Announcement

Collapse
No announcement yet.

Linas Update? (post 54: Kleiza active and in uniform vs. Kings!)

Collapse
X
 
  • Filter
  • Time
  • Show
Clear All
new posts

  • #16
    On offence, Kleiza (when consistent) is better then Butler IMO, but Butler has only played 5 games with the Raps, and after last night, it may be that he has found his rhythm. Something that really impressed me about Butler is he does not shy away from taking the big shot. Though I doubt it, if Butler can be a guy to give us a little scoring tap at the end of games and take the big shots, Butler has my vote.

    On Defence, many interesting things were said. Ceez said he does not defend. While that is not true (Kleiza showed he was capable of defending) I do not think Kleiza will do well with Dwane Casey defence. As we have seen, that is not a factor with Butler, and imo he is doing very well on D. This link at http://www.sportsoverdose.com/nba-players/linas-kleiza says that Kleiza is hoping to return mid January. If that is true, with the shortened season and lack of practice, I find it hard to believe that Kleiza will be able to grasp this defence, and I think he will become a liability.

    With Butler's contract, and the fact that we can just trust him more then Kleiza right now, I would say Butler is better then Kleiza. All my opinion.

    Hope I helped ya out WJF.

    Comment


    • #17
      Oh and just to address the people who said that Butler is not a consistent shooter, or that statistically Kleiza is a better shooter, that is all wrong. Kleiza shot 63% from the FT in Toronto, and less then .300 behind the three point line, while Butler has made almost a name for shooting threes. Even watching the NBA.com recap for the game yesterday, one of the things they said was, and I quote,

      "Rasual Butler! He has been known to take a three."
      "Yes he has."

      Comment


      • #18
        I agree that he will struggle to find his place on Casey's Offense/Defense, but there is something else to consider. Kleiza is a 6"8 PF who was relegated to shooting 3's in Denver, so we figured he could shoot 3's for us here in Toronto. The fact is he was a post-up PF at Missouri and was a PF in Europe where he dominated for a year. He has the most refined post-up game on the Raptors, the best since Bosh. However, he is only 6'8, his shooting last year was below his historical average and injuries were a significant factor.

        Look, he is 7 years younger than Butler and I think yesterday against the Knicks was the first game where he score more than 1 FG. He is by far a better wing defender than Kleiza and has been shooting threes for much longer. The fact is Kleiza can rebound, shoot, and post-up is only 26 so I expect his shooting to improve. He's stronger than Amir and Davis so he'd be a good choice to defend physical power forwards.
        -"You can’t run from me. I mean, my heart don’t bleed Kool-Aid."
        -"“I ain’t no diva! I don’t have no blond hair, red hair. I’m Reggie Evans.”

        Comment


        • #19
          Only one thing is going to settle whether Kleiza is going to be a key piece or whther he is going to be waived: how he plays when he comes back. Considering both his limited NB role in Denver and the uncertainties surounding his recovery, I think it's pretty pointless to try and guess what to expect. We just have to wait and see.

          Comment


          • #20
            Yeah but what about the thread? Do someone knows something about his condition, when will he come back, etc.?

            Comment


            • #21
              And that's why we're all keyboard warriors and not GM's. Seriously let's send him away or subject him to ignorant preconceptions before we even see what we have? Thankfully I guarantee Kleiza will have his opportunity to either impress or disappoint predicated on his own performance. If he's better than Butler/Johnson great we have options, if he isn't then great we have other options.

              Comment


              • #22
                charlesnba23 wrote: View Post
                Yeah but what about the thread? Do someone knows something about his condition, when will he come back, etc.?
                They said 4-6 weeks at the start of the season. I would imagine he is now 3-5 weeks.

                This Lithuanian article from 2 days ago is saying he will appear in around 2 weeks (keep in mind it was translated with Google Translate):


                Predicted that this season the only NBA playing Lithuanian site will appear in less than two weeks.

                http://www.15min.lt/naujiena/sportas...#axzz1iUbfVgsa

                Comment


                • #23
                  The Lithuanian article gives the two weeks number based on a quote from Mike Ganter of the Toronto Sun.

