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I loved to be the man off the bench and I always gave 110%
I can't be back to those days but I know how is it to be Matt Bonner
The spurs got the squad to win it all and when healthy I do not see any team beating them.
Spurs: Udoka, Bonner know their roles
Web Posted: 12/24/2007 07:14 PM CST
Jeff McDonald
Express-News staff writer
Stuck on the end of the Spurs' bench for most of the first two months of the season, collecting dust and DNPs, Ime Udoka could have pouted.
It would have been easy — and only human — for him to Perma-press a scowl to his face, fold his arms to his chest and mentally check out for the rest of the year.
Had he done that, Udoka might have missed his golden moment when it finally arrived.
"I practice every day like I'm going to play," said Udoka, a reserve swingman in his first season with the Spurs. "The worst thing that could happen would be to have an opportunity and blow it by not being ready."
Udoka got his big break unexpectedly, when Manu Ginobili left Saturday's victory over the Los Angeles Clippers with a sprained finger. He responded by scoring a season-high 17 points and pulling down a season-high nine rebounds in 28 minutes, 46 seconds.
It was by far the most extended action of the season for Udoka, who didn't even play in nine games. Heading into Wednesday's home game against Chicago, Udoka is still averaging just 10.5 minutes per game.
Even though he started 75 games for Portland last season, Udoka still clings to the journeyman's credo.
"At the drop of a dime," he says, "you have to be ready to play."
Life on the bubble of an NBA rotation can be precarious and uncertain. Some nights you play, some nights you don't, and you don't always know what kind of night it will be until after tipoff.
Take the curious case of Matt Bonner.
Bonner, a 6-foot-10 reserve forward, started three games when Tim Duncan was injured earlier this month.
He often performed admirably and at times performed spectacularly. In a Dec. 11 loss at Golden State, Bonner set career bests with 25 points and 17 rebounds.
When Duncan came back four days later, Bonner not only returned to the bench — he didn't play a single minute in a victory over Denver.
When the Nuggets went small in that game, the Spurs followed suit. It left Bonner crazy-glued to the bench.
Befitting his perpetually jovial nature — Bonner could find the upside in his dog getting run over — he suffered his lack of playing time with a smile.
"I'm a role player," Bonner said with a shrug. "Sometimes my role is not to play."
The NBA isn't overrun with players who will gleefully agree to limited minutes. In players like Bonner and Udoka, the Spurs seem to have cornered the market on them.
When the Spurs go in search of a player to acquire via trade or free agency, as they did last summer with Udoka and the summer before with Bonner, they take pains to evaluate how that player might fit in the locker room as well as on the court.
They favor players who, in coach Gregg Popovich's words, "have gotten over themselves." They are careful to avoid players prone to grumble about their role.
Even so, Popovich says, it's impossible to determine how a player will react to a diminished part until it actually happens. He compares the search for right-minded role players to the search for a spouse.
"Do you know you're going to be married in 55 years?" Popovich asks. "You hope you are. You think you might be. There aren't so many things that are certain. You just do the best you can."
Given the dues he had to pay just to earn a steady NBA check, Udoka has long since gotten over himself. Playing for 14 teams in seven seasons in most every minor league there is will do that to a player.
With Ginobili out, it stands to reason Udoka will continue to play an active role in the Spurs' rotation for the time being. The career journeyman in him, however, won't allow him to take anything for granted.
"Naturally, you want to play," Udoka said. "You just try to be professional and work hard. Your opportunities will come."
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LINK: http://www.mysanantonio.com/sports/b...n.1d797bb.html
I loved to be the man off the bench and I always gave 110%
I can't be back to those days but I know how is it to be Matt Bonner
The spurs got the squad to win it all and when healthy I do not see any team beating them.
Not many NBA players have a makeup like Red Rocket. Many would go to the paper and ask the beat writer about why the coach doesn't define their role. Others would say the organization discriminates against players from this part of the world or that part of the world.
The Spurs generally have not had the most talented team over the past decade. They have had the best and tightest TEAM. Non-hackers that have come through SA with an at ude or a sense of en lement (we all know the guys who fall into this category) have been shown the door.
I confess that Pop's rotations mystify me. And when you have a blow-out, it's sorta sensible to give everyone a few minutes instead of a DNP if you want to keep them in the mix for whenever your 'instinct' says they should play some significant role minutes.
I don't like seeing Horry getting no time in some games.Everyone needs to keep the rust off.
I think at this point, Pop trusts Horry's instinct to pace himself and be ready for the right moment.
I'll admit, that ends up putting a lot of faith in Horry's hands. We all just have to assume that, as many times as he's been through the long grind, he knows how to keep himself in proper shape and be ready for the playoffs. History has shown that he usually does a pretty good job for himself.
However, considering his most notable contribution to last year's playoffs was his foul on Nash, even I'm finding it a little harder to hope that Big Shot Rob is gonna show up on queue.
