Spurs soon to announce they are bringing back Ime Udoka

[EricB]

I don't know where you're going with the RJ talk. My problem with RJ was never his age, but him being a bad fit and low-IQ basketball player.
I also questioned his mobility, but due to a prior injury, not age-related.



Well, it's Udoka coming in. Would you rather he play the nearly 15 mins Neal gets? I mean, what other player's minutes is Udoka going to take?


Would you be pleased if Udoka took over Anderson's minutes when he comes back? Because I can definitely see that happening too, seeing how much time Anderson will have lost by
Obviously, I'm also hopeful that this is a try out contract, and then the discussion is moot unless the Spurs end up guaranteeing it.

Anderson will never lose minutes to udoka.

[SenorSpur]

This clearly like a stop-gap move until Anderson gets healthy. Manu is playing a lot of minutes and RJ, while he's gotten more competent, isn't a physical defender. The Spurs do need a sturdy backup SF with some size to provide some quality minutes. The guy knows the system and it should be a seamless transition.

I didn't know he was 33, so it will be interesting to see just how much he really does have left. One thing is for sure, it he doesn't work out, he'll be cut soon. I highly doubt this is a season-long experiment.

[tmtcsc]

Spurs kill the mood worse than a girl who smells like cigarettes.

Don't forget the chicks with Giant tatoos.

[objective]

re: whether or not it matters that a limited rookie like Neal would be the one that Udoka would take minutes from . . .

I do not favor, ever, giving chances to players who epically failed the Spurs in the playoffs when things mattered most over guys who haven't had that chance.

Udoka's last playoff run was pure garbage. 21 minutes a game of slow feet and 35% fg shooting with a massive 12.5% 3 pt clip.

Yes I would rather see Neal play over Udoka.

Unless Udoka was juiced enough that he could legitimately keep Ginobili from playing against larger SFs while exceeding 30 minutes a game. But if the Ginobili minutes stay high while Udoka snow-shoes around as Neal gets DNP-CDs, then I am disappoint.

[EricB]

Also it's a misnomer calling him the 13th man.

He's the 12thman until Anderson is healthy.

[EricB]

re: whether or not it matters that a limited rookie like Neal would be the one that Udoka would take minutes from . . .

I do not favor, ever, giving chances to players who epically failed the Spurs in the playoffs when things mattered most over guys who haven't had that chance.

Udoka's last playoff run was pure garbage. 21 minutes a game of slow feet and 35% fg shooting with a massive 12.5% 3 pt clip.

Yes I would rather see Neal play over Udoka.

Unless Udoka was juiced enough that he could legitimately keep Ginobili from playing against larger SFs while exceeding 30 minutes a game. But if the Ginobili minutes stay high while Udoka snow-shoes around as Neal gets DNP-CDs, then I am disappoint.

If Gary Neal was a legitimate prospect I'd agree.

[DPG21920]

Eric, Gary Neal can shoot 3's. What can Ime do? Please provide statistical evidence.

[objective]

Also it's a misnomer calling him the 13th man.

He's the 12thman until Anderson is healthy.

wouldn't he actually be the 11th man, ahead of Quinn?

, maybe 10th man ahead of Neal?

Maybe 9th man ahead of DNP-Splitter?

If Gary Neal was a legitimate prospect I'd agree.

I don't even care if Neal is limited to who he is now. He has yet to fail in apocalyptic fashion in the playoffs for the Spurs, so he gets the benefit from the doubt for me.

I'm probably in the minority on that. But be it Mason or Bonner or whoever, I get tremendously biased against those players.

[Barfunk]

I just had flashbacks of Bowen sitting down in Game 1 of the 2008 WCF, Spurs up 20, and Udoka coming in and getting incinerated by Kobe...

Yupp...

Game 1, Spurs up by 20 then lose.
Game 3, Spurs win by 20.
Game 4, "controversial" no call on Barry.
Game 5, up 17 then lose.

lol, how did they lose that series?

[EricB]

Neal can shoot threes? He hasn't shown that consistently outside of the game against Charlotte.


Udoka will take the backup 3 minutes Manu has been playing. That's all.

[DPG21920]

So his 43% 3PT shooting was all from the Charlotte game

[objective]

Neal can shoot threes? He hasn't shown that consistently outside of the game against Charlotte.

2/4 vs NOH
4/8 vs LAC
2/4 vs CLE

.432 for the season

?

[gospursgojas]

Neal can shoot threes? He hasn't shown that consistently outside of the game against Charlotte.


