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lookin better for sure lately, lets hope he keeps it up
Udoka reappears for Spurs' stretch run
Mike Monroe
For a stretch of 13 games, spanning more than a month, forward Ime Udoka found himself relegated to the end of the Spurs' bench.
Between Jan. 20 and Feb. 24, Udoka played only 61 minutes. Thirty-one of those minutes came in the game at Denver, when Spurs coach Gregg Popovich rested key contributors Tim Duncan, Manu Ginobili, Tony Parker and Michael Finley after an overtime victory the previous night, at Golden State.
In six games during his month in near-exile, Udoka did not leave the bench at all.
Through his time away from the regular playing rotation, Udoka maintained the professional approach the Spurs' coaches had admired during his first season with the club.
Lately, the 6-foot-6, 220-pound combo forward has found he is back in Popovich's game-to-game plans. He has appeared in 14 straight games, averaging slightly more than 17 minutes per game and producing 5.3 points and 3.1 rebounds.
It is a bit of déjà vu, all over again, reminding Udoka of his experience in 2007-08, when Popovich gave him a regular portion of playing time during the stretch run of the regular season, and on into the playoffs.
“(Popovich) hasn't said anything to me,” Udoka said after scoring seven points, with five rebounds, in the Spurs' 93-86 victory over the Timberwolves on Tuesday night at the AT&T Center. “They just throw me in there, and I've responded, so I've seen my minutes increase. But I know it can go up and down. I just want to be consistent and take advantage of my opportunities.
“This kind of reminds me of last year. Toward the end of the season, and in the playoffs, I did the same thing,”
A rugged defender often asked to guard power forwards when Popovich goes to a small lineup, Udoka took a long defensive turn Tuesday on Minnesota's Mike Miller, a longer player with catch-and-shoot skills.
“I tried to muscle him a little and bother him, but we have certain schemes we use, sending him to his weak hand,” he said. “Basically, I just tried to stay with him. He's such a great shooter you have to be there on the catch, or it's gone. I just tried to force him to where we want him on the court.”
Udoka understands his playing time is directly proportional to his defensive efficiency, but also knows he has to keep his offensive skills honed.
“Of course, it starts at the defensive end for me,” he said. “Once we get our full complement of players back, offense isn't going to be a problem, so I've got to focus on defense, and doing different things.
“There are certain matchups that I can help the team with, like guarding (Houston's Ron) Artest last week. That's how they can use me, so I just try to be ready.”
Udoka, Fabricio Oberto, Malik Hairston and Jacque Vaughn regularly stay late after practice and play one-on-one or two-on-two to maintain their skills and conditioning. The payoff, Udoka said, comes on nights when one, or more, of them contribute to victories.
The thrill of Tuesday's victory?
Watching Oberto get a rare opportunity to display the offensive skills Udoka often sees after practice.
Oberto's season-high 12 points may have shocked some. Not the after-practice crew.
“Fabby was being aggressive down there,” Udoka said, “looking for his shot a little more, knowing we were coming off a back-to-back and Tony (Parker) and those guys played a lot of minutes the night before.
“All of us knew we had to assert ourselves, and Fabby took that on himself, too.
“Definitely, we're all pulling for each other. If you can get a helping hand from other guys after you see all the work they put in, you're always happy when that work gets rewarded.”
lookin better for sure lately, lets hope he keeps it up
I wonder if that kind of at ude is there on other teams as well with the role players. The Spurs have a magical talent to generate motivation for even the less significant players on the roster which is one of the things that make this team great. Even if their role is limited they can be counted on to give it their all every game they play and I applaud that.
he's been playing well, but i noticed against minnesota that sometimes when he has a good look at a jumper he will pump fake or hesitate and then move to a spot nearby and take a jumper that's no better than the one he turned down initially. i'd like to see him drive the ball to the basket if he's going to pump fake off open looks. either that or shoot the darn ball. its almost certainly a confidence thing that he needs to work on, or maybe developing a quicker release.
did anyone else see him doing this hesitation thing against minnesota? was it just because of their length?
Yeah, I see it with Bon-Bons sometimes too. I presume the plan is for them to just shoot but they hesitate and then they remember that Pop told them not to pass up open looks and they take a dribble and shoot anyways. It's an annoying habit heh.
yeah! if they're not going to drive the ball (which they should do more often, i think, especially when jumpers aren't falling like the last two games) then they should take that open shot when they have it. if all they're going to do is move a bit for another jumper then they're just hurting their scoring chances. glad it wasn't just me who saw that.
Udoka is OK, after Mason, Manu, Hill, Finley, and Bowen....that being said...I dont wanna see any of him really in the Playoffs.
I actually prefer Udoka over Bowen. There's a reason that Popovich hasn't used Bowen that much this season, and that reason is that he's lost a serious step on the defensive end (and never had any offense). Udoka's defense is very good and he has a semblance of an offensive game if he is hitting his catch and shoot jump shot. All the others you mentioned definately get the nod before Udoka in general but if a couple of them are cold you might wanna see if Udoka can bring some energy in from time to time.
+1 I still think Bowen is the Spurs best defender, playing him with a backup unit that has Manu, Gooden, and Hill should hide his O weaknesses. Or with Timmy, Tony, and Bonner. But Fin sucking off the bench might outweigh better D from the starters.
Fabby?
havent heard "fabby" before
Fabby? Ianny? Georgie?
What's up with these kind of nicknames?
i do not want to see udoka in the playoffs. if he plays, that will mean bowen is done. ginobili and mason will get a combined 65 minutes alone. that leaves 31 minutes at the swingmen positions. give finley his obligatory 20 minutes and that only leaves 11 minutes for another player. if udoka plays, then it means bowen will not.
i give you another one, which may start this "yy" thing: Timmy!
I wonder if they get paid overtime for staying after practice.
I'd still would have developed more Hairston... but oh well... if he repeats what he did last year against the Hornets i'll be cool with him...
Udoka is probably a stop gap until Manu returns right now. I think his time on the floor in the playoffs will be strictly situational.
I'd really like to believe that Udoka has found his game after being nearly useless for the bigger part of the season, but I'm just not very confident about this guy.
I guess benefactor is right; Udoka's playing time in the playoffs will depend on the matchups and certain situations in which he could help.
I have to give Udoka props for actually understanding his role. Once everyone is healthy, Udoka will basically be a spot defender against the power perimeter players ... like Artest.“Of course, it starts at the defensive end for me,” he said. “Once we get our full complement of players back, offense isn't going to be a problem, so I've got to focus on defense, and doing different things.
“There are certain matchups that I can help the team with, like guarding (Houston's Ron) Artest last week. That's how they can use me, so I just try to be ready.”
I'll admit, I was on his case all season and wanted him traded. I'm glad he's responded and has been playing better lately.
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