Nikola Vucevic has been a star of the NBA for 12 years. From the beginning in Philadelphia, through performances in Orlando, in whose jersey he reached the All-Stars twice (2019 and 2021), and to the games in Chicago, the Montenegrin national team player is fighting under the basket with American stars and the best players in the world.
And after numerous games in the NBA league, it was time for the match against the Americans in the national team jersey. Montenegro achieved a historic result at Mundobasket, advancing to the second stage, and the first game is tomorrow (10.40, broadcast on TV Vijesti) against the United States of America.
America did not arrive at Mundobasket with the strongest team. But, regardless, Steve Kerr's boys did the first stage easily, they didn't sweat against Greece, New Zealand and Jordan, so they are, with full right, the first candidate for the gold medal.
"It will be a tough match. America is an excellent team, although they came with a rejuvenated team, without the biggest stars. They are all players who are leaders in their clubs. They want to prove themselves, win gold and show that they can dominate even without the biggest stars." , Vucevic began his analysis of the match against the United States of America.
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The basketball team of Montenegro has played many important, historical matches, but considering the name of the rival, this is perhaps the biggest match.
"It's up to us to play the best we can, to do our best, not to give up no matter how the game goes. It's a big deal to play against America. We have to be focused. I expect us to prepare well and respond to their quality," he said. is a Chicago basketball player.
How against the USA?
"They play a lot differently than in Europe. There is more freedom, there are no actions, but there are systems from which they play and read. There is a lot of freedom for the players, who show their abilities. They also play with a lot of passing and movements that are not easy to track. They are athletic powerful, the same in transition. We will have to try to reduce their number of easy points. Against such teams and players, you have to be ready for 40 minutes, there must be no drops. They will always want more and we have to answer that," said Vucevic .
In the racket, Baranin will fight with Jaren Jackson, the best defender of the NBA in the previous season. There is young Utah basketball player Walker Kessler and Milwaukee star Bobby Portis.
"Both Jackson, Kessler and Portis, they also used Banker at the five position, each of them has a certain quality. Jackson was the best defender in the NBA, he is excellent near the basket, as far as blocks are concerned, he creates problems in the endgame and we will have to let's pay attention. Kesler is a strong center, Portis is mobile, and Bankero will cause us a lot of problems in attack," explained Vucevic.
The Montenegrin representative has a clear message before this game.
"We will also have some advantages that we can use. We will have to play smart, to try to get them into fouls. We have quality that we have to show. We have to respect them as much as possible, but we shouldn't be afraid of them. They are people too. We will have to play the best we can. No fear," said Nikola Vucevic.
Montenegro will play against Greece on Sunday (10.40).
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