# 2010 FIBA world Championships...Raptor Players



## billfindlay10 (Jan 24, 2003)

Day one is in the books, Linas Kleiza went of for 27 points on an efficient 11/15 shooting, 8/10 from 2 and 3/5 from 3. He added 8 boards in 34 minutes.

Barbosa had 13 points on 5/10 from the field (0/1 from 3) in 21 minutes. 

David Anderson had 22 points in 31 minutes on 7/10 shooting including 2/3 from 3. He added 9 boards and 4 assists, and assist are hard to come by in international ball so 4 is pretty nice. He gave his team the lead and the win with two clutch free throws very late in the game. 

All 3 players helped their teams to wins.


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## changv10 (Apr 25, 2005)

http://www.realgm.com/src_wiretap_archives/68894/20100829/barbosa_leads_brazil_to_victory/

Another good scoring showing from Barbosa, and leading his team to victory. This is good news!

http://www.tsn.ca/nba/story/?id=332051

A double double for Kleiza with 18/10. The raptors really have a solid presence in international ball.


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## billfindlay10 (Jan 24, 2003)

All 3 of our guys have been getting lots of minutes and have been playing relatively decent, although I would like to see better shooting percentages. 

Barbosa scored 14 vs. the USA and added 4 boards, 4 assists, and 4 steals. He did not shoot the ball well, but Brazil put a scare into the mighty USA only loosing by 2.


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## changv10 (Apr 25, 2005)

http://turkey2010.fiba.com/pages/en.../4728/sp/ALL/ss/PPG/srid/ALL/top-players.html

Kleiza is ranking high in scoring as well as at a high fg%. That's good skill along with intelligent decision making on taking good shots. 

The Brazilian blur Barbosa is raking high in steals and assists, things that could be very useful for the raptors in moving the ball and changing tempo's against other teams. 

Hope this translates smoothly with fewer minutes in the raptors roster.


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## seifer0406 (Jun 8, 2003)

I think Kleiza might make it to the all tournament team. Lithuania beat Spain today 76-73. Kleiza with team high 17 points on 7-14 shooting along with 8 rebounds. He's averaging around 20/9 in 3 games and Lithuania is 3-0 so far.


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## Babe Ruth (Dec 6, 2006)

Glad to see he's playing well, but we have to remember this is International ball which is different than the NBA. I personally don't expect him to put up those type of numbers with the Raptors.


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## billfindlay10 (Jan 24, 2003)

Babe Ruth said:


> Glad to see he's playing well, but we have to remember this is International ball which is different than the NBA. I personally don't expect him to put up those type of numbers with the Raptors.


I don't think anyone is thinking he will come in and put up 20 and 9, but he has been showing a more developed game than many here thought he had. Towards the end of the game vs. Spain he had a huge drive and finish to put his team up and sealed the win with two clutch free throws. Linas will bring some toughness and leadership to this Raptor's team that is lacking an identity. 

Would I be surprised if he averages 14 and 6, no, will I be surprised if he is not the starter on opening day, yes.


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## Babe Ruth (Dec 6, 2006)

I'll keep my judgement on him till he plays a few pre-season games. I've never been a fan of Linas game, but we'll see what he can bring to the table for us during the regular season.


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## speedythief (Jul 16, 2003)

LK is playing pretty good. We're going to lack scoring this season so we can use his shooting and slashing. Any word on whether Triano prefers him or Weems?


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## Babe Ruth (Dec 6, 2006)

I don't believe we'll get a clear indication on who he prefers till he gets a good look at Linas in training camp and the preseason. 

Weems as been working on his game this off-season, so he might be improved from last year as well.


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## changv10 (Apr 25, 2005)

i'm guessing Triano will have to play different starting lineups. We won't be winnig, so he'll be experimenting. Teams with big strong SF will get Linas, teams with smaller athletic 3's will get Weems.


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## changv10 (Apr 25, 2005)

Kleiza comes through again! Had a big game to knock out China and scores 30 and 9 boards. 

http://espn.go.com/extra/fiba/boxscore?gameId=300909932

STARTERS MIN FGM-A 3PM-A FTM-A OREB REB AST STL BLK TO PF PTS 
Linas Kleiza 36 14-22 0-2 2-3 0 9 2 0 0 1 1 30 

It's exciting to see those numbers : )

Did anyone see the game, and if so, can you comment?


