Empty the Bench

There has to be a degree of concern about Rudy Gay in Memphis, and it has nothing to do with the fact that the franchise is, unfortunately, always going to have difficulty selling his jerseys in the team shop.

Now 22 years old and in his third NBA season, I thought this kid’s natural progression towards All-Star status would take the same kind of jump it did from his rookie to sophomore season.

All the periphery signs were there:

Another primetime scorer in rookie O.J. Mayo to help ease the pressure and attention of opposing defenses. A young point guard in Mike Conley who figured to better assert himself and deliver the rock in his high-flying wingmen’s sweet spots. Conley has improved in recent weeks, but the jury is still out. And finally, a steady presence in the middle to help keep defenses honest; rookie Marc Gasol (11 points, 7.4 boards, 1 block per) has done a much better job of that than Darko Milicic has (surprise surprise).

But, for whatever reason, the freakishly athletic Gay has struggled to meet expectations; if anything, his game has regressed. That’s not to say he’s been unproductive: 18.5 points, 5.7 boards, 1.7 assists, 1.4 steals, 1 triple, and 0.7 blocks per aren’t exactly throwaway stats.

Compared to his 07-08 campaign, however, all but his steals are down while turnovers are up (nearly 3). He still struggles some from the line at 77% on the season, and what’s equally disconcerting is that he’s currently in the NBA’s top 20 in shot attempts at just over 16 per, but only 6 of those 20 players have a lower shooting percentage (many of which are notorious chuckers like Stephen Jackson, Al Harrington, and Vince Carter). Gay has admitted that poor shot selection has a lot to do with the 44% FG, but knowing is only half the battle: he’s shot a combined 39% over his past five games.

When I look at the 6-9 Rudy Gay, I see a guy with the same kind of talents and jump-out-of-the-gym hops as we saw in Shawn Marion during his prime when he was averaging around 20 points, 10 boards, 3 assists, 2 steals, 1.5 blocks, and 1 triple per. Hell, he’s already not far off that pace, but the overall influence he’s having on a winning end result isn’t even close.

And that’s why I’m starting to worry just a little bit about Gay, whom we’re big fans of here at ETB. I don’t want to see the constant losing, the blowout losses, work their way into his psyche. Maybe it isn’t.

But the fact is that the Memphis Grizzlies have gone 59-164 since he arrived via a trade-day deal with the Houston Rockets back in June 2006. They’ve only won five games since December 26. Hey, they’re the third-youngest team in the NBA and nobody was expecting many wins this season, but that doesn’t mean the mounting losses can’t or won’t take a toll on its youngsters like Gay and Mayo.

Both of us here at ETB want to see Gay and the Grizzlies succeed. Gay is a fun player to watch and his team is too, at times (unless, perhaps, you’re a diehard Grizz fan). Things haven’t yet gone like we’d hope they would for Gay this season, though, and we’re patiently, hopefully, waiting for him to snap out of it.

Related Reading:
- This Dunk Contest is Going to Suck
- Counting Down the Five Worst Teams in the Western Conference – Memphis Grizzlies

Rudy Gay Photo Credit: Icon SMI