Ekpe Udoh
Ekpe Udoh has never been known for his offense. He made up for that last season, however, by living up to his claim that he’s one of the best defenders in the world.
He didn’t play a lot, but Udoh averaged 3.3 blocks and 1.9 steals per 36 minutes. Meanwhile, he was in the top 10 across the Association in defensive real plus/minus and, had he played enough to qualify, he would have topped the NBA in both block percentage and defensive box plus/minus.
This year, Udoh is playing even less. And while some of his defensive numbers have remained strong, or even improved, there have also been less-than-awesome developments in his game.
The 31-year-old’s incredible block rate has actually improved slightly from 7.7 percent to 7.9. However, his steal rate is way down (to 0.7 after hitting 2.7 last year) and his turnover rate has ballooned to an uncomfortable level. He’s coughing up the rock on more than a third of his individual possessions.
Being limited offensively is one thing, not being able to control the ball is quite another.
Udoh remains an elite-level rim protector off the bench and a high character guy in the locker room, but there’s a reason Jazz coach Quin Snyder gives almost all of the beck-up center minutes to Favors.
First-quarter grade: C