Rudy Gay is serious about improving game this off-season.
The Toronto Raptors forward had laser eye surgery earlier this summer to help improve his declining shooting numbers and now he’s putting in the time to develop his post game in Houston.
Gay posted an Instagram video of a workout with Houston Rockets legend, and former Toronto Raptors centre, Hakeem Olajuwon.
(The video below is quite grainy, but you can see Gay working out with Olajuwon.)
Throughout his NBA career, Gay has been criticized for settling for jump shots and not using his size (Gay is 6-foot-9) to his full advantage. So this workout with Olajuwon is a very logical move for the Raptors’ go-to scorer.
According to ProBasketballTalk, Gay took 27 per cent of his shots last season (shooting 55 per cent) inside five feet of the basket and the majority of his shots (44.3 per cent) came from beyond 15 feet, where he scored at a 33.3 per cent clip.
There were rumblings towards the end of last season that the Raptors could consider using Gay at the power forward position in a small-ball lineup situation.
Gay has a similar body type to Carmelo Anthony of the New York Knicks, who has been used in a similar role in the past.
Dwane Casey and the Raptors would benefit if Olajuwon could help teach Gay a thing or two about playing up to his size.
Olajuwon, who recently accepted a new position on the Rockets’ staff, has worked on post moves with NBA all-stars Kobe Bryant and LeBron James in the past.