Getty Ime Udoka, Celtics coach
The Celtics had built an 18-point lead in the first half of Game 3 if the NBA Finals, but, as is their wont, they were playing fast and loose with the ball and committing foolish turnovers. The Warriors were taking advantage, and Ime Udoka could see where that was going.
The coach has watched all season — even during the good times — when his club would turn away from the quick and simple passes and cuts that had staked it to success, suffering either a loss on the scoreboard or, if not that, a new gray hair or two on in his beard.
This time, Udoka did not immediately whip out the X and O method to problem solving. Some eight steps from Red Auerbach’s signature on the parquet floor (yeah, I paced it off this morning after practice), he asked his players a direct question:
“Will you guys stop playing like assholes?”
It still took a while for the Celtics to gather themselves and command the fourth quarter for a 116-100 victory and a 2-1 Finals lead, but Udoka had further established that he is willing to use whatever means necessary to guide his lads through the minefields — those created by both the opponent and his own players’ largely unforced errors.
‘Players Love It’
Sometimes a dope slap of sorts is needed — an incisive call to, hey, snap out of it. Such sideline stratagems are certainly not an Ime Udoka copyright, but his troops appreciate when he breaks it down like that.
“Players love it,” said Grant Williams, himself a not infrequent target of Udoka’s tough affection. “I feel like if you don’t love it, that’s one of the things that shows up. In college, they always say, if you can’t take the heat then transfer. And I feel like everyone on this team takes that heat and brings it.
“It’s like, ‘Make sure you’re locked in, because I’m going to be locked in. So if I’m more intense than you are, then that’s a problem.'”
Marcus Smart struggled to recall Udoka’s exact phrasing during the aforementioned timeout, “But he was probably talking about me. That’s what happens sometimes, and you’ve just got to be able to deal with it,” he said.
And, he added, that’s all good with his teammates, too.
“Definitely,” Smart said. “You want to know what you’re doing wrong so you can fix it. You can’t fix nothing if you don’t know what the problem is. So we definitely appreciate his honesty and his openness.”
As for that being a wake-up call at times, Smart said, “A lot of it is. You just have to keep going. We like that about Ime.”
Ime Udoka Gains Respect Among Celtics Faithful
Celtic followers seem to appreciate it, as well. A lot.
Having been told and confirmed Udoka’s huddle query by those let’s say “close to the situation” after the game, I tweeted the quote at 12:56 a.m. Fans responded quickly and, according to a quick scan of my notifications timeline, were doing so all through the night. There is still a steady stream as this story is being filed.
Ime Udoka may have saved the Celtics with a key question during a timeout after his team had committed some bad turnovers. According to a source, Udoka stepped into the huddle and said, “Will you guys stop playing like assholes?”
Aaaaaand we have our coaching moment of the year.
Grown men were openly expressing their love and loyalty and demanding the Celtics make Udoka coach for life.
“My love for Ime grows every single day,” responded one man.
“I’d die for this man,” wrote another.
From numerous countries in several languages, the Ime affection flowed (“Te amo Udoka”, etc.).
Some wanted a re-vote for the Coach of the Year award. Others wanted the quote on a T-shirt. Still others simply laughed. Mostly it was just giddiness in the wake of a Celtic victory and all that, but there is maybe an ancillary benefit for the coach, as well — in addition to making his point with his players.
Udoka, who generally plays it pretty close to the vest publicly, most likely would rather his words not gotten beyond the huddle. But in a single line shared, it appears he became utterly relatable to basketball fans who spend games shouting at their televisions.
He is, at once, coach of a team leading The Finals and man of the people.