Edy Tavares suggested an alternative way for players to deal with the packed schedule and explained why he wants Baskonia in the Final 8 of the Spanish Cup. The big man also named the reason why he doesn't shoot from long distance and why he came to hate basketball while in the NBA.
Walter Tavares will have to play four games in seven days, as Real Madrid will be taking on Granada on Wednesday and Zalgiris Kaunas on Friday after their duels with Bayern Munich and Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz last Friday and Sunday, respectively.
"In the future, there will be five or six at this rate we are going," he laughed in an interview with El Correo's Ivan Benito.
According to the 32-year-old big man, the solution to the packed schedule wouldn't go through starting the season earlier, since "some people have little time off with those [pre-season] tournaments and concentrations of the national teams," as he noted.
"For me, a good option would be to put more matches in a row and have more rest time in the summer, but that depends on who's in charge."
Following a brief NBA stint, Tavares signed with Real Madrid in 2017.
Pablo Laso was coaching Los Blancos at the time and the big man from Cape Verde remembers that what he thought of Laso and what he actually found out about him were two different things.
"What I didn't think is that he was such a normal and calm guy," he admitted.
"It seemed incredible to me that someone so successful and accomplished would talk to a player like me. I did not expect that affection and respect that he transmitted to me from the first day. It really shocked me.
I don't care if someone is a screamer, in the end everyone has their own personality. Pedro Martínez didn't shout as much, but he was also very demanding in practice," Tavares continued.
Even though during Laso's last years with Madrid, Tavares developed an affinity for mid-range shots, he didn't go as far as the 3-point line. Not because Laso didn't encourage him to do so, but mainly because the player had other considerations and priorities.
"He trusted me. He would say to me, 'If you know you're going to make it, shoot it.' But since I wasn't sure, I've hardly ever tried it. The mid-range shot suited me well to have more options on offense.
But I'm a system player. I don't like to break plays. I know that sometimes I also have to think more about myself, be a little selfish and shoot more. Coaches call out shooters for shooting too much. I was called out for shooting less," he joked.
"But on this team, which everyone has the ability to score, I stick to defending," Tavares noted of his role with Real Madrid.
With a 10-4 record, Madrid currently stand 4th in the ACB league. However, the other two Spanish reps in the EuroLeague, FC Barcelona (7-7) and Baskonia (6-8), are below the 8th place that leads to the Copa del Rey. If they fail to improve their position, the Final 8 of the Spanish Cup will be held without two powerhouses.
Tavares admits that a tournament without Barca and Baskonia would be "unimaginable, although it looks like it could happen."
"If Baskonia don't make it, I will feel sorry for those fans. They make noise, they sing and create a lot. The atmosphere will be different without them," the veteran center underlined.
Tavares moved overseas in 2015 for the Atlanta Hawks. He spent two seasons in the NBA, but needed one more in order to secure the lifetime pension provided by the league.
"At that time I was sweating blood to play. I practiced and practiced and had no reward. I came to hate basketball. I was pissed and I didn't want to go on like that," the two-time EuroLeague champ recalled.
"And then, Madrid appeared. To me, it was like another NBA team. I wanted to sign there in 2015, but they won the EuroLeague and didn't want to change the roster.
That made me take the NBA step earlier. And I'm grateful because those bad times made me the player I am today."
