Last year was much easier because they didn’t have Porzingis

Boston “Celtics” started the playoff series against Miami “Heat” with a convincing victory – 114:94 (26:21, 34:24, 31:14, 23:35).

Porzingis scored 18 points in this match, making four of eight long-range shots.

Positionally, Porzingis’ direct opponent in this series is and will be Bem Adebayo, however, in the first game, Nikol Jović was entrusted with covering the Latvian for longer periods. The Serbian basketball player believes that the zone defense, which was fruitful for his team in the series against the “Celtics” last year, is not so effective now precisely because of Porzingis.

“Last year was much easier because for them [“Celtics”] there was no Porzingis. Our zone defense was a big problem. I believe it can still be a problem, but when you’re facing Porzingis, who can shoot over almost any cover, it’s very difficult to cover them. Sam Houser also hit shots after well played attacks. We will have to prepare the zone defense better,” Jovic said.

The second game of the series will take place on April 24 in Boston, on April 27 and 29 there will be away matches, but if more than four battles are needed in the series, they will take place on May 1 in Boston, on May 3 in the away game and on May 5 at the “Celtics” field.