Rudy Gay returning

[Leetonidas]

With Gay supposedly returning Friday, and the recent news of Leonard likely not returning this season, how do you think his role will change going forward? It seemed obvious before the Spurs intended him to be a 6th man scoring punch off the bench. His numbers were not gaudy but anyone who watched him play could see he was a solid contributor for us.

Going forward it seems apparent the spurs will need to have him take Kawhi’s place in the SL and shoulder the offensive load with Aldridge. Will he produce? Do you think the team will actively start running more plays for him? Does Kawhi effectively being out for the season help him mentally as he knows he will likely see big minutes?

Discuss

[BatManu20]

:lobt2:

[cd98]

I think Gay keeps role as scorer on 2nd unit and Kyle starts.

[Leetonidas]

I think Gay keeps role as scorer on 2nd unit and Kyle starts.

I really hope not, and if he does, i hope Pop is starting Kyle or Rudy at the 4

[Seventyniner]

I think Gay has to start and be the #2 option on offense behind LMA. Murray and Green are low-usage players on offense and Pau isn't good enough to be a #2.

[SanAntonioSpurs23]

:lobt2:

[cd98]

I really hope not, and if he does, i hope Pop is starting Kyle or Rudy at the 4

I think they need Gay to be their lead scorer off the bench.

[TheGreatYacht]

With Murray starting, Gay is better off starting that's fathead.

[baseline bum]

Shit, I saw the thread title and was hoping he was returning to Sacramento

[Dex]

I think Gay has to start and be the #2 option on offense behind LMA. Murray and Green are low-usage players on offense and Pau isn't good enough to be a #2.

If Gay starts, who is our offense off the bench?

Parker is stuck in 1st gear all the time.

Manu can only be counted on for the occasional great game.

Mills forgot how to shoot.

Forbes and Bertans are wildly inconsistent.

Paul looks like the GLeague player he was when he came into the league.

Joff is as useless as a 5th-level Magikarp.

I actually agree that Gay is better suited for the starting lineup, but that leaves our second unit looking damn thin. May be better to let Rudy feast on bench players and hope that LMA/Pau/Murray can carry the starters like they have so far this season.

Gay should be getting big minutes either way.

[phxspurfan]

Hope he does well for us for the rest of the year. He has the chance to show out now that Kawhi is pussying out

[bklynspursfan]

I say start him and move Anderson back to the bench. The starters have been struggling to put points up, and he and Aldridge should develop chemistry and assume Kawhi won't be back. They're our 2 best offensive weapons ATM, and need all the time together they can get

[Leetonidas]

I say start him and move Anderson back to the bench. The starters have been struggling to put points up, and he and Aldridge should develop chemistry and assume Kawhi won't be back. They're our 2 best offensive weapons ATM, and need all the time together they can get

:tu

[Robz4000]

The current SL at least has some chemistry and is elite defensively. IMO you continue with Murray/Green/Fathead/LMA/Bertans or Gasol and have Rudy be the 6th man.

[spurs50_]

Gay returning because he has balls...

[Leetonidas]

The current SL at least has some chemistry and is elite defensively. IMO you continue with Murray/Green/Fathead/LMA/Bertans or Gasol and have Rudy be the 6th man.

Bertans is so hit or miss though. Idk about the rest of you but I'm tired of watching the SL put up 9 points in the first 6-7 mins of the game til the bench comes in. The bench mob doesnt necessarily need 1 guy to be the focal point. With Manu and hopefully pau coming off the bench and setting guys up, those guys along with Forbes/Davis/TP/etc can score against opposing benches. Our SL offense is cancer and the reason spurs are routinely down 10 points in the first quarter. Rudy would certainly help that issue

[DPG21920]

Really happy for Rudy. He’s working hard and worked hard to come back from a bad injury. Hoping he can stay healthy and be productive

[daslicer]

Give him the green light to shoot as much as he wants.

[8FOR!3]

I think you have to consider starting Rudy Gay because he's the only player on the team really capable of being a #2 scorer at this point. No there's no traditional 6th man but when you've got Tony/Patty/Manu/Kyle/Davis coming off the bench then you at least have guys who can score at this level. Maybe Parker steps it up for the playoffs.

[daslicer]

I think you have to consider starting Rudy Gay because he's the only player on the team really capable of being a #2 scorer at this point. No there's no traditional 6th man but when you've got Tony/Patty/Manu/Kyle/Davis coming off the bench then you at least have guys who can score at this level. Maybe Parker steps it up for the playoffs.

