Ekpe Udoh never expected to get a coveted spot in the Golden State Warriors' starting lineup like this. The way he produced in place of ill center Andris Biedrins almost assures he will get another chance. In his first start of the season, Udoh had a career-high 19 points to go with eight rebounds and led the Warriors past the Los Angeles Clippers 104-97 on Monday night.
Re: Monta Ellis has 32, Ekpe Udoh has 19 to send Clippers to their second straight lo Ekpe played like a grown up last night
Re: Monta Ellis has 32, Ekpe Udoh has 19 to send Clippers to their second straight lo Good win. Wish it made me care more about what the warriors are doing this year compared to what's going on with Jeremy Lin. He's like Tim Tebow only better passing.
Re: Monta Ellis has 32, Ekpe Udoh has 19 to send Clippers to their second straight lo Lin passing to Belinelli in the corner for a 3, B Wright with the rebound and lefty hook put back. Would that be any worse than Curry/Monta/Lee?
Re: Monta Ellis has 32, Ekpe Udoh has 19 to send Clippers to their second straight lo To answer that question...Much, Much worse, BUT there'd be a ton of room to sign other players, so they'd be in a better position.
Re: Monta Ellis has 32, Ekpe Udoh has 19 to send Clippers to their second straight lo Let's hope that 2nd round pick we have in 2012 becomes something (the one where we traded Brandan Wright for expiring Troy Murphy contract and the future 2nd round pick) Otherwise, it'd be kind of like we traded away Jason Richardson for nothing (Jrich was used to land the 8th pick for Brandan Wright). So basically, it becomes like Jrich (still very much in his prime) for a 2nd round pick and cap relief/expiring contract because the warriors messed up too much on spending and hamstrung their ability to plan for the future. Also let's not forget that Bellinelli is a decent, multi-faceted role player, but we traded him away for cash and Devean George. Again, probably a move for cap flexibility which was or wasn't put to good use depending on how you look at it. We were spending quite a lot for a team that wasn't improving after the 2007 Run Baron Jrich Sjax. We did not take advantage of that run to get better free agents. Also add to the mix that the warriors can't seem to draft very well/or are really unlucky when there is a decent draft (especially big men). It's like we're one pick away from getting a more valuable pick: e.g. Greg Monroe a double double machine PF/C and instead we get Udoh (definitely a power forward), a defensive guy that doesn't rebound consistently which is terrible because rebounding is a form of defense. We also picked Ike Diogu over Andrew Bynum. We seem to pick power forwards that we think are better overall players when our biggest need has always been the center position. Even if Biedrins is decent, if there is a 270+ lb center who has skill, mobility, good hands draft his ass! I'd take that pick every time over a smaller Zach Randolph clone (hell, you can get that from plenty of 6'8" power forwards. I'll name 3: Tyler Hansborough, Luis Scola, Ed Davis). Ike Diogu would be a pretty helpful player given his low post game if he were healthy, but c'mon you got to go for the pieces that we don't have such as size, mobility with decent hands. Hell, I'd even justify the Patrick O'Bryant pick if he were in the same draft as Ike Diogu. Swing for the chance at a really impact player if there is a no sure thing guy that is ready now e.g. Brandon Roy / LaMarcus Aldridge / Kevin Durant. Let's say we got Oden, even, be totally fine that the warriors tried to hit a home run. I mean I think David Lee is great, but not better in terms of a defensive or interior presence like a 250-280 lb center would have gotten us had we picked centers instead of power forwards. Also, it sucks to think if we could have just held on to some guys that are doing things in this league right now and use them to trade for something of real value. We don't really get anything in return for the players that we've picked when we cut them loose. Therefore, the warriors never seem to improve their team.
Re: Monta Ellis has 32, Ekpe Udoh has 19 to send Clippers to their second straight lo Oh on a positive note. We're only 3 games out of 8th place. We'll see if we can keep going on win streaks and maybe who knows if Larry Riley might pull something good before the trade deadline. I'm not holding my breath for either events to happen. He'll probably trade away more future picks for guys who ain't making it in this league.