Udoka will take the backup 3 minutes Manu has been playing. That's all.

?????

[Solid D]

Gary Neal still spaces the floor because teams are sticking to him like glue on the perimeter. The scouting report seems to be clear on Gary. Neal has his limitations but he also has his uses offensively. When he is on the floor with Ginobili and Hill, they have been a very effective 3-guard lineup with Jefferson at the 4 (see 82games).

Udoka...not so much. Teams are more likely to leave Ime to double or sag to help in the lane.

[Libri]

Udoka's 3-point shooting percentage has dropped significantly, .286 in 09-10 with Sacramento.

[ElNono]

Neal can shoot threes?

Do you actually watch games?
Not just 3's, he has better handles than what Mason will ever have driving to the basket.

I honestly don't care who they sign for a 13th man role. What I question is your need to have to talk down one player to prop up whoever they're signing.

You played the exact same tune talking about Gee in order to justify Simmons. Rinse and repeat talking about Jerrels to prop up Temple.

There's no need to do that...

[angelbelow]

The argument regarding Neal and Udoka may be moot. Udoka is probably going to play 5 minutes max at the 3 position. Hopefully most games he doesn't see the the court at all.

However regarding the 2, Neal's role can be safely classified as a situational role player. While Udoka hasn't been an NBA level player in the past 2 years.

[DPG21920]

Wait, so how do we know they aren't bringing back Ime as a coach? Or a consultant? Just because they are bringing him back doesn't mean they are bringing him back as a player, right??!!!!

[gospursgojas]

Wait, so how do we know they aren't bringing back Ime as a coach? Or a consultant? Just because they are bringing him back doesn't mean they are bringing him back as a player, right??!!!!

Ime didn't look like coach material. I remember some here actually questioned if he was mentally slow....not me just sayin

[Solid D]

Neal is currently ranked 26 in the NBA in 3-pt shooting. Certainly not bad enough to write him off. The only Rookies with better percentages from the arc are Al-Farouq Aminu and James Anderson.

[DPG21920]

Ime didn't look like coach material. I remember some here actually questioned if he was mentally slow....not me just sayin

Denial. It's not just a river in Egypt.

[Ice009]

Funny how you want to on this guy now. He might have had a couple of subpar games lately, but he's been getting regular minutes and he's part of the reason we're 12-1 now.

And there's more to the game than scoring. He hustles on defense, and sure, he makes mistakes, any player 13 games into their first NBA season does, but you can't tell me he looked like any of the other rooks we have had on the team. He has shown you can give him minutes and he can give passable production. That's all you need for your bench.

Heck, the guy has already played better defensively than Mason while he was here.

Do you remember Udoka at all? Bogans looks good next to him.

He's also had more than the one good game that EricB is talking about, and he's grabbed rebounds at times too. Some games he's had more rebounds than Bonner with 5 or 6 boards. He has shown that he can handle the ball a bit and he's got a few different shots in his arsenal other than the 3 point shot.

Now, about Ime - WHAT THE ARE THE SPURS THINKING ABOUT???

I watched him play a game for the Kings last season against the Lakers and he was absolutely PUTRID out there. He got totally destroyed and his shot was horrible.

I DO NOT WANT IME AT ALL. Absolutely crazy signing.

[LeCrab]

Don't pay attention to eric b them twinkies got his mind messed up

[Ross Parrot]

I think Udoka's 08-09 season erases the okay season he had before that one. Well, we all know who's the only one who can pull Bowen out of the game and we all know Udoka isn't Bruce Bowen so I don't know why everyone is faulting him for Pop's mistake. He had to guard Kobe Bryant!

Still I would want to know why Green was waived so early.

[TD 21]

Terrible signing. I'd have preferred the Spurs kept Green, who's younger, more athletic, quicker, longer and has a higher upside. He could potentially be a better version of Udoka. Udoka never could shoot and hasn't been able to defend for a few years now. Basically, he's a worse version of Bogans.

It was obvious with Green abruptly being waived that the Spurs were going to bring in a veteran, though. As the schedule get's more hectic and arduous, it's clear the Spurs will need another wing with size to eat up some minutes. Particularly because Pop either doesn't fully trust Neal yet, see's him as someone who needs to be played in select match-ups or both.

Unfortunately, Udoka is going to play. Not every game, but I suspect Pop will not hesitate to play him because he's a veteran and he knows the system. He'll probably be (part of) the Spurs answer to guarding Lewis, Odom, Nowitzki, etc. Even though he has no chance at all at guarding them adequately, I fully expect him to be utilized in those match-ups.