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## billfindlay10 (Jan 24, 2003)

Here is a link to a good article from The Sun on Linas and his development over the last year in Europe. http://www.torontosun.com/sports/basketball/2010/09/06/15262956.html

I really think we are getting a better player than we saw in Denver two years ago.


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## changv10 (Apr 25, 2005)

Nice read - 

"“You appreciate the fact that he played for one of the top teams, got to the final four of the league championship and got to be the man, the go-to guy. 

“You feel that not only has his confidence stepped up but he’s become a more important personality to add to the picture.”"

The last part of the article makes me believe he'll be like Anthony Parker was in our team (mvp of euroleague for one of the top teams) ... great glue guy that does everything asked of him well, plus add in some rebounding at the 3 which is key for our rebounding-deficient team.


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## seifer0406 (Jun 8, 2003)

If Kleiza gets close to 30 min a game this year I expect 15/7 from him.


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## billfindlay10 (Jan 24, 2003)

Here is another new article on Kleiza http://nba.fanhouse.com/2010/09/07/new-and-improved-linas-kleiza-looking-forward-to-nba-return/ He is not going to be our savior, but he could end up being a solid piece going forward that will help us be competitive much more quickly than most have predicted.


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## Babe Ruth (Dec 6, 2006)

Let him play a few games in our uniform first, everyone was all gitty about getting Hedo last off-season and we all know what happened. I thought getting Hedo was a mistake and I'm not to fond about the Kleiza signing as of yet.


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## billfindlay10 (Jan 24, 2003)

Babe Ruth said:


> Let him play a few games in our uniform first, everyone was all gitty about getting Hedo last off-season and we all know what happened. I thought getting Hedo was a mistake and I'm not to fond about the Kleiza signing as of yet.


Hedo was brought in to be an allstar type player, Linas was not even though of as a starter. I am sure he will at, the minimum, meet expectations.


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## c_dog (Sep 15, 2002)

let's keep the expectations low. nenad krstic, the scrub center for the thunder managed to get 13 points 9 rebounds against spain. i think the international game is indeed quite different. i think linas kleiza has shown some growth but at this point I'm not expecting much more than anthony parker production.


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## Pacers Fan (Aug 25, 2002)

c_dog said:


> let's keep the expectations low. nenad krstic, *the scrub center for the thunder* managed to get 13 points 9 rebounds against spain. i think the international game is indeed quite different. i think linas kleiza has shown some growth but at this point I'm not expecting much more than anthony parker production.


Since when does starting 76 games and averaging 23 mpg make you a scrub?


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## changv10 (Apr 25, 2005)

http://turkey2010.fiba.com//pages/e...728/gid/A/grid/72/rid/6946/sid/4728/game.html

The Lithuanian sensation keeps rolling ... crushing Argentina. Kleiza got 17/9 ... total team effort with good defense on Scola. Argentina just accepted the defeat and took it as men ... good sportsmanship. 

Lithuania vs. USA next ... will be good to see how Kleiza does against bigger known names like Rudy Gay, Danny Granger, Lamar Odom.


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## Diable (Apr 26, 2005)

Kleiza destroyed Argentina today...I bet that breaks the hearts of some of you though. Those numbers don't really tell you the story. Lithuania was actually cruising the entire second half and Kleiza didn't play big minutes.


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## billfindlay10 (Jan 24, 2003)

Diable said:


> Kleiza destroyed Argentina today...*I bet that breaks the hearts of some of you though.* Those numbers don't really tell you the story. Lithuania was actually cruising the entire second half and Kleiza didn't play big minutes.


Quite a few Raptor fans have a hard time seeing the benefit for the team and only see their favorite player not getting the love they think he deserves. I for one am happy to have Linas on the roster as well as ALL our other wings.


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## seifer0406 (Jun 8, 2003)

Diable said:


> Kleiza destroyed Argentina today...I bet that breaks the hearts of some of you though. Those numbers don't really tell you the story. Lithuania was actually cruising the entire second half and Kleiza didn't play big minutes.


I watched the game, it was over in the first half. They did a great job on Scola and pretty much shut him down for the first 3 quarters. Lithuania was just having one of those can't miss games. Everything they threw up was going down.


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## c_dog (Sep 15, 2002)

Pacers Fan said:


> Since when does starting 76 games and averaging 23 mpg make you a scrub?


you obviously wouldn't be saying this if you tried watching him play in the nba. just ugly basketball. dude is a stiff that gets minutes for no good reason.

collison, and ibaka were way better and more effective players than krstic. but i personally don't really care if he's good or not because he's not a raptors player.

as for linas, I'll just say I don't want to set myself for another disappointment again. i just don't have enough faith in BC's eye for talent at this point.


