To put it simply Rudy needs to develop a more well rounded game.

Last season the offense often bogged down as Gay would accept a pass, dribble around looking to see if they had a shot and then maybe go for a shot or throw the ball back outside forcing a total reset of the offense. That one-on-one mentality may work in college, high school or even summer league games but it doesn't produce wins in the NBA. The best players in the NBA find a way not only to find their shots but also find ways to help teammates find theirs, get to the line and most importantly hit the boards and play defense. Rudy has been one dimensional since coming into the league. To reach his goals (and those of the team) he must start diversifying his game.

You can't really blame him for the last two years. There were very few attractive options for the most part. If teams concentrated on Mayo and Gay they basically stopped Memphis for the most of last season. The season before they had to stop Rudy and Pau. However even when Pau played on weaker teams in Memphis his all-around game enabled the team to succeed even when the talent may not have been as great as the competitions. Rudy's more self-centered approach has not elevated his teammates nor produced victories on most nights.

That began to change near the end of last season. Rudy finished April averaging 21.1 ppg, shooting 54% from the field and an astonishing 61% from the arc. He followed that with a dominating scoring performance at the USA camp scoring 27 pts. The one drawback was that Rudy's rebounds numbers dropped to 4.7 a game when he had been averaging over 5.5 boards a game for the year. In fact from when Lionel Hollins took over his rebounds went from 6.2 rppg in February to 5.5 to 4.7 in April.

Rudy did get his assist number up close to 2.0 a game but that is still short of what an average small forward in the league averages. Elite SF's average many more assists. For example Carmello Anthony averaged 27 ppg in Denver but also managed to dish out 4.1 apg last season. Paul Pierce averaged 21 ppg and still found a way to dish out 3.1 assists. Kevin Durant was a shooting fool last year averaging 25.3 ppg but still managed to dish out 2.8 apg. For Rudy to be considered in this class he needs to pass the ball more to people in a scoring position.

This season the Grizzlies are rolling out 5 players who scored 30 or more points in at least one game last season. The question is will Gay take advantage of it? Rudy was impressive at the Olympic Tryouts this summer but that was mostly because he shot so well and not because he involved those around him. For Rudy to reach the level of respect he so desires he has to include others more in the game. 

Finally Rudy needs to be more determined on the defensive end. To help in that regard there is a rumor swirling around that Rudy has put on an additional 20 pounds of muscle. Strength should help him a lot in establishing and holding position. More help will come from the bench as Rudy should not have to worry about early indications are that DeMarre Carroll will be a solid NBA backup. Early foul trouble shouldn't be a major concern for Rudy in most games. However, with his incredibly long arms, quick first step and leaping ability he should be able to not only grab more rebounds but he should disrupt passing lanes more as well as block some more shots. A quality backup will take one excuse away for his previous lack of defensive intensity. That won't be an excuse any more.

Rudy has said he wants to be considered among the elite. Well if he starts playing the full game and not just worry about scoring he just might start to be discussed that way and team wins won't be far behind.

Next Up: Centers 

Comments

hueyproductions

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I agree that Rudy needs to get some assists to round out his game. But that may be easier said than done. He didn't get assists in college either. I think he's just never really been a distributor of the ball. With Zach and possibly AI coming in, he's going to have to give up the ball more, point blank. If not, he may not be the SF of the Grizz's future. I'd really like to see how he handles having another scorer or two on the team before we give him that fat extension he wants.

Friday 04 September 2009, 03:51

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