                  Comment


                  • #24
                    Red and White wrote: View Post
                    Oh and just to address the people who said that Butler is not a consistent shooter, or that statistically Kleiza is a better shooter, that is all wrong. Kleiza shot 63% from the FT in Toronto, and less then .300 behind the three point line, while Butler has made almost a name for shooting threes. Even watching the NBA.com recap for the game yesterday, one of the things they said was, and I quote,

                    "Rasual Butler! He has been known to take a three."
                    "Yes he has."
                    Kleiza, was injured in pre-season its the same reason Barbosa's numbers are down from when he was in Phoenix. And I said career numbers, not saying that last year he was a better player than Butler.

                    Look, Butler shooting 3's reminds me of the glory days of Jamario Moon only difference being, Butler will proabaly only average 3 shots a game. He's a cross between an old Jamario and Antoine Wright, which is perfectly fine as a one year rental.

                    If healthy, the team will go with Kleiza, JJ and a SF lottery pick going forward.
                    -"You can’t run from me. I mean, my heart don’t bleed Kool-Aid."
                    -"“I ain’t no diva! I don’t have no blond hair, red hair. I’m Reggie Evans.”

                    Comment


                    • #25
                      Back before the season started they guessed sometime in mid-January he would be back. Seeing him working so hard, and without any visible ailments (in the background of all these training camp videos) makes me think he could be ready for the on court contact in roughly that mid-Jan timeframe.

                      He will be a great addition to our questionable depth. He can play some minutes at 3/4 as needed.
                      The only way to bag a classy lady is to give her two tickets to the gun show... and see if she likes the goods.

                      Comment


                      • #26
                        Right, we have 3 starters and 2 back-ups that can score, having another reliable bench option will help this team.
                        -"You can’t run from me. I mean, my heart don’t bleed Kool-Aid."
                        -"“I ain’t no diva! I don’t have no blond hair, red hair. I’m Reggie Evans.”

                        Comment


                        • #27
                          really? Last I saw http://www.kleiza.com said he was stil a month or 2 away from playing condition. And even at that "playing condition" doesnt nessecarily mean full games. I'd still say 4-6 weeks minimum

                          Comment


                          • #28
                            tucas wrote: View Post
                            really? Last I saw http://www.kleiza.com said he was stil a month or 2 away from playing condition. And even at that "playing condition" doesnt nessecarily mean full games. I'd still say 4-6 weeks minimum
                            Leo and Matt were commenting last night on how he has been practising with the team ( I don't know if full contact) and that we would be seeing him fairly soon, 1-2 weeks.
                            Twitter @WJ_FINDLAY

                            Comment


                            • #29
                              Kleiza.com site doesn't look like reliable source, more like someone made this site to make money, if you click on advertisements. Kleiza was projected to return Mid January, i'd say we wait two weeks and see. It was being said, he is ahead of the plan. If he's not on the court mid January, reporters should start asking questions, or they can start now.

                              Comment


                              • #30
                                e2thed wrote: View Post
                                Kleiza is a beast, hes got size and toughness and the offense to back it up, but the consistency is the biggest question mark.
                                +1. His offence on the second unit will make that much of a difference rather than Butler's defence as a starter. Melo did drop 35 on us at will remember? Melo of course was dropping 31 everywhere but if he dropped 23 on us that night (with Butler and JJ covering him), then I'd shut up.

                                PS> Also, watching JJ on offence last night made me cringe even more. I'm comfortable with JJ starting and Linas / Butler off the bench.
                                Last edited by Balls of Steel; Thu Jan 5, 2012, 09:29 AM.
                                “The saving of our world from pending doom will come, not through the complacent adjustment of the conforming majority, but through the creative maladjustment of a nonconforming minority.” - Martin Luther King

                                Comment

                                Working...
                                X