50 SHADES OF (RUDY) GAY.
When word came down that the Toronto Raptors had acquired Rudy Gay from Memphis for Ed Davis and Jose Calderon, I threw up in my mouth. This is an obvious sign of desperation by Raptors GM Bryan Colangelo. Why give up your veteran point guard on the last year of his deal and a fine young power forward who makes half the NBA minimum in exchange for an overrated, incredibly mediocre small forward who makes 18 million dollars a season? The numbers don't lie. Rudy Gay IS Demar DeRozan. He's only two inches taller than DD, but his game is pretty much the same. Both average around 17 points a game, while taking 15-16 shots. Neither can shoot the three, which is a problem since one is a shooting guard and the other is a shooting forward. Both are average jump shooters, although Gay is below average this year at 40.8% from the field. Neither is a particularly good defender, rebounder or passer. So, I'll ask again. Why did the Raptors acquire Mr. Gay?
Here's why. After messing up with the likes of Jason Kapono, Jermaine O'Neal and Hedo Turkoglu, Colangelo is under the gun. His job is on the line, and he has to do something. I expect he will trade Andrea Bargnani prior to the Februrary 21st deadline, and then the Raptors will look like an entirely different team, even more dependent on the scoring prowess of Gay and DeRozan. Kyle Lowry, who is good friends with Gay, inherits the point guard position, with John Lucas III as the only backup. Derozan can be spelled by rookie Terrence Ross, while Gay is backed up by Alan Anderson and Landry Fields. Amir Johnson is the fulltime power forward and rebounder, but there's little depth in the post. Right now it's Aaron Gray and Quincy Acy at center, with rookie Jonas Valinciunas and, eventually Bargnani coming back from injury. Not exactly a stellar lineup that instils fear in the opposition.
So, you have a lack of depth in the backcourt, a lack of depth in the paint with too few rebounders, and four or five guys who have limited NBA experience, thrust into roles they are unprepared for. The coach, Dwane Casey, is a defense-first kind of a guy who now has to change the offensive system from a pick and roll to a hybrid fast-break-and-hope-for-the-best kind of offense. And when you've lost your two best shooters (Calderon shot 47% and 42.9% from downtown, Davis was a 55% shooter) you had better hope that somebody gets hot, and that somebody HAS to be Rudy Gay. The highest paid player on the team, the guy you gave up two solid, popular players for is now under the microscope. My stomach is queasy just thinking about it.
UPDATE: A few days after I questioned whether Phil Mickelson, at the age of 42, still had what it takes, he goes out and shoots the lights out in Phoenix. He needs a birdie on either of the last two holes to shoot a 59. I guess he read my blog and became inspired. Your welcome Lefty!
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