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## changv10 (Apr 25, 2005)

changv10 said:


> http://turkey2010.fiba.com//pages/e...728/gid/A/grid/72/rid/6946/sid/4728/game.html
> 
> The Lithuanian sensation keeps rolling ... crushing Argentina. Kleiza got 17/9 ... total team effort with good defense on Scola. Argentina just accepted the defeat and took it as men ... good sportsmanship.
> 
> Lithuania vs. USA next ... will be good to see how Kleiza does against bigger known names like Rudy Gay, Danny Granger, Lamar Odom.


Noted - keep expectations low. Kleiza defended by Iguodala today ... completely shut down with 1/11 performance. To iguodala's credit, he is a real good defender. I guess Kleiza will struggle against a tough defender.


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## Diable (Apr 26, 2005)

Kleiza is the best player on the Lithuanian team. Some of the best coaches in the world thought about defending him in this game. That's not going to happen in the NBA...the opposing coach has to worry about Sonny Weems.


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## billfindlay10 (Jan 24, 2003)

Linas did have a poor game going out, I only got to watch the game from about 4 minutes left in the second quarter. Lithuania did not run a very good offense late in the game and there were very little easy hoops. Kleiza has one more game to go out on high note, I know it will not be against the NBA caliber guys on the US roster, but it is a medal game and I hope he bounces back.


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## c_dog (Sep 15, 2002)

i hope kleiza is able to be an effective player in the nba. sure i'm pulling for sonny weems, but if kleiza is able to play better than weems then he deserves to start. that game against nba SF's is not very encouraging however. i think he does have an advantage against other euro teams because for a euro kleiza loves to play physically in the paint. that tends to work out pretty well for him whenever he's not being guarded by iguodala, who is possibly the best defender on team USA--maybe the entire tournament.


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## changv10 (Apr 25, 2005)

billfindlay10 said:


> Linas did have a poor game going out, I only got to watch the game from about 4 minutes left in the second quarter. Lithuania did not run a very good offense late in the game and there were very little easy hoops. Kleiza has one more game to go out on high note, I know it will not be against the NBA caliber guys on the US roster, but it is a medal game and I hope he bounces back.


Wish granted - Kleiza bounces back: http://www.realgm.com/src_wiretap_archives/69085/20100912/lithuania_tops_serbia_for_bronze/

Glad he led his team to get the bronze, nice accomplishment. Now if we can avoid playing teams with Iguodala like defenders, that'd be great


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## billfindlay10 (Jan 24, 2003)

In all fairness to Kleiza, I am sure most teams will not be gearing their whole defense to stop him. Kleiza will be a third option on offense behind Andrea, Derozan (I think we will force feed him this year), and to a lesser extent, Jack. I must say that with reading the off-season articles on Weems and Kleiza I am feel much better about our group of wings than I was at the end of the season.


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## changv10 (Apr 25, 2005)

Kleiza absolutely packed the stats:
http://turkey2010.fiba.com//pages/e...728/gid/A/grid/79/rid/6948/sid/4728/game.html

33 points, 7 boards, 4 assists, 3 steals, 67% shooting (5/7 from 3pt territory). 

That's dominating ... too bad tough defenses changes his productivity so drastically.


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## changv10 (Apr 25, 2005)

http://turkey2010.fiba.com/pages/eng/fe/10/fwcm/news/p/eid/4728/nid/44610/sid/4728/article.html

More good news, Linas Kleiza made the FIBA first team, along with Kevin Durant, Luis Scola, Hedo Turkoglu and Teodosic.


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## ballocks (May 15, 2003)

it's crazy how these games weren't televised for us. absolutely crazy. and to think we now have channels _devoted to basketball_- that we _pay for_- that face programming challenges to _fill the summer months_ makes it totally baffling.

yes, they showed a handful of games at graveyard hours, most of them on tape delay, but that only reinforces the point: they'll give you a dabble just to prevent you from claiming they didn't feed you at all. it's all public relations. it's like they're even allowing us to sit in the board room with them- and gloating at us because they know we can't fight back. it's kindergarten all over again, "there's /// *nothing* /// you can /// *do*..."

i've never felt so taken advantage of as a fan. honestly. i'm at wit's end. it's good to see kleiza doing well. and barbosa looked good in the highlights i saw. but shoot... i can hardly ignore the fact that we're talking about kleiza and barbosa. 

peace


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