Memphis (4-6) stretched their lead to a game-high 25 points in the third and fourth quarters before they took their foot off the gas and allowed the Knicks to reduce the deficit. I don’t want to take too much time off, but I want to be healthy at the same time.” If my ankle’s not right by Saturday, then I’ll be looking at Monday. “Yeah, I’m beat up,” said Anthony, who is also nursing a wrist injury. The Knicks trailed 49-38 at halftime and were dealt another blow when top scorer Carmelo Anthony left the game early in the third quarter with a sprained ankle after scoring 14 points. We’re still a good team, and we want to show that night in and night out.” We knew we needed this game,” Memphis forward Rudy Gay told reporters. Though it hasn’t been an easy season for him or his team as a whole, this isn’t entirely on Rudy, who is still a net-positive for San Antonio while going hard on the glass and complimenting his long-time friend, DeMar DeRozan as a secondary scorer.With the score tied at 10-10, the Grizzlies took advantage of some early foul trouble for the Knicks’ Amar’e Stoudemire to score 10 unanswered points and never looked back. Rudy sacrificed a ball-stopping style of play that made him a great NBA scorer throughout his career to be part of something bigger. Few players have bought into the San Antonio Spurs’ culture and system like Gay has. It’s not going to be an easy chore, but Gay is certainly capable of it. On the defensive end, they’ll need him to be especially active, playing weak-side defense to swat shots and chasing down shooters on the perimeter after sagging off to play help defense. With former All-NBA big LaMarcus Aldridge set to miss the remainder of the season as he rehabs from shoulder surgery, Popovich will need all hands on deck - Especially from his forwards and centers.Īs a veteran leader and a selfless player, Gay, who’s on the first year of a two-year, $32 million deal to stay in San Antonio, will need to play a different kind of role than he’s used to. San Antonio Spurs News: Mills tapped to lead medal-favorite Australiaġ17 days away from the NBA court is plenty of time to add on some extra brawn and quite frankly, the Spurs could use it.San Antonio Spurs: Devin Vassell’s drastic drop in minutes is inexcusable.San Antonio Spurs: 4 Players who led thrilling comeback over Wolves.Rockets suffer another devasting injury before facing San Antonio Spurs.San Antonio Spurs: Preparing for another DeMar DeRozan All-Star snub.Maybe it’s the angle, but it looks me like Rudy’s arms and shoulders are much more strong than they were before the break.
Below, you’ll see two photos: One of Rudy in February and another now. With practice facilities opening back up, the Spurs posted some pictures that led me to believe Rudy put on some additional muscle during his time off. There’s a good chance we’ll see a bit of small-ball Rudy again when the NBA season resumes later this month. He began to come into his own later in the season and flashed some of that consistency the team needed from him to claw back into the playoff picture. He spent six percent of his playing time as a small-ball center, which breathed some new life into the Spurs’ lineup. However, Gay has been unlocked in some new ways under head coach Gregg Popovich this year.
This year has been more difficult for Gay, who had a quick and unexpected decline. The 14-year NBA veteran had the most efficient season of his career in 2018-19, posting a true-shooting of 58.3 percent while creeping up on the illustrious 50/40/90 club. It’s been a rough year for San Antonio Spurs forward Rudy Gay, but there’ve been some gems along the way. A recent photo of Rudy Gay in the San Antonio Spurs’ practice facility leads us to believe the veteran used the hiatus to add some muscle mass.