Nikola Vučević is once again part of the NBA playoff spectacle - after failing to reach the playoffs with Chicago in the previous three seasons, he is now at a club with much greater ambitions.
And with a new role in the great Boston Celtics.
The team from Massachusetts defeated Vučević's first NBA club, Philadelphia (123:91), in the opening game, and although the Montenegrin basketball player did not score as many points (only three) as he had throughout his career, he received nothing but praise from his coach.
"I think Vučević was excellent and did what we expected," says Joe Mazula, Celtic's strategist, without hesitation.
Our ace stood out in the third quarter, practically extinguishing Philadelphia's hopes of getting back into the game. He grabbed three rebounds and hit a three-pointer in transition as he extended Boston's lead to 22 points.
The statistics were solid, but the key things were the things they didn't show, Boston media wrote.
"We're not asking him to score, we're asking him to play basketball," Mazula is clear.
The Celtics coach highlighted some of the things the Montenegrin did well.
"He protected the rim and kept Andre Drummond and Adem Bona away from the rebound. Sometimes you don't get credit if you stop a player on defense and someone else gets the ball. In any case, we do what it takes to win. I repeat - Vuč did a great job in this match," Mazula concluded.
Vučević is playing his 15th NBA season, and in addition to Boston, he has worn the jerseys of Chicago, Orlando and Philadelphia. This year he is playing in the playoffs for the fifth time, and has only made it past the first round once - right at the beginning with the 76ers. After that, he reached the playoffs twice with Orlando and once with the Bulls.
Towards the end of his career, he deservedly got the opportunity to properly be part of the NBA Finals with the Boston Giants.
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