At the NBA level, even the 13th & 14th man were former "all-everything" players at some point in their basketball lives. Which means most of these guys think and believe they are difference-makers and have been at some level in time. That said, it's really hard for any player, who has reached this level, to "ratchet" back his ego and desire to contribute night in and night out. In fact, I'd estimate 90% of the current NBA players couldn't do it.
The Spurs do a good job of identifying players with both talent and humility. Of course, it helps having selfless superstars like TD, TP and Manu leading the way and forging a "team-first" mindset. Still, I give Udoka, Bonner and other role players like them, a lot of props for putting their egos aside and keeping the overall team objective in mind.
Horry's most notable contribution last playoffs was being the 2nd best big man defender on the team and giving the team intangibles such as rebounding, timely steals, and fluid position defense. He didnt need to hit many big shots since others were rolling, but he still got one late against Denver. To say the best thing he brought was a cheapie on Nash overlooks his play entirely.
http://www.bostonherald.com/sports/c...39#articleFull
A time for family
Put aside for a moment that, at 7-foot-1, 245 pounds, UMass center Luke Bonner is one of the largest college basketball players in New England. Instead, for the purposes of this story, try to picture him as a small child growing up in New Hampshire.
Now then . . . Luke Bonner doesn’t remember exactly which year it was that we’re talking about here, he just knows he was a little kid, and, well, you know how it goes: One Christmas seems to blend into the next.
What he does remember is that his older brother, Matt, kept telling him about the wonderful Christmas present he bought for him. “It’s really cool,” Matt said, over and over, and you can imagine the building anticipation inside little Luke’s head as Christmas approached. “The package was under the tree,” said Luke. “I kept looking at it, wondering what it was. I couldn’t wait for Christmas morning. First thing I did when I got out of bed was race for the tree and go for that present.
“I pulled it out from under the tree and ripped it open. This was the moment I had been waiting for all month.”
Alas, Luke had not taken into consideration that, even at Christmas, his brother Matt was - and still is - a practical joker.
The present Luke had been dreaming about all month? Let’s put aside political correctness for a moment and remember that we’re talking about two little kids. It was a Barbie doll. Ha ha. “I can laugh about it now,” said Luke, “but it wasn’t so funny back then.”
So let’s take a look at the UMass basketball schedule. The Minutemen, after defeating Central Connecticut this past Saturday night at the Mullins Center, do not have another game until this Saturday, when they host Boston University. The team will break for Christmas, and the Bonner family plans to travel to Texas to visit with Matt, who is in his fourth season in the NBA, his second with the Spurs.
“I’ve been waiting a long time for this,” said Luke, “but this is the year I get even with him. I picked out a special present for him.”
So, what’s the gift? To borrow a line from The Inside Track: “For once, our lips our sealed.”
If Udoka keeps rebounding and playing post defense the way he has been...he's more deserving of minutes than Barry or Finley. We need what he's got to offer.
It's funny because I remember when we were discussing the merits of Ime VS Barnes, Ime was the guy that was viewed as someone we'd put on guards or smaller and lighter players....and Barnes was talked about as the one we'd put on bigger stronger players..
Well I am pretty sure that was an accurate take on Barnes...it was not an accurate take on Udoka...this guy is a strong dude...I don't see him really as a good perimeter defender, he's probably better than Finley and Barry...but it's his interior d when guys are trying to post him up that really stands out...he just makes guys that try to post him up look like boys playing against a man...
I definitely like him as the PF in the small ball lineup with that type of d and rebounding...
The big test will come when he get the opportunity to guard guys like LeBron, Banzi and Artest...to me that's when we will truly know what he has to offer. Personally...I think he's our man for that job.
And while he hasn't been put in this situation yet...I'm going to out on a limb and say he's going to turn out to be a clutch player when given that opportunity...he's just got the at ude that clutch guys have...doesn't seem to be trying too hard.
And when he acts calm cool and collected...you get the vibe it's not an act....it's who he really is.
Hopefully Ime will be a regular contributor by seasons end.
There family seems really fun.... all these stories I've found and read about them make me smile. As I was looking for some more info on Luke I found his blog Good times will be had there.
Last edited by HarlemHeat37; 12-02-2010 at 03:25 AM.
They know their roles, but Pop doesn't . . . still.
Udoka and Bonner know their roles...to play like and brick shot after shot. Awesome...
Nobody said he isn't smart."I'm a role player," Bonner said with a shrug. "Sometimes my role is not to play."
Pop won 4 les, don't forget.
He has had teams that were good enough to win 3-4 more. Pop makes mistakes, sometimes very costly ones. Most of the time we can defer to his call, but Udoka is an obvious mistake that everyone but you and Pop seem to see.
Holy ing thread necro.
Popovich, you are the weak link; the one that's holding this team back from being a championship-caliber club. You ing suck.
17 points for Udoka? That's weird.
Good bump.
know ur role jabroni
Whos a better coach that you is available that you want?
Names.
they better know their damn roles
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