For example, in a February game against the Golden State Warriors last season Stephen Curry was repeatedly targeting Gay on switches and scoring on him without much trouble. His length and size let him reasonably guard most players, but there’s going to be certain matchups where his lack of quickness can be exploited. On the defensive end, he’s just average when guarding on-ball.
Weaknesses:Īlthough Rudy isn’t a liability in any one area there are a few weaknesses to his game. Overall his ability to shoot, attack closeouts, and make simple plays with the ball in his hands makes him perfect for Utah’s offense. He also is a pretty good passer and handler for his size, which will help keep Utah’s offense flowing and not kill advantages created by teammates. Gay can also shoot it from the mid-range as well, and while he isn’t super efficient from that spot on the floor (43% from mid-range over the last two seasons), just being able to have that skill in his arsenal helps keep defenses honest. He shot 39.5% on spot up 3’s last year, which should make him a seamless fit in the Jazz 3pt heavy attack. On the offensive end the main value Gay adds is as a floor spacer. Rudy’s length also helps him guard on the ball as well, where he’s fairly versatile and can at least survive on most players. But if he’s assigned a weak/non-threatening shooter, he’ll sag off a bunch and be ready to help out around the rim on any drives. If he’s matched up on a high level shooter, he’s disciplined enough to stay tight to them and not give up open looks. One thing I especially like about Gay’s off-ball defense is that he has a high awareness of who he’s guarding. Rudy combines his excellent length with a good understanding of defensive rotations, which allows him to be one of the better weak side rim protector’s in the league. The main area where his size shows up is around the rim on defense, where Gay is still very effective at this stage of his career. The first thing that stands out about Gay is his size and length for the forward position, as he’s listed at 6’8, 250 pounds, with a 7’3 wingspan. Let’s take a look at what we can expect him to contribute to the Jazz next season. Although Gay is far past the prime of his career, he’s shown over the past couple of years that he’s still an impactful player. 70 ranking look more foolish than Napoleon’s decision to invade Russia.After spending the last 4 years of his career in San Antonio, veteran forward Rudy Gay decided to sign with the Utah Jazz this offseason on a 3 year deal worth roughly $18 million total. With DeMarcus Cousins sucking up help defenders down low and newcomer Rajon Rondo, who Gay has already developed a nice chemistry with in the preseason, generating quality looks for him, the 29-year-old Gay is poised next season to make that No.
Now that he has shot selection somewhat on his side (bumping up his once-odious FG percentages to a respectable 45.5 percent from the field and 35.9 percent from deep last year), we can start talking about Gay for the player that he really is: one of the most gifted pure scorers in the Association. Gay’s incredulous reaction to the news on Monday was the stuff of legend.Īfter gaining a reputation as a long two-happy bricklayer in his later Memphis days and his Toronto days, Gay has quietly rewritten the narrative in Sacramento, steadily improving his efficiency by trading midrange attempts for shots in the paint or taking a step back and canning open threes off the catch. 70 in their annual NBA player rankings, despite a 2014-15 season in which the UConn product averaged 21.1 points per game, 5.9 rebounds per game, and 3.7 assists per game. The good people over at ESPN definitely forgot, slotting Gay at No. After his toils in the NBA wasteland that has been Sacramento hoops for the last few seasons, many of us have forgotten just how good Kings forward Rudy Gay is at the sport of basketball.