Edy Tavares often jokes with his teammates about opponents trying to bring him out of his comfort zone. The center is sure that a few more wins would give head coach Chus Mateo the confidence he needs.

Credit: Valencia Basket/Miguel Angel Polo
Credit Valencia Basket/Miguel Angel Polo

Ever since he came to Real Madrid in 2017, Edy Tavares has been an integral part of the team. Now, he is considered to be the best at his position in Europe.

He's a two-time All-EuroLeague First Team member and two-time EuroLeague's Best Defender award winner. Oftentimes, the game plans and offseason signings of the opponent teams revolve around solving the Tavares problem under the basket.

Talking with El Debate, Tavares revealed that he sometimes even jokes about it with his teammates.

"I'm always joking with my teammates because I tell them that I don't play against the '5', I play against the '4' because when I play against a '5', they all go out to shoot three to make life more difficult for me away from home area," the player told. "If they want to do that, then I'll do double duty if that's what it takes to stop them."

This year, just like any other member of the roster, Tavares had to experience a coaching change when Pablo Laso was replaced with his former assistant Chus Mateo. Tavares admits that even though they are different, both specialists follow the same path.

"They are two coaches who have lived together for a long time, and now Chus is doing more or less what he (Laso) did, giving it a different touch but practically nothing has changed," Tavares explained. "Now we have to get a bit of consistency, do things well and win a few games to give our coach more confidence."

After losing two of the first three games in the EuroLeague, Real are now on a two-game winning streak after beating EA7 Emporio Armani Milan and Anadolu Efes Istanbul.

"There is still a lot of work to do. I think that, right now, our problem is in defense," the center said. "If we defend, we can beat any team."

With Nigel Williams-Goss set to make a comeback to the court, Real Madrid are scheduled to face ALBA Berlin in the EuroLeague tomorrow at 20:45 CET.

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Free throws this season

77%
14,7
Points made: 14,7
Accuracy: 76,9%
Place in standings: 7
Record max: 19
Record min: 6
Most made FTs: Walter Tavares