Blackfoot wrote:Rudy ISN'T a consistent scorer so the point is moot. Would have not beat the Clippers with him, as evident of last year first round bout.
C'mon, Blackfoot. Rudy Gay has a bad playoff series and he's a cancer forevermore?
The guy's not an efficient shooter, we know. He's got the same problem Josh Smith, Monta Ellis, Rajon Rondo, and countless other studs (whom you dismiss) have. He doesn't have the all-mighty, God-willing, handed-down-from-Olympus-on-high, true-shooting percentage on lock. That doesn't make him a bad player.
Furthermore, it doesn't make him an offensive player the opposing team can ignore. Gay's worst enemy (like Smith and Ellis) is himself; he refuses to adjust his game to his skill-level and quit launching errant 3's. The common denominator of all 3 of these guys? Poor 3-point shooting; which you've claimed is not the executioner's axe to your favorite stat, but I believe otherwise. None of these guys shoot above 35% from long-range, all of them pour in 17 points or higher the past 3 seasons, but because they don't knock down the long ball, their TS% suffers. Meaning you'd rank them behind players like JJ Reddick, Mike Miller, and Carlos Delfino. Y'know what those 3 guys lack that their poor-shooting peers don't? The ability to create their own shot. That's why players like Reddick consistently stay within their role, at 9 points on efficient shooting, while guys like Ellis bring 20 points a night on sporadic shooting that can be hot, cold, or anywhere in between.
Of course you want the Holy Grail; the efficient scorer who can create his own shot... but there are only so many LeBron's, Curry's, and Durant's to go around. Most players with elite TS% percentages reside in 3 categories: (a) the ultra rare superstars (like Harden) who can create their own shot and pour in buckets at a high percentage, (b) the big men who only shoot from 2-feet out (Brandan Wright, Tyson Chandler), and (c) the role players who NEVER go above their gameplan and chip in efficiently when called upon but very rarely can be counted on to create a basket when the ball starts in their hands. These are the Sefolosha's, the the Korver's, and the Battier's.
I'm not trying to claim that guys like Rudy Gay, Monta Ellis, or Josh Smith can sniff the characters in category A. I'm simply saying, they're worth more than the guys in the B/C realm. Don't believe me? We'll see who gets more greenbacks this offseason: Josh Smith and Monta Ellis, or Jarrett Jack and Brandan Wright.
But the bottom line is that a guy like Rudy Gay is a huge asset. And pretending that he's not because he has a high-usage and a low-TS% is throwing out the baby with the bathwater. His TRB% is higher than LeBron's, he's an elite wing defender, and he scores 18 points a game on 45% shooting (which would be way above 50% inside the arc). Dude is a baller.
I'll make a friendly wager with you. Since you were touting Ed Davis' advanced stats at the time of the trade and you say Gay is such a loser, I'll bet you Rudy Gay finishes next season with a higher PER. Seeing as Gay plays 3 times as many minutes, we can all agree that it's much harder for him to maintain a high PER the longer he's out there (like playing the house in blackjack). If Davis proves to be the superior player, I'll put "BLACKFOOT WAS RIGHT" in my sig for 3 months. If Gay wins out, you put "32 WAS RIGHT" in your sig for 3 months. Deal?
