Brazdeikis & Kalnietis miss the trip to Belgrade 1

Jonas Leksas, BasketNews.com

Zalgiris Kaunas head coach Kazys Maksvytis confirmed that Ignas Brazdeikis and Mantas Kalnietis won’t travel to Belgrade for the Crvena Zvezda game.

At the moment, Zalgiris have many injury issues. Brazdeikis, Kalnietis, Tomas Dimsa, and Karolis Lukosiunas are out due to non-Covid illnesses. Lukas Lekavicius suffered a broken rib injury, while Liutauras Lelevicius hurt his leg in Sunday’s LKL game against Pieno Zvaigzdes Pasvalys and didn’t play in the second half.

“They [Kalnietis and Brazdeikis] won’t travel on Monday,” Maksvytis confirmed after the win against Pieno Zvaigzdes. “They are not fully fit yet. The best-case scenario is that both of them will be available for the second game against Real Madrid.”

Brazdeikis averages 10.6 points, 3.1 rebounds, 1.3 assists, and 6.9 PIR in 12 EuroLeague games.

Meanwhile, Kalnietis featured in only two EuroLeague games, averaging 5 minutes, 0.5 rebounds, 1.5 assists, and -1.5 PIR. He is yet to score in the 2022-23 EuroLeague season.

However, Maksvytis is hopeful that Dimsa and Lukosiunas will be available for Tuesday’s game.

“We won the game [against Pieno Zvaigzdes], but our minds are different. It’s a difficult period for the team. Lekavicius is the only injured player, but many others are sick. We hope that Dimsa and Lukosiunas will be back on Monday.

It’s a difficult period that we must overcome. Thank God we won today with some good minutes for every player,” Maksvytis continued.

Zalgiris will face Crvena Zvezda on Tuesday at 19:00 CET.