You know how you get to talking with the new guy on your rec league team and he turns out to be a really thoughtful, introspective guy? I love finding diamonds in the rough like that. Jared Dudley of the Phoenix Suns was on the B.S. Report podcast awhile back and I had no idea he was so articulate. I’ve always wanted to map out a Bill Simmons podcast, but we’ll save it for another day. For now, I’ll just give you the core dump. I’m definitely gonna start following him on Twitter, too.
Dudley talked about Steve Nash. He packs his own meals on roadtrips. No fried foods, no desserts. Takes care of the body. Nash reportedly feels the altitude at Denver and Utah only in the first quarter.
Dudley often guards the other team’s best player, and also says for him, the hardest guy to defend in the league is not Kobe Bryant, not LeBron James, not Dwyane Wade — although D-Wade does have the most explosive first step. The toughest guy for him to guard in the NBA is Kevin Durant. Can’t block his shot.
For his role off the bench, Dudley stretches out, puts the heat packs on the knees, and understands his role, knowing when to expect to sub in. That’s why he’s been more effective in this “breakout” season.
For the Suns’ playoff hopes, without Robin Lopez (injured), the window of errors shrinks. Simmons felt Lopez, listed under 7′0″, was actually perhaps taller, when seeing him live, from courtside.
Dudley has a small anecdote on Lopez. Last season, down by 30 on the road, Greg Oden dunks on Lopez, and-one. In the timeout, Shaquille O’Neal gets on him and Lopez snaps, “Well, if you had been doing your job, we wouldn’t be down by 30 trying to clean up your mess!!”
Ever since then, Lopez has been a new man. Incidentally, Shaq never complained and was a hard-working teammate.
Being a former Charlotte Bobcat, Simmons asks Dudley about his best story with the G.O.A.T., Michael Jordan. Walking out of a Bobcats season-ending meeting, Dudley says, “Hey I workout in Vegas, so hit me up sometime when you’re out there doing your old man’s camp.” MJ says okay, see you soon.
Then out of the blue one random night in Vegas that summer, Dudley gets a call from a 312 number: MJ. They go out gambling and Dudley has a night to remember, although the conversation doesn’t go into that much detail, starting with security guards popping up out of nowhere when he first sees MJ and they shake hands.
Talking about the NBA lifestyle in general, Dudley says it’s all about coaching and the system that you play in. Dudley says he is still the same player he was in Charlotte.
NBA life can be tough and weird (or as we here at Poor Man’s Commish like to say, “Bizarro”), but Dudley loves his life and can’t complain. He will always do autographs, especially for kids and considering the amount of money NBA players get paid.
“JMZ” is his nickname because he’s like TMZ but for basketball. He gives the lowdown and videos from the NBA life, e.g., he did a mini-session called “Twitter Cribs” (Twitter handle: @JaredDudley619).
Another example of comedic stuff Dudley posts on Twitter: Lopez drives a green ‘87 Corolla. Dudley has pledged to be there when Lopez finally buys a new car. Btw, Amar’e Stoudemire has a Maybach as well as a Lamborghini.
Listen to the B.S. Report at: ESPNRadio.com – PodCenter – ESPN
I also managed to find a nice article on Dudley’s off-court entertainment exploits. Here’s an excerpt:
“JMZ is hit or miss,” Nash said. “Some days, it’s outstanding content. Some days, it’s just like trash. We’re working on his level of content production. He’s getting the handle of the host and what it takes to entertain his fans.”
Nash was the star of an October video Dudley shot for more than 67,000 views. Nash kicked a shot into the hoop from the free-throw line and celebrated like a soccer player.
“Steve is like one of those weird directors,” Dudley said. “His movies are going to be good but it’s for a certain audience. My audience is broad. You can bring your kids.
You can read the full article at: http://www.azcentral.com/sports/suns/articles/2010/04/01/20100401phoenix-suns-jared-dudley-twitter.html
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