Agreed with Kawhi not coming back there is no point of saving Gay for the playoffs.

[DAF86]

With Murray starting, Gay is better off starting that's fathead.

I agree with this, tbh.

[sasaint]

Starters: Dijon, Danny, Rudy, Kyle, LMA. Second unit: Tony, 50Mills, Davis, Pau, Manu/Joff/DWhite/Paul.

[YGWHI]

I think Gay has to start and be the #2 option on offense behind LMA. Murray and Green are low-usage players on offense and Pau isn't good enough to be a #2.

I'd like if Rudy starts but I'm not sure that Pop put DJ in the SL just to be a low-usage offensive player...He can't shoot for shit but he has been able to score in other ways

[Arcadian]

If Gay starts, who is our offense off the bench?

Parker is stuck in 1st gear all the time.

Manu can only be counted on for the occasional great game.

Mills forgot how to shoot.

Forbes and Bertans are wildly inconsistent.

Paul looks like the GLeague player he was when he came into the league.

Joff is as useless as a 5th-level Magikarp.

I actually agree that Gay is better suited for the starting lineup, but that leaves our second unit looking damn thin. May be better to let Rudy feast on bench players and hope that LMA/Pau/Murray can carry the starters like they have so far this season.

Gay should be getting big minutes either way.

The Spurs aren't deep enough to have a dedicated "second unit" anymore. Look at the roster! Those days are over.

The bench is just there to patch up the main unit as needed. Make the starters as good as possible.

[TDomination]

I don't care if he starts or not as long as he plays big minutes

[HarlemHeat37]

What a meltdown for this franchise, tbh:( going from some of the most unselfish basketball in NBA history to relying on 2 cancerous, career losers who hate giving the ball up..

[Chinook]

Keep Gay on the bench. Pau got benched for Bertans because there isn't enough space for him and Murray in the first unit. Same problem with Gay. If Rudy comes back and is a high-impact guy, you can always reevaluate.

[SPURt]

http://25.media.tumblr.com/1318b3a12662ac102ac62ec9d518cb58/tumblr_mk1ibkXwt91s258eao1_400.gif

[TimDunkem]

What a meltdown for this franchise, tbh:( going from some of the most unselfish basketball in NBA history to relying on 2 cancerous, career losers who hate giving the ball up..

Truth bomb.

[SAGirl]

What a meltdown for this franchise, tbh:( going from some of the most unselfish basketball in NBA history to relying on 2 cancerous, career losers who hate giving the ball up..
Going to be ugly.

[YGWHI]

What a meltdown for this franchise, tbh:( going from some of the most unselfish basketball in NBA history to relying on 2 cancerous, career losers who hate giving the ball up..

This could be true about LMA and his touches but I guess Rudy was very willing to pass the ball and envolving teammates since he joined the team

We should wait to see him in a bigger offensive until to say he's the same black hole he has been on other teams

[SAGirl]

They should start him if he can handle the minutes right away. There's not enough games to experiment and I think Pop knows how Kyle, Davis, Pau play at this point and they have had their time to get chemistry. They should let Rudy get his game back and then adjust if they need to. It doesn't matter much at this point though.

[sasaint]

What a meltdown for this franchise, tbh:( going from some of the most unselfish basketball in NBA history to relying on 2 cancerous, career losers who hate giving the ball up..

Hard to call Kawhi a career loser - unless you are factoring in things beyond the court that I really don't know about, including the current situation.

As for the current situation, I will reserve judgment until the principal source of "news" is more reliable than the rampant speculation on ST.

[r0drig0lac]

What a meltdown for this franchise, tbh:( going from some of the most unselfish basketball in NBA history to relying on 2 cancerous, career losers who hate giving the ball up..

#facts

[Brunodf]

Good, hopefully this will be the end of the super small lineups

[cd021]

I'd prefer:<br>Murray<br>Green<br>Anderson<br>Gay<br>LMA<br><br>Bench mob (aka Foreign Legion Part II)<br>Parker<br>Mills<br>Manu<br>Bertans<br>Gasol

[Keepin' it real]

rudy ...
Rudy ...
RUDY ...
RUDY!!!

http://files.shandymedia.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/14151232/rudy-drinking-game-11.gif

[mexicanjunior]

WGAF...shut him down for the year and let's get those lottery balls...

