Ime Udoka is always making notes. From his playing days to his coaching stops, Udoka has said that he’s always taken notes along the way.
You just never know when you might need them.
Louis Pasteur said fortune favors the prepared mind, and the accumulated notes Udoka has compiled on Kevin Durant appear to be favoring the Celtics as they've taken a 2-0 series lead. Durant has been held mostly in check to this point, and it’s because Udoka has leaned on years of preparation.
“It goes back further to many series with Durant and Golden State and Oklahoma City or in the San Antonio days,” Udoka, a Nets assistant last season, said. “Just being around the league for a while you get to know those guys but you get to know them a little more intimately and when you're coaching them and being with them for a season. So, me being the defensive-minded guy, I think it's beneficial to be with those guys and see some of the things that other teams have done against them, ideas, I have my head and just being around them you learn a little more of the intricacies of their game.”
Udoka had a front-row seat last playoffs as Durant nearly carried the Nets into the NBA Finals. Durant and the Nets ultimately fell short, and Durant admitted recently that he was exhausted by the process. The physicality and minutes drain took their toll. Those tactics are being repeated.
“Last year in the Milwaukee series, PJ Tucker really got into his body,” Udoka said. “(He) was physical, deny touches, deny catches, and so, those are things that have worked so far.”
Pro sports are all about finding any little advantage and trying to exploit it, and the NBA is no different. Anything that gives Boston an edge, physical or mental, can turn into something significant on the floor.
“It’s definitely a benefit for our group because he just has a good sense of the things that they want to do and how they want to play,” Al Horford said. Durant has singled out Horford as one of the Boston defenders always hunting and hitting him. “For us, it's just to kind of take that and blend that into the style of play that he wants us to play. We've been playing the same way all year, defensively, but yeah definitely helps.”
The added attention to Durant is actually one of basketball’s highest compliments. It’s an acknowledgment from the opponent that he is too good to guard with just one or two people. The constant attention comes with choices the Celtics have to be willing to make in the name of keeping Durant somewhat in check.
“You have to understand they have other guys that can beat you out there,” Udoka said. “Trying to find that balance of showing him a body, showing him physicality, but not letting others get too loose. But at times, you're gonna have to sacrifice some of that. (Bruce) Brown going off a little bit, (Goran) Dragic going off at times, to keep the ball away from him.”
It’s worked so far for the Celtics, but the same way Boston wants Jayson Tatum to become a decoy and dish off to open teammates, the Nets will encourage Durant to do the same.
“They’re up and into him, grabbing him, holding him, all that stuff you come to expect,” Steve Nash said. “He’s been uncomfortable and hasn’t looked like he’s quite been able to get his rhythm, but there’s other areas of the game that we’ve got to improve at. We made some big strides in the first half, played a lot better, and now we have to sustain it for two halves.”
Game 3 is Saturday night in Brooklyn.
ROBERT WILLIAMS MAKING PROGRESS
Yesterday marked three weeks into Robert Williams’ 4-6 week prognosis for his return from meniscus surgery. Williams missed Boston’s season-ending road trip to rehab at the team practice facility. He won’t do that this time.
"He'll travel with us,” Udoka said. “It's different than the end of the season where he was in the early stages of his rehab and wanted him to be here. Get two-a-days in. This is the time of year where we want him around the team, him around the ground and get into the playoff atmosphere. So he'll travel with us.”
It’s still possible Williams can return in this series. He’s within the timeframe of players who have returned from this kind of surgery, and week four lands on Game 6 in Boston.
“He's progressing well,” Udoka said. “He's had no setbacks and that benchmark of what we said, the 4-6 weeks, is looking good. So we're happy with his progress."
The hopes of an earlier return (which I admittedly had), are fading a bit because he still hasn’t been able to officially practice with the team.
“He’s jumped up his level of activity as far as rehab. Being out there with some 3-on-3, 4-on-4, but not out there practicing with the team,” Udoka said. “You can’t really emulate the game, but he’s starting to do more. Contact work and getting out there as much as we can - there’s no need to put him out there for walkthroughs, so he’s doing things outside the group more so than with us.”
GRANT WILLIAMS, LITTLE BROTHER
Here are true facts about Grant Williams:
He’s put in a lot of work to get to where he is now, and his progression from being unplayable against the Nets last season to one of the Game 2 heroes is proof of that.
His shooting is critical to Boston’s success.
He loves to talk.
“His success, guys are happy for him, but it goes to his head at times, so they like to bring him back to earth,” Udoka joked. “He’s a guy, for me, I probably see some similarities in myself. Role player that can impact the game. As much as I hold Jayson and Jaylen to a higher standard, I do so too with the rest of the group. … The team is pretty happy for his success, and they want to keep him in check, because it can go to his head pretty quickly.”
Jokes aside (or jokes with a tinge of truth to them, maybe), Williams is in an advantageous position with good vets who play a similar position. Horford especially has had an impact on him. For example, earlier this season when Williams was called for a foul helping on defense, it was Horford pulling him aside and showing up how to stay vertical.
“If I see something here and there, I’ll talk to him,” Horford said. “But he’s doing a really good job. It’s really all the credit to him. He’s taking care of his body. He’s putting in the work. He’s doing all the little things that he needs to and it’s nice to see him come along this much within a season.”
Williams’ 3-3 from deep in yesterday’s game all came in a critical stretch spanning the first and second quarters, where he turned a 14-point Nets lead into a much more manageable 6-point lead. The Celtics were able to hang close enough in the middle quarters thanks to that, and finally pounced in the fourth quarter.
“He's been unbelievable this year,” Payton Pritchard, the fourth-quarter unsung hero, said. “Grant, he worked his butt off this offseason and he definitely improved on his shooting. Brings a lot to the table. Obviously everybody knows Grant. Grant likes to talk. But it kind of helps the locker room and all that. He's been great.”
As much as there might be some ego-popping at the Auerbach Center, Williams is actually aware that his success only comes from playing the right way.
“It’s definitely satisfying, but something I know I’ll have to keep working with it,” he said after the game. “One game doesn’t dictate a series, one game doesn’t dictate your performance in the playoffs. It’s about staying consistent and being a reliable guy.”
