey. Then, on Sunday, Lithuania takes on Spain, the world’s second-ranked team, in the most-anticipated game of the group stage.

      Valanciunas likely won’t have a 30-point game or a two-five block nights, as he did in the U-19s, but he’s also going to get the experience of playing with and against NBA talent. Teammates Sarunas Jasikevicius and Darius Songaila have played in the NBA (and, oddly enough, both played college basketball in the ACC) while Marijonas Petravicius, who will soon be teaming with Deron Williams for Istabul’s Besiktas, remains one of the more reliable centers in Europe. Obviously Lithuania isn’t the favorite—the team hasn’t won a tournament since 2003 (European Championships) and finished third at both the 2007 EuroBasket and 2010 FIBA World Championships—but that should work to Valanciunas’ favor. Lithuania will definitely need his size, and without a glut of centers like Turkey or Spain, the 19-year-old big man should be able to get plenty of playing time.

      Raptors fans, it isn’t the Air Canada Centre and he’s still not technically on Toronto’s roster, but for the next few weeks your patience will be rewarded as Valanciunas tests himself at EuroBasket.
      http://www.hoopsworld.com/nba-am-tim...t-valanciunas/

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      • #33
        irgigi wrote: View Post
        Bargnani highlights in italy vs serbia
        http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bMuN40gM2wA


        As for Valanciunas yes, don't expect him play too much. I see him getting ~10 minutes at average. he is 3rd center, but i still see him playing 5-15 minutes in every game and maybe more, if it's his day. two other centers should average 15+15 minutes hopefully leaving 10mins to JV.
        Love those Bargnani highlights, especially the ones on defense. Also, it looks like he continued to play hard even as things got rough for Italy, which is a good sign.

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        • #34
          I'm live twetting from the game right now at @raul_ruscitti

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          • #35
            Macc wrote: View Post
            Love those Bargnani highlights, especially the ones on defense. Also, it looks like he continued to play hard even as things got rough for Italy, which is a good sign.
            Indeed ... boxed out well, used his body, moved his feet, looked aggressive. All great signs.
            Likely doesn't mean anything though ... unfortunately. haha

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            • #36
              why wasn't tristan thompson on team canada?

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              • #37
                Valanciunas only got 4 minutes in Lithuania's win over Great Britain. He did get 2 rebounds (offensive). I don't think anyone expected Valanciunas to get big minutes, because he is both inexperienced and the European basketball style usually gives an even distribution of minutes around. Game Report

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                • #38
                  joey_hesketh wrote: View Post
                  Indeed ... boxed out well, used his body, moved his feet, looked aggressive. All great signs.
                  Likely doesn't mean anything though ... unfortunately. haha
                  I liked how he boxed out mostly, and how he was in the paint a lot. Italy could've won if he had been given the ball more often in the first half (where it was pretty much Belinelli throwing bricks) and if Bargnani's second half performance was matched by Gallinari. Unfortunately, he ALWAYS plays well for Italy, but I haven't seen Bargnani box out like that, and stay in the paint all game. I even saw decent team defending there

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                  • #39
                    Valanciunas highlights (white shirt, No11) :

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                    • #40
                      today bargnani vs novitzki!
                      Let's go Raptors!

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                      • #41
                        NoPropsneeded wrote: View Post
                        why wasn't tristan thompson on team canada?
                        Tristan promised him mom he would go back to school over the summer to continue to work on his degree.
                        Twitter @WJ_FINDLAY

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                        • #42
                          I think insurance was a problem for Tristan Thompson as it took a while before Cory Joseph was cleared to play and because of the rookie pay scale Thompson's insurance was 3 or 4 times that of Joseph.

                          I watched some of the Brazil game last night and Canada played with great effort and intensity. The offense sputtered and was inconsistent as no player scored in double figures. Brazil switched and doubled off screens not allowing Rautins to get going. Splitter is Brazil's only NBAer as Barbosa, Nene, and Varajao are not with them.

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                          • #43
                            I think team canada will continue improving, we have lots of talented basketball players coming out of canada to enter the nba. When the next tournament comes we will be a much better team.

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                            • #44
                              Italy-Germany just started. Gallinari with 3 consecutive ridiculous plays...

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                              • #45
                                Bargnani off the bench again

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