Andrew Goudelock was called upon by the Los Angeles Lakers in desperation.
The team lost both of its starting guards (Steve Nash and Steve Blake) to injury and had two other on the team that couldn't play the whole game despite a short rotation. This would be his first NBA playoff game with one of the league's most richest franchise's.
A normal player would've probably been nervous and humble going into the game, but Andrew Goudelock was the exact opposite. When asked about guarding Tony Parker, he answered by showing off his confidence in his skills and game.
“Just stay in front of him,” Goudelock said, matter-of-factly. “He’s a really quick guy, don’t let him get anything in transition, stay up on the pick-and-rolls. He’s got to guard me too, so I’m not really worried about Tony Parker.” (NBA.com)
Goudelock chipped in 20 points and 3 steals to go along with the stat line. As far as his influence in the game, it wasn't much. It was evident that nerves kicked in and probably the expectations of his words that he had to back up for the Lakers to have a chance. As far as his remarks about Parker having to guard him, he didn't need spend so much energy on Goudelock with his performance early on.
He'll still have to back up his talk in Game 4, where the Lakers are going to try to avoid elimination on their home court and a sweep in the series. He'll also have to still back up his tough talk and force Tony Parker to play some defense on him. He may be the reigning D-League MVP, but that's not anything where he's at right now.
Parker was having his best season this year unitl he got hurt and the last thing Andrew Goudelock wants to do is motivate him to play like the Tony Parker of old to close the series by using his words as motivation. Parker scored 20 points and 7 rebounds in 27 minutes, the majority of those against his counterpart. Maybe Goudelock will have to pay attention to Parker after all next game.
What do you think Spurs fans? Did Goudelock's ego make him have a shaky performance early on in the game or is that a confidence level you need to have against one of the top point guards in the game?
