Rudy Gay...

Post #1 » by **Harry Palmer** » Wed Apr 16, 2008 2:35 am

...and Kobe Bryant are the only 2 players in the NBA to be in the top 40 in dunks and 3-pointers made.

...is the first soph since Lebron/Melo to score 20 ppg in a season.

I think people are really kind of sleeping on how good he has become.

bigballa3jj · Post #2 » by **bigballa3jj** » Wed Apr 16, 2008 2:37 am

Durant is a rookie and avg 20 ppg

Mr. Perfect · Post #3 » by **Mr. Perfect** » Wed Apr 16, 2008 2:39 am

You mean Lebron, Melo AND Wade.

Post #4 » by **TMACFORMVP** » Wed Apr 16, 2008 2:40 am

I don't think anyone really underrates him, he's an explosive scorer with a wide array of offensive moves and has potential to be a Top 10 scorer in the league, but he's not as talked about because he's yet to prove he can lead a team or just absolutely take over a game.

Post #5 » by **Harry Palmer** » Wed Apr 16, 2008 2:43 am

bigballa3jj wrote:Durant is a rookie and avg 20 ppg

Sure, but he has both gotten a lot of pub and much more reliant on shot volume, shooting .040 lower from the field and .064 lower from 3.

I think he has really improved as the season has progressed, but there is no doubt he has been a volume scorer this season, whereas Gay has been an efficient scorer, and I am not sure he will ever be as good an outside shooter as Gay is now.

Post #6 » by **Harry Palmer** » Wed Apr 16, 2008 2:44 am

Mr. Perfect wrote:You mean Lebron, Melo AND Wade.

Sorry, my mistake.

Friend_Of_Haley · Post #7 » by **Friend_Of_Haley** » Wed Apr 16, 2008 2:44 am

I'm not a big gay guy.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=eqJ_8lUsYs0&feature=related

legacyinthemakin89c · Post #8 » by **legacyinthemakin89c** » Wed Apr 16, 2008 2:46 am

But Gay hasn't shown the ability to take over a game and carry a team. Durant has shown flashes of that this year if you were implying Gay>Durant.

Gay will end up being a perennial allstar once guys like Iverson, Ray Allen, Pierce, Billups, etc start to lose a step. Gay is just one of the next perennial top 10 shooting guard in the NBA.

Post #9 » by **Schad** » Wed Apr 16, 2008 2:47 am

He has definitely improved offensively, and will continue to do so. If there is one criticism, it is that his rise as the go-to scorer for the Grizzlies has coincided with a rather dramatic decline in his defense; the only Memphis player with a worse on/off court figure is Hakim Warrick.

That's not really at his feet; there aren't many players in the league who have the stamina to be both a lockdown defender and primary scorer. But as the Grizzlies fill out their roster in upcoming years, it will be interesting to see whether Gay evolves into a consistent #1 option, or a secondary scorer who plays excellent defense, as he did in his rookie campaign.

Post #10 » by **Harry Palmer** » Wed Apr 16, 2008 2:48 am

legacyinthemakin89c wrote:But Gay hasn't shown the ability to take over a game and carry a team. Durant has shown flashes of that this year if you were implying Gay>Durant.

I'm not sure how you evaluate that. What standard are you using for that?

Gay will end up being a perennial allstar once guys like Iverson, Ray Allen, Pierce, Billups, etc start to lose a step. Gay is just one of the next perennial top 10 shooting guard in the NBA.

Isn;t there a pretty big difference between being a perennial all star and being one of the top 10 at your position? Also, he almost never plays the 2, but is a 3 who sometimes plays 4.

Not a criticism, but I wonder how often people have seen him play. It's not like Memphis is ever on national broadcasts.

NetsForce · Post #11 » by **NetsForce** » Wed Apr 16, 2008 2:59 am

legacyinthemakin89c wrote:But Gay hasn't shown the ability to take over a game and carry a team

I normally respect your opinions but... Are you serious? Gay doesn't have the hype Durant does AND he plays for Memphis so I guess it's only natural that when he does carry his team it's overlooked... But still... You're better than that.

Post #12 » by **Manhattan Project** » Wed Apr 16, 2008 3:26 am

Its mainly because he plays for the Grizz, they will never get any pub no matter how good they get. I think we all expected that he was going to improve greatly this year. I mean I still cant believe how he fell that far down in the draft and traded away. (Yeah I understand the reason behind it)

Gay coming into next year will know that this is his team and will be the number one option from the get-go. I expect him to improve even more on his numbers.

G35 · Post #13 » by **G35** » Wed Apr 16, 2008 3:32 am

I like Gay and Granger who have both made noticeable improvements........

Apollo64 · Post #14 » by **Apollo64** » Wed Apr 16, 2008 3:33 am

Do you see him as someone who can play well for a Top 10 winning team?

ILikeTheGrizz · Post #15 » by **ILikeTheGrizz** » Wed Apr 16, 2008 3:41 am

I think Gay might be able to make the leap that Wade did (LeBron was kinda already there), but I see him more as a guy who'll be an absolute killer second option, or at least an equal option to a PG or SG that is more of a playmaker.

Love me some Gay though!

chuckerz · Post #16 » by **chuckerz** » Wed Apr 16, 2008 3:50 am

Toronto should have drafted Gay over Bargnani. But then again, Gay is the best player on a bad team.

spacemonkey · Post #17 » by **spacemonkey** » Wed Apr 16, 2008 3:53 am

Could Gay become the best player of his draft class?

jab · Post #18 » by **jab** » Wed Apr 16, 2008 3:53 am

Rudy Gay is a Beast.

Not his fault his team isn't very good

legacyinthemakin89c · Post #19 » by **legacyinthemakin89c** » Wed Apr 16, 2008 4:17 am

NetsForce wrote:-= original quote snipped =-

I normally respect your opinions but... Are you serious? Gay doesn't have the hype Durant does AND he plays for Memphis so I guess it's only natural that when he does carry his team it's overlooked... But still... You're better than that.

Memphis is 2-9 when Gay has scored more then 30 points in a game. I know his team is awful, but that should be a little better if he is as good as some make him to be. I have no problem admitting he is going to be the best player in that draft class or 2nd behind Roy. Gay is going to be a 20 point scorer for a long time in this league, I just don't see him as the first option type.

Durant has only scored 30 5 times, but his team is 3-2 in those games. Its just my opinion that I think Durant is going to be the better player. I've watched the guy since he was in high school and he's been one of my favorite players for awhile.

Post #20 » by **GYBE** » Wed Apr 16, 2008 5:25 am

legacyinthemakin89c wrote:Gay is going to be a 20 point scorer for a long time in this league, I just don't see him as the first option type.

Only 4 teams had two players score more than 20 PPG this season (Golden State had 3), and a lot of teams didn't have anyone reach that mark. So I find it hard to believe Gay will score that much for many years and not be a first option type, whatever that means.