Actually, all you have to do is watch the game. Your stats theory doesn't hold water for several reasons. Number 1, it wasn't stats that made the shots rudy has been making, it is ice vein blood. Number 2, the grizzlies lose games, not with offense, but with defense. Gay is not out there playing with a bunch of no talent scrubs. He is playing with several great offensive players. Gasol and Miller to name a few, and he, not them, has taken over at the end of games. If you don't know, the grizzlies are one of the top offensive teams. They rank 8th in offense. Rudy is hitting 48% from the field and only taking 15.6 shots a game. Compare that to kobe's 44% and 20 shots a game and Rudy is clearly more efficient. Something else. Kobe didn't play like rudy is this year until year 3 and that's a fact.
I don't think we really care if you could foresee the future or not. We do care whether the Front Office can "foresee" the future. Oh and I'm tired of hearing that excuse for the piss poor management time and time again.
Actually both trade are quite different. Anyone who followed the Kobe trade would not make such comparisms. The Kobe trade was not really a "trade". Charlot loved and wanted to keep him - Kobe forced their hands ala Stevie and the Vancouver deal. Kobe did not even give them a wide range of options to trade with. IIRC, he said he would only go to 2 or 3 teams, and of all LA made the "best" offer -the rest is history. Then and now, I would have could Kobe's bluff and kept him if I was the Hornets. P.S. I am just pointing this out for the sake of clarity. This case of Rudy is just dumb stupidity. I remember hearing the news on that day in Toyota center at the concession stand - I was sick then and I have not recovered since then. Interestingly, my passion for the team was down considerably - I guess as a matter of attrition (how much stupidity can one fan take)? I still do care - only marginally.
I was wondering where the Gay watch went when the Rockets had a good game and the Grizz kept on losing.
Yes, I'm sure two subpar games in which Rudy still averaged 18.5 and 6 has all the Rockets fans glad that they don't have him.
What's more telling is the fact that the only thing left for Battier apologists is to look at the win/loss column with him playing alongside Yao/Tmac, especially after a win against one of the worst teams in the league, while Gay in his second year having to carry the offensive load for his team. Ever wonder how win/loss would shape up if Gay was supporting Yao/Tmac while Battier was being asked to score 20 points in Memphis as the main guy? Talk about getting desperate!
Carry the offensive load? They have Gasol, and Miller, too. The roster is not lacking in scoring punch or talent, particularly comparing the team Battier left two years ago, but they kept on losing. They just are not working out very well as a team. No one is saying Rudy Gay isn't talented, or is not a good player, but people act like having him on the Rockets team would magically cure all of their problems this year. Unlikely, given that having Rudy's talent on Grizzlies do not cure all of that team's problems.
Pau Gasol(who's been injured) and Mike Miller are not T-Mac and Yao. And if they are, the Rockets are screwed.
That team was as mediocre as it gets. A good/average team at best during regular season only to be a playoff fodder for whoever in the first team. Battier in particular was a complete non-factor in playoffs, both on offense and defense. I think rockets fans experienced some of that last year, not to the extent that Memphis fans did, but they sure as hell did. That team wasn't going anywhere. That is why West made the deal. I think the judgment to Battier trade was passed last year in playoffs when he was brought in to "Win now" and all they got was what Memphis had gotten with him abroad. Mediocrity. No one is saying he would be the answer to all the problems. But he sure as hell would be answer to some of the problems. He would have addressed some of the most glaring needs of the Rockets. Rudy Gay in his second year is doing more than most Rudy fans had expected.
Good point. Like I said, I don't know who in their straight mind wouldn't want Gay playing alongside Yao/Tmac instead of Battier playing alongside Yao/Tmac, especially given how the rockets season has gone so far,and how well Gay has been playing. One is being paired with Yao/Tmac, the other with *shudder* Gasol/Miller. Consider equal variables people, equal variables.
That is quite the strawman argument there. Gay's abilities would be a welcome breath of fresh air on the most athletically challenged team in basketball.
Initially I believed gay's athleticism would be a great fit for us, but then i realized that gay doesn't really fit in at any position. We needed a four the most, but he wasn't strong enough to play there. With tmac playing the 3, gay would have to play the 2 to get significant minutes, which means chasing around shooting guards all night, and I think with his size (6'9+) that it would have been far from ideal. Of course i don't think shane is the best guy to guard 2's either as evidenced by how often he gets beat off the dribble. But if we would have gotten roy, he could have been a major upgrade at either guard spots, with point guard skills in a shooting guards body. That is the real loss, not rudy.
No post since Christmas Eve. Did no one watch Gay since then? Did no one watch Gay tonight? One game doesn't mean he isn't a good player, but it does show why the Grizzlies are not winning more than they have so far even with great offensive threats like Gasol, Gay and Mike Miller.
I am not sure this game proves anything that we didn't know about the Grizzlies already. None of those guys are great offensive threats as you are making them out to be. They are good to very good at best. Gasol has never been able to carry his team by himself and is considered a soft big player. Miller is primarily an outside shooter who can be taken out of game when played physically. And Gay is still young and is far from great. As much as I like Rudy's game he is still inexperienced and inconsistent. The main problem is that Memphis has no real stars. They have lacked a closer since like...forever. The three that you mentioned are all suited to be 3rd option on any team looking to make noise in playoffs. They are not even suited to be 2nd options. I like Gay but I don't think he will ever be able to carry a team by himself. He might be second best option at best. I would never build a team around Rudy Gay, but I would build a team around Tmac/Yao with Rudy Gay as the third option.
I would rather have Mike Miller as a third option to Yao and TMac. Better outside shooter and overall skills (made some nice passes tonight even when his shots were not falling). Rudy can improve on his skill set still, but you can't count on these skill developments to carry them to greatness-- even for talented and motivated players. See guys like Mike Finley and Jason Richardson... very good players, very hard workers, but both have holes in their games that never got entirely fixed. Somethings are really just about natural talent, I guess.
