Pop: Stop with Udoka on Kobe already

[DarrinS]

He can't guard Kobe. End this silly experiment.


When Bruce is resting, all the Spurs can really do is try to play team defense and crowd Kobe's shots.

[JamStone]

LOL

It has become abundantly clear that if Kobe wanted to, he could score on Udoka like he was in a gym by himself. There is absolutely no resistance when Udoka guards Kobe. The most the Spurs can hope for is that Kobe just misses a shot. It's like Kobe gets a boner when he sees Bruce on the bench and Udoka in front of him.

Before the series, I recall reading some Spurs fan that stated that he/she thought Udoka guarded Kobe better than Bowen. Hard to even begin to understand how someone thought that.

[nikegirl]

I got a suggestion, let Kobe score, shut the rest of the team down. Is this what they've done today? Just wanna know coz I didn't see the game.

It seems that letting the superstar go off and shut everyone else down have worked well for the Spurs, so I'm just saying. Let me know if I'm way off with my analysis.

[1Parker1]

The problem with putting Udoka on Kobe is that Kobe's eyes just light up and even if he wasn't in rythmn with his shots, by the time Bowen comes back in, Kobe is usually on fire and he's difficult to stop at that point.

Then again, Spurs have no one outside of Udoka they could put on Kobe so there's really nothing else the Spurs can do. Can't play Bowen 48 minutes, and you definitely can't put Ginobili on him. You just have to believe the team defense forces Kobe into tough shots.

Take Fisher, Odom, and Gasol out of the offense can help the Spurs go a long way in this series. Problem is, at home those guys usually play exceptionally well.

[T Park]

He can't guard Kobe. End this silly experiment.


When Bruce is resting, all the Spurs can really do is try to play team defense and crowd Kobe's shots.

Uh no.

[still.focused]

Having BB is just a luxury
When he sits we get an idea of what 29 or so other teams in the league feel like for 40+ mins
THink of it more as Kobe bein just that good than as an experiment

[nfg3]

Timvp stated it best when he said that Udoka is a 6'5" pylon for Kobe. This is not working and never will. Udoka is much better guarding Odom and the like. Udoka has more upper body strength than Bowen but his lateral movement is way too slow for Kobe. This is a total mismatch in favor of Kobe.

What impressed me about game 3 was that Kobe had 1 assist and in all 3 games has gotten only 6 FT attempts. When Kobe gets his teammates involved this is a very very good team. When he is all by himself, well you saw what happened in game 3. If this continues then the Lakers will have a much harder time winning this series if they can. If the game 2 scenario gets resurrected then the Spurs are in big trouble. Limiting Kobe' assists and FT attempts will play a big role in whether the Spurs win this series or not.

All series are about adjustments so game 4 will be fun to watch.

[djohn14]

Udoka dosent play bad D on Kobe...Kobe is just a great player. Udoka isnt Bruce Bowen, hes just a pretty solid defender with a bigger offensive game then Bowen. If not Udoka who is gonna gaurd him when Bowen rests? You want to Use Manu? Parker? We could bring in Horry and let him get burned. Bowen hasnt even done a great job on Kobe. Just be happy with a damn win.

[O-Factor]

LOL

It has become abundantly clear that if Kobe wanted to, he could score on Udoka like he was in a gym by himself. There is absolutely no resistance when Udoka guards Kobe. The most the Spurs can hope for is that Kobe just misses a shot. It's like Kobe gets a boner when he sees Bruce on the bench and Udoka in front of him.

Before the series, I recall reading some Spurs fan that stated that he/she thought Udoka guarded Kobe better than Bowen. Hard to even begin to understand how someone thought that.

Really????

I'd like to see proof of that. I've never heard such an argument on Spurstalk.

[pawe]

Kobe is a different player than Amare or CP3 or West. We can't use the "let him score and beat us by himself and shutdown the others offensively" strategy against him because he WILL surely beat us by himself. Leave Bruce on the floor with Kobe and take him out when Kobe sits.

[Aggie Hoopsfan]

Udoka's guarding Kobe the same way Pop has Bruce guarding him - give him the jumper and prevent the penetration to the lane.

All Udoka is doing is buying time for Bruce to catch a breather, which is all anyone would do checking Kobe. Who do you suppose we should put on Kobe instead? Finley? Barry? Manu? Stoudemire?

The fact is there isn't anyone better or even comparable to Udoka defensively to put on Kobe, and any of the other guys we could trot out there Kobe WOULD be able to go around and create havoc in the paint.

In short, people need to stop ing about Ime on Kobe and just understand that's the way it's going to be when Bowen needs a breather and not much is going to change.

