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Beno has a bad habit of forcing things at the end of quarters, which often end with a turnover. But other than that, i've been impressed with his play.
http://www.mysanantonio.com/sports/b...h.4233cd9.html
Tom Orsborn
Express-News Staff Writer
Beno Udrih made sure Sunday that his 82-year-old grandfather left the SBC Center happy.
With Tony Parker in foul trouble, Spurs coach Gregg Popovich turned to the rookie guard from Slovenia with 7:26 left in the game. A 9-2 Pistons' run had trimmed the Spurs' 16-point lead to 10, but Udrih provided a steady hand at the point as the Spurs used a 16-4 spurt to grab a 2-0 lead in the NBA Finals.
"I thought he got stronger and a little bit more confident as he went along," Popovich said. "At the seven-, at the six-, at the five-minute mark, we're thinking we're getting Tony back. But the (lead) went back up to 15 and we thought this was a great opportunity to give (Udrih) some minutes and let him continue to play."
Until Parker picked up his fifth foul, Udrih's biggest challenge of the NBA Finals was to help convince his maternal grandfather to fly from Slovenia to San Antonio for the championship series.
"He was flying for the first time in his life and wasn't sure he wanted to get on the plane," Udrih said. "We all tried to convince him to go. He finally said yes, but then 50 minutes before the departure to the airport, he said, 'No, no. I don't want to go. Leave me home.
"That's when my dad just said, 'Hey, get up, put your clothes on and let's go to San Antonio.'"
Udrih said his grandfather discovered that the flight and San Antonio were worth the aggravation.
"He said being on the plane was so comfortable and easy," Udrih said. "Now, he wants to stay here, he likes it so much."
With Franc Udrih and other family members looking on, Beno scored seven points on 2-of-4 shooting and handed out two assists in 18 minutes, nine of which came in the fourth. His time on the court was one minute shy of his playoff high, yet he had only two turnovers.
When he went back to the bench with 2:01 left, the Spurs were ahead by 22.
In addition to handling the tough assignment of defending Pistons guard Chauncey Billups in the final period with the game on the line, Udrih nailed a 3-point shot with 2.5 seconds left in the third to put the Spurs up by 16. He also sank two free throws with 6:14 left in the fourth to give the Spurs a 10-point cushion.
"What he did in the fourth quarter was huge," Spurs guard Brent Barry said. "He was out there moving the ball around and heading up the offense. He just did a solid job. That's all that's expected. He did a good job on the defensive end and played heady on the offensive end."
Udrih said he tried to keep it simple in the fourth.
"I tried to take open shots when I had them and play hard on defense because we all know Billups would be shooting threes to try to get them back into the game," Udrih said. "I just tried to stay in front of him."
Udrih said his big 3-pointer at the end of the third was a product of guard Manu Ginobili's unselfishness.
"When Manu has the ball at the top, we just have to spread the court and stay in the corner," Udrih said. "I was wide open and he found me. That was the key."
"He did a good job," Popovich said. "He started out a little shaky (in the first half), but that can happen when you have Chauncey Billups and Lindsey Hunter on you and you are a rookie.
"But I thought he got stronger and a little bit more confident as he went along."
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Beno has a bad habit of forcing things at the end of quarters, which often end with a turnover. But other than that, i've been impressed with his play.
Like the turn over in game 1 against the FuGGETS.
Good morning everybody, I only splept 3 hours, i have to work,
I saw it what syou say, but please give Beno + TOny a chance, especially Beno he's in his first NBA's finals.
It was hilarious when Beno had the ball and got popped in the mouth, no foul, and then just quit playing!
Reminds me of that time early in the season when Beno got knocked down hard, and then looked at the bench to signal "I'll be ok, don't take me out" when nobody on the bench was thinking about taking him out!
damn i just got up! These games are long! I always get sleepy during the halftime.
Beno was awsome for a rookie!
GO SPURS GO!
It shows that this boy has been hanging around Manu too much. He's got mad handles.
I wouldn't say he steadied the ship. Makes me nervous as out there. What really happened was Manu took over the ball handling/decision making. Beno still not ready to compete with the elite. Got to give him credit for hitting a big shot and the free throws, but he doesn't handle the pressure defense from these guys very well.....yet.
I thought he played well under pressure for a rookie. He took care of what he needed to and just closed it out with some free throws and big shot in the end.
Beno gave the Spurs good quality minutes last night. He didn't play an excellent game but a good solid game to close out the victory.
The article was wonderful as is Beno! I am so pleased... so proud of him! That's my rookie! () = )
Hitting those shots was great, but personnaly I liked his passing during Q4 better. I think it had a much bigger impact on the outcome than his shooting.
Beno has had his playoff cherry popped.
Dude's unflappable. Three quarters of crappy play and two punches from Rip didn't get to him. Many props.Wait til August....Now, he wants to stay here, he likes it so much.
He might be sporting the worst haircut in the entire series, but he's playing great for a rookie. I'm surprised I haven't heard whispers about Speedy Claxton yet.
It's damn impressive when the Spurs can give a rookie point guard extended minutes in the 4th quarter against the 'World Champions" and keep our star point guard on the bench.
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