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Seibutis: Point guard position is no longer a problem

Kalnietis's absence has almost not been felt in Lithuania's performance and that's the best piece of news for their forwards. Lithuania have a great H2H score against Lithuania and they are brimming with confidence ahead of what might be the crucial game in this group

The Australians didn't cry over spilt milk in their first game against Slovenia for long and their game against Korea showed what they're made of. An easy final score of +34 without breaking a sweat as coach Lemanis rotated all 12 players is very good news ahead of their crucial game in the group.

- We needed a game like this. We went in with maximum dedication and we picked up the level of our defense in comparison to the first game. We have to continue going this way - said Lemanis.

Their next opponent will be a much more serious test for Australia's defense. They're facing Lithuania in a match to decide their ranking at the top. Lemanis has a high opinion of his opponents even though he claims that one situation made his scouting more difficult:

- Kalnietis's injury is a huge loss for them and we've spent a lot of time scouting to see how they function without him. They're still an extraordinary team with plenty of tall, strong players and they force their opponents to make a lot of turnover - said Lemanis.

The Australians have a certain fear of Lithuania who beat them four times at the Olympics and Brad Newley, who played in Lietuvos Rytas, confirmed this:

- I've talked to some guys from their team whom I know privately and they're sure they can beat us. We've had lots of problems with their game in the past but we're hoping this will change now.

Psyche can have a crucial role in games like this so this information is quite important. The crucial battle will be led in the paint between NBA centers Baynes and Valanciunas. Baynes is Australia's crucial figure and a lot of attacks go through him. But Valanciunas can definitely stop him, especially with some help from Monteijunas and Lavrinovič brothers, which means this could be a problem for Australia, all the more so as Jawai is clearly not ready for maximum pressure despite his 10 minutes against Korea.

Lithuania had a routine introduction, as is expected from an experienced team. We've already mentioned that the draw has been very kind to them as they opened this tournament with two easy games against Mexico and Angola, which gave them a chance to organize their game without Kalnietis.

One could say they've passed their test as they got a great replacement in Juskevicius when they saw that their planned second point guard Vasiliauskas is not up to the task. Seitubis and Pocius help out on the point guard position and Lithuania haven't lost any quality in terms of organization. An interesting thing that many people mention is the so-called "Lithuanian third period". That is the period in which they crushed both Mexico and Angola, even though their performance was quite pale up to that point. Their shooting guard Pocius tried to explain that phenomenon:

- We start off slow most of the times and we play poorly in the first half but then our coach rips us a new one in the dressing room and we go out more aggressively. Then there's the confidence as we know that we can turn things around regardless of the result and the opponents.

Lithuania have shown that during the preparations and they turned things around after going down by 20 points against Brazil. Huge confidence, great team spirit and very good performances will be Lithuania's main asset today. They beat Australia in a friendly match by 91-78, but coach Kazlauskas believes this will be a different game:

- We played at home then and we had Kalnietis. This will be a very demanding game. Australia play an incredible basketball, they're very quick, they have a fast shot, they're playing with lots of running and blocks and you have to get used to that.

Lithuania should primarily pay attention to turnovers as that has been their biggest problem so far and Australia are great in transition. If their point guards do a good job, Lithuania have a solid chance and  Reinaldas Seibutis has no doubt about that:

- The point guard position is no longer a problem. Juskevicius and Vasiliauskas have taken over the reins with the help of the entire team and they've done a great job making up for Kalnietis's absence. I have no worries about that position.

Lithuania definitely don't lack confidence. They have the quality, the psychological advantage over Australia in every aspect and they just have to confirm it on the court. Realistically speaking, they have a huge advantage over the 'Boomers'.

I think Baynes is well overrated here. He is a tough center, he moves well, but he also lacks technical skills, which will be very important today since he will face stronger players, who move better. Banes proved to be the key offense player in the first two games. He first scored 21 points against Slovenia, with the perfect efficiency. But Jawai was not participating in that game. Jawai was in the game for ten minutes against Korea and Baynes scored only 13 points. Korea don't have a proper center, and Baynes scored most of his points following offensive rebounds. That will not happen today since not many teams control the rebound as well as Lithuania. Australia know there will be no chance for them there, and will have to set a fast pace with forwards leading the game, definitely not center Baynes.