Ball or Nuthin' » Rudy Gay

Grizzlies Expose Knicks’ Weaknesses

T Lamont — Fri, 13 Jan 2012 05:15:50 +0000

Indeed, it’s quite early in this NBA campaign.

Yet, there are certain teams that are supposed to coast into the postseason, easily handling those unfortunate teams that don’t have the star power to match up.

The New York Knicks are considered to be members of that group.

Tonight, the Memphis Grizzlies – a Western conference semifinalist from a year ago – showed us why the Knicks are not quite there:

1. New York has limited back-to-the-basket offensive options. While Tyson Chandler, Josh Harrelson and Amar’e Stoudemire have varying degrees of talent, they have one thing in common: a lack of an offensive repertoire in the low post. Carmelo Anthony is the Knicks’ best scorer and best post player, but he’s not a natural creator and won’t always demand the double-team that role players need to get open looks at the tin.

2. Point guard, or should I say, Iman Shumpert. After two relatively ho-hum starts, the Georgia Tech product reverted to being an overanxious rookie in Memphis tonight. Shumpert scored 12 points, dished out 3 assists and collected 4 steals. The good ends there for him. He shot 5-20 from the floor, and his shot selection might have even made Kobe Bryant cringe (maybe). Shumpert is far from being considered a knock-down shooter, but he didn’t hesitate to shoot New York out of this game. Pull-up triples on the break, no rebounders under the boards, no problem. Shumpert kept his own team fighting for shots, with no rhythm on either end of the floor. The rook’s performance forced the Knicks to tell Mike Bibby to pull off his warm-ups and gave Baron Davis hope.

Against Memphis tonight, Iman Shumpert never met a shot he didn't like.

3. Carmelo Anthony was attacked by his opposing number. It’s not new news to hear that Anthony isn’t the most interested defender. But with Zach Randolph out of the lineup, it seemed to be easily assumed that Rudy Gay would get more than his usual share of opportunities. But Gay scored from the inside, outside, and just about everywhere in between. He made all of the right decisions, and ended up shooting 11-16, scoring 26 points.

4. New York got three-point happy. Sure, they were behind (by as many as 24 at one point), and treys cut into the deficit quickly. Made treys. The Knicks didn’t shoot bad from beyond the arc, but their attempt total (26) compared to the Grizzlies (12) told the story of the game. Memphis kept attacking, and New York kept settling.

The good news is that the Knicks have plenty of time to fix these ailments.

But unless their players change their tendencies, New York could be in for another flame out early in the postseason.

Team USA – Are They in Trouble?

T Lamont — Sun, 22 Aug 2010 04:18:34 +0000

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Today, the ‘new’ Team USA did a lot of sweating in their exhibition against Lithuania.

Not just because they were running and jumping around on the court, but because they were bricking and airballing to start the contest.

After a cold start to the game, the Americans notched their third win in exhibition play outlasting Lithuania 77-61.

Rudy Gay and Eric Gordon played a huge part in Team USA's second-half resurrection against Lithuania.

Despite some erratic shooting, the guy expected to lead Team USA, Kevin Durant, topped all scorers with 15 points. But he shot a miserable 4-14 from the field. Rudy Gay had 14 points on 6-12 shooting. The player of the game was point guard Russell Westbrook, who came off the bench to shoot 4-5 FG (2-2 on 3-pointers) and grab five rebounds. He and Eric Gordon (9 points, 3 steals) provided on big boost for a lethargic U.S team that could not get over the hump against the physical Lithuanians.

Lithuania led 15-7 after one quarter and, after some improvement from the Americans, clung to a 29-28 advantage at halftime. But after a few minutes of the third quarter, Team USA was able to break the game open – thanks to a 17-0 run that was spearheaded by Westbrook and Gordon.

Coach K:

“Our team did not push the ball in the first quarter. When we got Derrick (Rose) in and Russell (Westbrook), the tempo of the game picked up for us. We were playing a very slow tempo and if we do that then we’re not going to have a chance to win. We have to play a little bit faster tempo. Then in the second half I thought Rajon did a good job of doing it. So our bench came through for us – Gordon, Westbrook, Rose, Rudy Gay, they all played very well coming off the bench.

“It’s a good thing our defense was pretty good throughout the whole game or else we could have been down big in the first half.”

“I think it’s one of the those experiences when you’re going through it you don’t want to be going through it, but after you go through it, it’d a good thing to go through it. First of all, the environment. It’s just a different environment, the international game. Just how you warm up. I don’t think we warmed up as hard as we need to warm up, and we didn’t start off the game fast. These are all learning things. These guys are really good players but Lithuania was more ready at the start of the game.”

While defense is certainly something to hang your hat on, the Americans are lacking size in this year’s tournament. With Tyson Chandler and Kevin Love (who’s quite frankly not at the same talent level as some of the other players) being the only legitimate bigs on the roster, Team USA’s advantage is with speed and quickness. Pushing the ball and capitalizing on the opponents’ mistakes will be critical to their success this summer.

Team USA was aggressively attacking the tin (they had 24 FTA compared to 11 for Lithuania), but need to concentrate once they get to the line. They only converted 16 of them, and in such a game like they played in the first half of today – slow without a lot of possessions – free throws become even more important. Physical play will be the rule, and not the exception in international play and it takes a focused effort to come out and win every game.

The youngsters will need to regroup and prepare for a top notch opponent tomorrow – Spain. The Spanish team is the defending world champion and they are loaded with something that Team USA is not – experienced FIBA players.

Team USA will then close out its exhibition schedule by playing Greece on Wednesday.

NBA’s Best Dunker?

T Lamont — Sun, 10 Jan 2010 00:30:51 +0000

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With the 2009-2010 NBA season in full swing, Ball or Nuthin’ will begin highlighting the best of the best in the league. First up, we’ll commence with the most exciting play in basketball – - the slam dunk.

The slam dunk always brings even the most casual basketball fans to his feet. But since almost every NBA player can throw it down, it takes a little more to be a special dunker in the Association.

So, just who are the NBA’s best dunkers?

1. LeBron James – Of course, the man-child has to top any list involving athleticism. While the variety of his dunks is rather lame (he mainly sticks to the one-hand tomahawk), the ferocity with which he attacks the rim makes the whole arena shake. He’s basically a football player with hops – so you know the damage that he can put on a rim.

2. Rudy Gay – Elevation? Check. Variety? Check. Ferocity? Check. The former UConn player has all of the elements of being a human highlight film, but two things are working against him. First, he plays for Memphis…so you won’t be seeing any of his dunks on network TV (you’ll have to watch SportsCenter or get the League Pass). Secondly, his last name keeps his jersey off of the top-seller’s list.

3. Andre Iguodala – He finished second in the 2006 Sprite Slam Dunk Competition – thanks to Nate Robinson getting 50 attempts to complete his final dunk. That was just ludicrous. But there’s no doubt that Iguodala is one the most athletic players in the NBA, and even flushed one on King James during a game.

4. Vince Carter – How could you talk about dunking without mentioning Vinsanity? Now, granted, he certainly hasn’t had as much highlight material in recent years, but the body of work that he has produced throughout his career might just be the greatest in NBA history. From 360-degree dunks in NBA games, to the legendary 2000 Slam Dunk Contest, to the dunk over a 7-footer in the Olympics – Carter has done it all when it comes to dunking.

So there you have it. These are my top dunkers in the NBA. There are definitely a few others who will make the occasional highlight – but as far as overall track record – it doesn’t get much better than these guys.

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