Abdia admitted that "there is nothing to do" against Taitum, and surprised: "The bench actually helped me"

The Boston star came out of the drought with 51 points on the Wizards, the Israeli remained helpless when he tried to keep him, but continues to look better since he barely partnered with Philadelphia: "Know what I'm worth."

NBC complimented: "The bench increased his motivation"

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24/01/2022

Monday, 24 January 2022, 08:46

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Washington is training with coach Wes Ansald Jr. who has left the Corona Protocol (the Wizards' official website)

After a bad individual and team period, Jason Taitum came out of the drought against Washington.

The 51 points he rained on the Wizards' head led the Celtics to an 87-116 victory in the capital, and now the Boston star is hoping to embark on a new path.

"When you miss shots you know you're capable of scoring, balls you normally do not miss, you have to laugh about it a bit. That's what I was trying to do during that time," said Taitum, who finished with 18 of 28 from the field including a career-high 9 three-pointers.

"Sometimes it's very simple - there are times you don't score, and because there are a lot of games in a short period of time, it seems like a big deal."

Taitum received high applause from the crowd at Capital Arena, which was somewhat surprisingly full of Boston fans wearing the young star's jerseys.

"It's an extraordinary feeling. To see so many of our fans in an away game, to see them wearing my jersey, I do not take these things for granted. There are something like 450 players in the league, and yet they chose to wear the jersey with my name on it."

More on Walla!

Boston defeated Washington 87-116.

Taitum scored 51 points, 13 for Avdia

To the full article

Unstoppable when in the zone.

Taitum (Photo: GettyImages, Scott Taetsch)

Among others, the one who tried to maintain Taitum without success is Danny Abdia. The Israeli forward admitted at the end that keeping an NBA star of this magnitude, on a day when it is so hot, may be an impossible task. "Maybe we should have been even more aggressive with him, maybe changed the defense method a bit, but to be honest, there was nothing to do in front of him tonight," Abdia said. "He took hard shots, scored them, squeezed offenses easily. Players of his size have days like that."

On the offensive side, Abdia actually got into the game well, finishing with 13 points (6 of 9 from the field, 1 of 2 from three), 7 rebounds and 4 fouls in 27 minutes.

In general, Abdia seems to have gotten the drying on the bench against Philadelphia three games ago, as a wake-up call.

"Maybe the bench against Philly helped me," he surprised.

"I feel good on the pitch, and as time goes on I loosen up and gain more confidence. I was taken aback, but I did not take it to heart because I know what I am worth. I am here for a reason. After the game against Philly I worked hard, I did not take it to a bad place. "I just stay optimistic in my head, and do not want to let it affect me too much. I get on the field and for me it does not matter against who we are, I am focused on the task they give me, defense or offense. I try not to think too much."

Mission Impossible.

Abdia vs. Taitum (Photo: GettyImages, Scott Taetsch)

Abdia was slightly injured in the second quarter, continued to play despite the pain and even scored a hat-trick before going down to get treatment in the locker room, and returned to the game. "It was a frustrating injury because it was not particularly serious, but it is still bothersome. I scored a three after I was injured, so maybe it did me good. It was not pleasant, but treated half a bit and I came back. It did not stop me from coming back to play, I insisted on coming back and felt fine Finished, "he said.

Abdia knows that in contrast to the improvement trend at the individual level, group-wise the Wizards continue to be in decline. "We all know what we are capable of doing this year, but sometimes there are days that do not go. This is not the first or last time we have such days, we have to stay with our heads up and move on. We train as hard as possible, very serious in our approach, seriously preparing for every game "And sometimes it just does not work, like today."

Washington reporters complimented Abdia on the positive game, and NBC described it as "one of the Wizards' few bright spots."

"Abdia has done a great job cutting and penetrating the basket as well as running the offense on passing attacks. In two of his last three games he has scored in double digits, and that came after playing against Philadelphia before only two minutes. He was out of rotation for one game but responded to the decision "This is extraordinary when he returned. Maybe it added motivation to him. In any case, he deserves credit for the superiority in the last games," they wrote.

• sport

• NBA

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• Washington Wizards

• Danny Abdia