[bklynspursfan]

Rudy also cut the cornrows.. Think that's a slight to Kawhi that he no longer looks up to him? :stirpot:

[BillMc]

Rudy also cut the cornrows.. Think that's a slight to Kawhi that he no longer looks up to him? :stirpot:
:lol

I'm sure Rudy believes he's as good as Kawhi on offense. (Not that he is, but I'm sure he believes it.) Want him to call all "No! Not this guy!" on the league. :lol

[dabom]

He is coming back from injury, in which he was a bench player. So he's not gonna start. :lol

[21209]

I don't think it matters if he starts or comes off the bench. It's whether or not he gets the big minutes when the game is on the line.

[SAGirl]

I don't think it matters if he starts or comes off the bench. It's whether or not he gets the big minutes when the game is on the line.
Agreed. In hindsight. It really doesn’t matter.

[bklynspursfan]

:lol

I'm sure Rudy believes he's as good as Kawhi on offense. (Not that he is, but I'm sure he believes it.) Want him to call all "No! Not this guy!" on the league. :lol

We need the "not this guy", guy, badly now

[NASpurs]

Sucks to see the only name that matters on the injured list but on other hand, it's good to see that it's only one name now instead of list of names. *knock on wood*

966784279563964416

[TD 21]

:lmao At "offense off the bench" or "saving him for the playoffs".

This team has zero source of perimeter offense in the starting lineup, which means they can't afford to prioritize the bench (who already have superior offensive talent to the starting lineup anyway) and they're in grave danger of missing the playoffs, so they damn sure can't be managing minutes.

That being said, I fully expect the genius to bring him off the bench and manage his minutes to the Nth degree.

[tenbeersbold]

If Gay is truly recovered we might just surprise people,cause his offense is comparable if not better better than Kiwi in being able to get to the basket
Defense,ehh not so much but Spurs have been good enough on D w/o Kiwi

Its really points they need on offense and a relief valve from LMA that can actually hit some shots

[r0drig0lac]

If Gay is truly recovered we might just surprise people,cause his offense is comparable if not better better than Kiwi in being able to get to the basket
Defense,ehh not so much but Spurs have been good enough on D w/o Kiwi

Its really points they need on offense and a relief valve from LMA that can actually hit some shots

right

[dbestpro]

Kyle needs to play with perimeter scorers to be effective. The Spurs have none.

[hater]

Respect ma niga. For the hard work to come back

Pray for your succesful comback

[TheDoctor]

:lobt2:

[Seventyniner]

If Gay is truly recovered we might just surprise people,cause his offense is comparable if not better better than Kiwi in being able to get to the basket
Defense,ehh not so much but Spurs have been good enough on D w/o Kiwi

Its really points they need on offense and a relief valve from LMA that can actually hit some shots

Agree that the defense has been fine even without Kawhi. But we shouldn't compare Rudy to Kawhi, we should compare Rudy to who he's taking shots from, i.e. worse players.

[bklynspursfan]

968560566326513665

[Leetonidas]

968560566326513665

:tu thanks for sharing

[HarlemHeat37]

What was the point of this signing if they aren't even going to use him down the stretch in games like tonight, tbh? He only played 16 minutes, he couldn't have played 3-4 more even under a minutes restriction plan?

They're desperate for perimeter shot creating and their 4th quarter performance has been horrendous, why isn't he playing down the stretch? His ability as a closer has been the only positive attribute of his NBA career..

[TimDunkem]

What was the point of this signing if they aren't even going to use him down the stretch in games like tonight, tbh? He only played 16 minutes, he couldn't have played 3-4 more even under a minutes restriction plan?

They're desperate for perimeter shot creating and their 4th quarter performance has been horrendous, why isn't he playing down the stretch? His ability as a closer has been the only positive attribute of his NBA career..

Just another example of Pop not knowing how to use players he hasn't relied on for the past 15 years. Guess Gay has to have a sit down with him too.

[HarlemHeat37]

Just another example of Pop not knowing how to use players he hasn't relied on for the past 15 years. Guess Gay has to have a sit down with him too.

:lol I'm sure Gay will be closing games in 5 years when he's 37 after he signs a loyalty contract..

[spurs10]

Gay has a busted eardrum and the medical staff could have said ‘he should only play 15 minutes.’