The echoes of the ACB League resonated in the TD Garden in the first game of the NBA finals this Thursday. The most outstanding players from each team cut their teeth in the Spanish competition before making the jump to the best professional basketball league in the world. It was already clear from former Madrid player Luka Dončić that he would be the Mavericks’ reference figure, as in almost every game. What few expected was that the star of the game would be Latvian center Kristaps Porzingis, who reappeared after more than a month away from the field due to a muscle injury.
The Celtics have had one…
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The echoes of the ACB League resonated in the TD Garden in the first game of the NBA finals this Thursday. The most outstanding players from each team cut their teeth in the Spanish competition before making the jump to the best professional basketball league in the world. It was already clear from former Madrid player Luka Dončić that he would be the Mavericks’ reference figure, as in almost every game. What few expected was that the star of the game would be Latvian center Kristaps Porzingis, who reappeared after more than a month away from the field due to a muscle injury.
The Celtics have had almost unbeatable results in these weeks in which the starting center has been recovering. Porzingis was injured in Game 4 of the first round of the playoffs, against the Miami Heat on April 29. Since he left the court, the Celtics had recorded only one loss compared to nine wins, the last seven in a row. Those from Boston easily eliminated the Miami Heat and the Cleveland Cavaliers (4-1 in both cases), before sweeping Indiana (4-0) in the Eastern Conference final. Dominican veteran Al Horford, 38, more than fulfilled his duties by covering the Latvian.
Despite these precedents, the TD Garden vibrated when the 28-year-old, 2.18-meter center jumped in to warm up this Thursday, even though the stands were still half empty. He burst into applause before the game began, with the pavilion already packed, when the screens showed his image and the loudspeakers announced his name. He started on the bench, but when barely five minutes into the game, it was his time.
With 11 points in seven minutes, accompanied by several rebounds and blocks, he allowed the Celtics to put the ball in the middle in the first quarter (37-20). It was a victory almost by KO. The Latvian went into halftime with 18 points in just 13 minutes of play, completing a series of seven baskets out of nine attempts, including two of the three triples he shot, three rebounds and two blocks. Those from Dallas got up from the canvas a few minutes before halftime and in the third quarter, but received another partial to the jaw that made them think ahead of time about the second game.
After the victory, the Latvian center thanked the TD Garden audience for their reception. “From warming up before the game and then walking onto the court, getting that kind of support was unreal. Adrenaline was running through my veins and that definitely helped. Obviously, it wasn’t ideal to be out for so long, but I did everything I could to prepare myself mentally for the moment of my return, and it was worth it,” he explained at the end of the game.
“He was great on both sides of the court, defensive execution, game plan, playing for position on offense, being physical and making plays on both sides of the court. I think he has played very well and that he is the KP that has helped us get to where we are today,” explained his coach, Joe Mazzulla.
The Latvian center signed for Boston from the Washington Wizards at the beginning of the season. Porzingis, who still speaks Spanish very well, arrived in Seville as a teenager and cut his teeth in Baloncesto Sevilla of the ACB League before being chosen by the New York Knicks in fourth place in the 2015 draft. At times, some saw in He was a player comparable to Pau Gasol, but injuries and perhaps a little less character caused him to lose shine after a promising start in the professional league.
His most disappointing period was precisely in the Dallas Mavericks, where he met Luka Dončić, but that potentially devastating duo never came together. “I really don’t know why it didn’t work. We were still young. We tried to make it work, but it just didn’t work. So we keep going,” said the Slovenian before the game. “It has been great for them,” he admitted at the end, “it has been very important for them on both sides of the court.”
The Latvian found himself again as a protagonist in the Washington Wizards who have been playing a secondary role in the NBA for years, sometimes below their level. Not only is he in this year’s final, but Daniel Gafford, Washington’s other center from the previous season, starts in the Mavericks. To sign Porzingis, the Celtics sacrificed one of their most charismatic players, Marcus Smart, who entered into a multi-pronged operation.
Joe Mazzulla, the young coach of the Celtics, highly values the defensive contribution of the center, but also that he is a skilled player with the ball, capable of alternating with guarantees a three-point shot with a dunk under the rim. Perhaps his movements or his size are as impressive as those of the Frenchman Wembanyama, but he is not far away in height and surpasses him in experience and aim. His participation has allowed the Celtics to close the regular season as the best team in the NBA by far. He has been able to accept that Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown are the stars of the team, but he knows that his role is also decisive.
This Thursday, before the game, the Celtics players paid tribute to Bill Walton, the star somewhat hampered by injuries who rediscovered his passion for winning in Boston and who is remembered in the city with great affection. Since the 1986 title to which he contributed, the Celtics have only won one more (2008) in nearly four decades. If Porzingisle’s injuries are spared in the remainder of the final, Boston’s team will be closer to achieving another.
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2024-06-08 03:15:00
#triumphant #return #Kristaps #Porzingis #Basketball #Sports