[SenorSpur]

He can't guard Kobe. End this silly experiment.


When Bruce is resting, all the Spurs can really do is try to play team defense and crowd Kobe's shots.

True dat. Udoka doesn't have the quicks needed to say with Kobe. He does better on a bigger, more physical player like Lebron James.

[Aggie Hoopsfan]

I just want to know who Darrin wants to guard Kobe. Bowen can't play all 48.

So who do you think should be out there checking Kobe:

A. Manu
B. Barry
C. Finley
D. Stoudemire

???

None of those guys could even keep Kobe from getting to the paint, at least Ime is doing that.

[JamStone]

True dat. Udoka doesn't have the quicks needed to say with Kobe. He does better on a bigger, more physical player like Lebron James.

Udoka would not have any success against LeBron James either.

[KB24 MVP]

Udoka aint got on kobe he can score 45 on a daily basis aginst Bowen if he wanted 2 let alo9nwe Udoka hahaa

[PlayoffEx-static]

Udoka aint got on kobe he can score 45 on a daily basis aginst Bowen if he wanted 2 let alo9nwe Udoka hahaa

If Kobe scores 45 on Bowen, they lose. It would take probably 35-37 shot attempts to get there. No one else would have any kind of rhythm. Kind of like game 3 on steroids.

[Guajalote]

Our strategy is to keep him off the three point line and funnel him into something like... oh, I don't know... THIS! (and yes I'm aware DRob is no longer on the team).

[jag]

Our strategy is to keep him off the three point line and funnel him into something like... oh, I don't know... THIS! (and yes I'm aware DRob is no longer on the team).

I'm not so sure you are. You DID just suggest that we "funnel" him into Bowen and D-Rob...

Last time i checked, which was about 2 min ago, we don't have a big man with Robinson's length, size, or jumping ability. And considering that Gasol is stepping out of the paint and making Duncan follow him, i'm not so sure you want Kobe being "funneled" into Oberto.

[pauls931]

I just want to know who Darrin wants to guard Kobe. Bowen can't play all 48.

So who do you think should be out there checking Kobe:

A. Manu
B. Barry
C. Finley
D. Stoudemire

???

None of those guys could even keep Kobe from getting to the paint, at least Ime is doing that.

Finley used to be a great defended. I still remember cringing when he sprained his ankle a week before a playoff series with the spurs so the suns had no one to guard Sean Dirk_is_my_daddy_Dirk_is_my_daddy_Dirk_is_my_daddy _Dirk_is_my_daddy_Dirk_is_my_daddy_Dirk_is_my_dadd y_. Ugh...

WTF!!! I went to type S e a n E l l i o t?

[still.focused]

Our strategy is to keep him off the three point line and funnel him into something like... oh, I don't know... THIS! (and yes I'm aware DRob is no longer on the team).

Actually the strategy is to keep him off the foul line
And not funnel him anywhere but to make him a jumpshooter

[MannyIsGod]

Udoka's guarding Kobe the same way Pop has Bruce guarding him - give him the jumper and prevent the penetration to the lane.

All Udoka is doing is buying time for Bruce to catch a breather, which is all anyone would do checking Kobe. Who do you suppose we should put on Kobe instead? Finley? Barry? Manu? Stoudemire?

The fact is there isn't anyone better or even comparable to Udoka defensively to put on Kobe, and any of the other guys we could trot out there Kobe WOULD be able to go around and create havoc in the paint.

In short, people need to stop ing about Ime on Kobe and just understand that's the way it's going to be when Bowen needs a breather and not much is going to change.

]

QFMFT

[MannyIsGod]

Actually the strategy is to keep him off the foul line
And not funnel him anywhere but to make him a jumpshooter

Don't believe everything Doug Collins says dude.

[PlayoffEx-static]

Finley used to be a great defended. I still remember cringing when he sprained his ankle a week before a playoff series with the spurs so the suns had no one to guard Sean Dirk_is_my_daddy_Dirk_is_my_daddy_Dirk_is_my_daddy _Dirk_is_my_daddy_Dirk_is_my_daddy_Dirk_is_my_dadd y_. Ugh...

WTF!!! I went to type S e a n E l l i o t?

You misspelled it in a way that timvp will no longer tolerate. There's a text replacement algorithm in place.

[MannyIsGod]

This is jsut another example of how spoiled Spurs fans are. Most teams in the league don't have anyone near the capability of Bowen on their roster at all. How do you think they defend Kobe? The same way Ime does, they don't. Just realize that while Ime is a good defender there are not very many Bowens in the history of the league.

[ShoogarBear]

Bruce Bowen is the worst starting forward in the league.