The Austrian Jakob Pöltl and his Toronto Raptors are facing a real endurance test on Sunday (from 9.30 pm in the free SPOX-LIVESTREAM) in the North American professional basketball league NBA.
The Canadians will be visiting top league rider Boston Celtics, who has already won eleven games in series,”Of course it will be a yardstick,”said Pöltl to the APA – Austria Press Agency. Boston is considered to be one of the two best Eastern Conference teams for the season,”We want to be there. From this point of view, we can see where we are standing at the moment.”
Toronto retains a 7-4 win on the season’s record, Boston 11-2. However, Celtics will have to give some top players. Newcomer Gordon Hayward is out of action for the entire season with a shin and ankle fracture suffered in the first game. Center Al Horford is as questionable after a concussion as Kyrie Irving.
The star playmaker, who came from Cleveland in the summer and has been one of the strongest players of the season so far, received a slap in the face on Friday at the 90:87 home win against Charlotte Hornets. Irving was no longer able to continue playing and was also examined with suspicion of concussion.
Video: Jakob Pöltl against the Golden State Warriors
After eleven seasonal games in which he has always scored points, Pöltl himself holds on an average of 6.7 points and 6.1 rebounds per game. His expectations for Boston?”Stopping the winning streak, clearly. Of course, it’s gonna be hard because they’re on a roll. But that must not intimidate us.”
As a teenager, the Celtics were one of Pöltl’s favourite teams. However, he doesn’t see a record-breaking performance for him in his second NBA season as something special:”In the meantime, I just see it as our next opponent,”said the 22-year-old,”but of course it’s a club with a long tradition,” and Boston’s home strength is well known.
Celtics have only lost their first two games of the season:”They play very well together, but of course they also have some strong single players,”said Pöltl. He himself will face four-time all-star Horford under the basket – or his Australian replacement, Aron Baynes.