Listening to Vernon right now and man, is he Rudy Gay's case. Really talking up Mayo. Getting on Gay for body language. Saying Gay freezes up in the fourth. Don't see it personally. Gay had some good fourth quarters when Zbo was out, not a few games ago. I don't understand this Rudy Gay thing some people seem to have.

Vernon will give props to Gay when he must, but he's no fan.

(04-03-2012 03:47 PM)memp600 Wrote:  Listening to Vernon right now and man, is he Rudy Gay's case. Really talking up Mayo. Getting on Gay for body language. Saying Gay freezes up in the fourth. Don't see it personally. Gay had some good fourth quarters when Zbo was out, not a few games ago. I don't understand this Rudy Gay thing some people seem to have.

The only body language I see from Rudy is disgust for not getting the calls he deserves. If I were called for ticky-tack fouls in the 4th and then seconds later when Perkins snatches my entire arm jarring the ball loose and there is no call, I'd have poor body language as well. If you have Tivo, check out Rudy's drive attempts and see the blatant fouls for yourself.

Actually, I have to commend the guys for remaining level headed... I couldn't be so civil.

Rudy only had like 4 freethrow attempts... the way OKC were grabbing, he too shouldve had 10 or more just like Westbrook.

I know many on here would like to see Rudy step up on D sometimes (me included), but let's be honest... the guy doesn't get the respect from the refs he deserves. Westbrook grabbed Rudy's arm on a rebound attempt in clear view of the refs and no call was made yet prior to that Rudy was called for touching the top of the ball as Perkins slammed it home. Rudy glanced at the ref as to say "Really?! You didn't see my arm and wrist get yanked?? Sure you didn't".

Btw, a member who posted a couple of weeks ago how Rudy ranks high among players who step up during the waning moments (fairing far better than Lebron even) so I'm sure Vernon knows he can't say too much about Rudy in that department...

The problem is Rudy Gay was given a Max contract. He just simply hasn't produced like a max contract player. A max contract player should be the center-piece which a team builds a championship contender around. Do we honestly think Gay could carry a good team to a Championship?

Gay is a good player, maybe even a great player. With the gifts he has athletically, physically, and skill wise, he should be more of factor in games more consistently. He doesn't even average 20 points a game on a team with very limited perimeter scoring. The frustrating part is that he should and probably could, if he was as competitive as a Durant, Rose or Kobe. He seems to wilt on the big stage and under performs relative to his skill set, physical gifts, and team make-up.

Gay should be dominating games, but he doesn't. His production is one of a piece to a championship puzzle, not the center-piece a max contract would indicate. That is why people are critical. I wouldn't trade him at this point, just on potential alone. But somebody needs to figure out how to turn on the killer switch in Gay's head. If he ever does that, I think the Grizz can win the title.

(04-03-2012 04:09 PM)Collegiate Black Man Wrote:  The problem is Rudy Gay was given a Max contract. He just simply hasn't produced like a max contract player. A max contract player should be the center-piece which a team builds a championship contender around. Do we honestly think Gay could carry a good team to a Championship?

Gay is a good player, maybe even a great player. With the gifts he has athletically, physically, and skill wise, he should be more of factor in games more consistently. He doesn't even average 20 points a game on a team with very limited perimeter scoring. The frustrating part is that he should and probably could, if he was as competitive as a Durant, Rose or Kobe. He seems to wilt on the big stage and under performs relative to his skill set, physical gifts, and team make-up.

Gay should be dominating games, but he doesn't. His production is one of a piece to a championship puzzle, not the center-piece a max contract would indicate. That is why people are critical. I wouldn't trade him at this point, just on potential alone. But somebody needs to figure out how to turn on the killer switch in Gay's head. If he ever does that, I think the Grizz can win the title.

If Rudy were signed with LA, NY or some other team for which the league and media loved he'd by Mr. Basketball. Trust me. The refs would then give Rudy all the respect (and whistles) his heart could handle. Instead, he's in lil ol Memphis. Self explanatory.

I can't blame the organization or Gay for his contract. It was the first signing that showed Heisley was serious. And if we didn't sign him, some other team would have maxed him. I've read several theories. One is he is so fluid he doesn't look like he's trying when he is.

Is his defense really that bad? There seem to be different views on that. Wasn't he one of the top at his position for steals?

My thing is, when I've watched in the past, he doesn't shoot a great percentage. But, when I watch, neither did Mayo. The games I've seen though, he's done decently on defense, particularly in generating turnovers, then he gets the breakaway dunks.

I'm sure it's a combination of his max contract, athleticism, and perception of effort. As someone else said, when Duncan's emotionless, it's stoicism. When Gay does it, it's ambivalence or complacency? Titles change perceptions, clearly. Watching Gay can be frustrating sometimes but my understanding is he's still improved from the 2009-10 season (last year he improved in every stat until his injury). The thing then is, is this a plateau? Is this his ceiling? Would it have been different if there had been a full offseason (but other players didn't need that).

It's a little difficult to know him as a person also from the online media I see. I mean, he's the first of this crew to want to stay here. I give him a ton of respect for that. He's spoken in front of the chamber of commerce and out of town dignitaries as a face of this community when Electrolux was announced. Love that. Yet, there's something missing or a wall built -- is it aloofness? or stoicisim?

Hope it's not a ceiling or plateau. There will be a few more bumps in the road as we build up toward the playoffs and revise roles.

Vernon's just a straight up hater when it comes to Rudy Gay. I don't remember him talking bad about Mayo when he was in his funk. At least not in the manner of which he talks about Rudy.

(04-04-2012 08:37 AM)memp600 Wrote:  Vernon's just a straight up hater when it comes to Rudy Gay. I don't remember him talking bad about Mayo when he was in his funk. At least not in the manner of which he talks about Rudy.

Vernon absolutely picks and chooses his favorites. If he likes you, you get the professional approach. If he doesn't, after the initial niceness, then watch out. The thing that annoys me the most about Vernon is his style of 'ambush journalism'. You can be professional and ask tough, respecting questions or you can be like Vernon and whine and raise your voice while acting all theatrical. I'm no Calipari fan but I can understand why Cal hung up on him years ago during an interview. There's a line between professional sports reporting and TMZ style, stalker ambush reporting. Vernon thinks TMZ style makes him famous but in reality it makes him look foolish.