The Limited Times

Now you can see non-English news...

The countercultural reconversion of Tavares

2022-06-21T03:23:58.125Z


The offensive evolution of the Cape Verdean center in the final stretch of the season has elevated Real Madrid. "It was my goal," he says.


Real Madrid, brand-new ACB champion, offered the title to Madrid fans on Monday during their visit to the headquarters of the Community of Madrid and the City Council.

The squad took advantage of the ceremony to take a mass bath and celebrate the victory after "a very hard year".

Of all the protagonists, there were two who stood out above all else: Pablo Laso, recovered from his heart attack, and Walter

Edy

Tavares (Maio, Cape Verde; 30 years old), MVP of the final against Barcelona.

Both were pointed out as the two pillars of the resurrection of a Madrid that walked in the dark in the middle of the season, but that has ended up raising the 36th league of the white club.

“We had a lot of problems with the game this season.

So we all analyzed it together and decided to take advantage of what we had, our potential inside, and that's how it has gone very well for us”, defines Tavares, asked about how he became an offensive threat.

The emergence of the center as a benchmark in scoring has been one of the keys to the end of the season for Real Madrid.

During the regular season, the Cape Verdean averaged 9.7 points and 6.9 rebounds per game, with an plus/minus of +4.1.

In these

playoffs

for the ACB title, his figures have risen to 12.3 points and 7.8 rebounds per game, and they become crazy if we only analyze the last game of the final against Barcelona: 25 points (with 7 7 on free throws), 13 rebounds, and an over/under of +41, the third highest mark in the history of the ACB finals (above him are only Michael Anderson with +45 in 1996, and Bryan Sallier with +44 in 1998).

“I have trained a lot to improve in attack.

It was my objective, because I knew that, with defense, I could play anywhere, but having something in attack would help me a lot”, declared the player after the match.

More information

Real Madrid's via crucis towards the ACB title

This importance of a classic center in times when basketball tends to move away from the basket to look for the triple has reopened the debate on the evolution of this sport.

Juanma Iturriaga, a former Real Madrid player, defines the relevance of Tavares as a "countercultural element".

“Laso's Madrid always stood out for playing on the perimeter, with excellent bases.

But this year he has lost a lot of outside play for different reasons (players leaving and injury to all the point guards on the squad).

In the absence of scoring points on the outside, he decided to do damage on the inside.

It's somewhat countercultural to what we've been seeing in the last ten years, but it's been a good way to alleviate the team's ills this year”, he points out.

Iturriaga highlights Laso's keen eye for reconverting the team and finding the best solution,

that many would not have crossed their minds.

"In a team like the Golden State Warriors it would be very difficult to see Tavares being so important, but in this Madrid he is a basic piece".

This mutation of Tavares has gone hand in hand with a physical change.

"At first he was singled out for being a gigantic and heavy pivot, but in the last two years he has put on a lot of muscle and has been working with personalized trainers," says Iván García, Tavares' representative, one of the people who knows him best. .

“He is not a leader who raises his voice to be heard.

It's not in his character.

He likes to work and gain people's trust by showing what he is capable of”, he describes.

García, like Iturriaga, wonders what would happen if Real Madrid continued to focus the offensive game on Tavares.

"He has always been prepared to step forward in attack when the team needed him and now he is in the best sporting moment of his career," says the representative.

After the decisive game against Barcelona, ​​Tavares insisted that his main job is still defense.

"I dedicate myself to defending and what they give me in attack is fine".

But this Monday he was more determined.

"Now I feel fulfilled attacking and defending," said the most valuable player in the final.

You can follow EL PAÍS Deportes on

Facebook

and

Twitter

, or sign up here to receive

our weekly newsletter

.

50% off

Exclusive content for subscribers

read without limits

subscribe

I'm already a subscriber

Source: elparis

All sports articles on 2022-06-21

You may like

Trends 24h

Latest

© Communities 2019 - Privacy

The information on this site is from external sources that are not under our control.
The inclusion of any links does not necessarily imply a recommendation or endorse the views expressed within them.