Samuels working overtime to improve

Robert Bailey, Gleaner Writer

National basketball star Samardo Samuels, said he has been working overtime to improve his all-round game in the National Basketball Association (NBA), despite his limited playing time this season.

The Cleveland Cavaliers forward's improvement was evident on Wednesday night, when he scored a career and game-high 23 points and grabbed 10 rebounds in a 109-99 loss to Western Conference powerhouse San Antonio Spurs in Cleveland; and on Friday night when he took a crucial charge at the death that foiled New York Knicks' Carmelo Anthony and handed the Cavs a 119-115 victory.

"The thing about it is that I just need to be consistent," said Samuels in an interview with The Gleaner. "The thing is that when you are playing in the pros, you have to be consistent and hopefully I can continue to work hard enough and keep getting better.

Best game so far

"This is my best game so far in the NBA," Samuels said of his Wednesday night output.

"It feels good just to be out there because I have been working very hard all year," said Samuels. "I haven't been playing much, but the opportunity came for me to start (Wednesday) and so I capitalised on it," he said.

"It is definitely encouraging to know that I can do it and I just want to prove to myself that I can do it."

The former University of Louisville star last represented Jamaica in 2009 at the Caribbean Basketball Championships, which was staged in the British Virgin Islands.

Samuels went undrafted after declaring for the NBA draft at the start of last summer, but he managed to sign a three-year deal with the Cavaliers, which will pay him US$500,000 per year.

Commenting on his role off the bench, most of the times, that is, Samuels said: "It is up to the coaches to decide who starts. But whenever they put me in the starting line-up I will be ready and I am going to go out there and play my hardest."

Highlight

Samuels said his highlight from Wednesday's game was a monster dunk in the third quarter over the Spurs' All-Star centre, Tim Duncan.

"That dunk is the highlight of my career because he was my idol growing up," said Samuels.

"I love Tim Duncan and so for me to dunk on him is kind of like a big deal for me," Samuels pointed out.

The Cavaliers, who plays in the Eastern Conference, are out of contention for a spot in the play-offs, as they have the worst record in the NBA - 11 wins and 49 defeats.

Samuels said he is now looking forward to make a bigger impression next season.

"My aim is to keep getting better and come next season when our team gets a fresh start, hopefully I can make an impact," he said.

"I want to finish the season with some wins and continue to show the coaches what I can do, so that they can start believing in me, like I believe in myself," Samuels said.