Years pass, and Nikola Vučević is still consistently good in the strongest basketball league in the world.
The Montenegrin center is playing his 14th NBA season, will once again be part of the playoffs, and throughout the league season, with a new season double-double average (18,5 points, 10,1 rebounds per game), he led Chicago to the playoffs.
The rival will be a well-known team, a playoff contender for the last two seasons - the Miami Heat.
"Last year we didn't play well, we didn't have a chance, while the year before they decided the game in the final, but overall I think everything is a lot different this year," said Vučević, as reported by the "Chicago Suntimes".
He also explained why he thinks so.
"These are two different teams now, a lot of players have changed, so we need to look at both teams differently than before."
The play-off match will be played at the United Center, home of Chicago.
"It doesn't have to be like last year. We've played well against them so far this season, but we know that this is a very well-coached team and that Miami has players who have been to the finals multiple times, that they know what is needed in these kinds of matches. They play very strongly, they are organized, they compete and they never give up," added Vučević.
And what kind of game is our ace expecting?
"It's tough, physically exhausting, and what happened in previous years or during the regular season won't matter that much. It's just one match where you have to give your all," Vučević concluded.
How dedicated Vučević is and how much he still enjoys every game is perhaps best demonstrated by the fact that he played in the last round of the league against Philadelphia, even though that match had no significant outcome, and coach Billy Donovan may have planned to rest him.
The winner of this playoff duel with Cleveland will play against the loser of the second play-in clash between Orlando and Atlanta.
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