He’s talented enough to get his baskets in this fashion, but at the cost of efficient basketball.īut let’s look at Gay’s numbers after the All-Star break, when George Karl took the team over. He’s quick and athletic, but typically lacks the handle to blow past most wing defenders. As mentioned earlier, Rudy relies on his length to shoot over other players. With such a heavy emphasis on pull-up jump shots outside of 10 feet, it makes sense that Rudy isn’t the most efficient player. He averaged 19.9 points per game during this span, shooting only 34% from three-point range and good for a 47.7 effective field goal percentage.
Before the All-Star Break, 41.3 percent of Rudy’s shots were pull-up jump shots outside of 10 feet from the basket.įor comparison, 41.0 percent were taken within 10 feet and only 16.0 percent were catch and shoot jumpers. The 2014-2015 regular season is a great case study for the current Rudy Gay, before and after George Karl’s arrival. But his shot selection has been very poor when shooting from longer ranges. Rudy isn’t a bad shot from the longer mid-range or even the three-point area. Unfortunately, Gay has struggled to figure out his game outside of the 15 foot area on a consistent basis.
In this area on the floor, it doesn’t matter whether Rudy is shooting off-the-catch or pull-up shots. Whether he’s penetrating from the wing or posting up, his ability to rise up over the top of defenders and release short jumpers with a soft touch has been his bread and butter throughout his career. Rudy specializes at shooting within 15 feet of the basket. His mediocre efficiency is not due to an issue with shot mechanics, rather the types of shots that he takes. The man is 6’8”, 230 lbs and has a 7’3” wingspan, which is a major reason why he’s been successful at all in the NBA,īut his pretty shooting stroke and soft touch are what put him over the top. Rudy Gay is a notable scorer because he has a unique blend of physical attributes and a smooth jump shot. He’s capable, but capable doesn’t cut it in today’s game. But Rudy Gay is not an effective pull-up jump shooter. NBA greats such as Kobe Bryant and Michael Jordan impacted an entire generation of basketball players as pull-up jump shooters. A scoring wing with a tendency to take pull-up jump shots is one thing. Part of the reason for Gay’s relatively unappreciated career year was that his stats simply weren’t making an impact in the win column. But oddly enough, it felt like no one noticed. In 2014-2015, Rudy actually averaged 21.1 points per game, good for the 12 th highest scorer in the regular season.
Mandatory Credit: Justin Ford-USA TODAY Sports Even after continuous improvement in Sacramento, SF Rudy Gay still has plenty of critics to quiet.