Gay finds offensive efficiency in Sacramento

As Tony Ambrogio reports Rudy Gay and the Raps parting ways has worked out great for both parties, with no hard feelings from Gay, saying “I would be selfish to say I wouldn’t want them to do well.”

Rudy Gay rolls into Toronto for his first visit as a member of the Sacramento Kings on Friday and things will be very different this time around as both Gay and the Raptors have taken significant strides since the trade that saw them split, amicably, on Dec. 8th.

That Toronto is one of the best teams in the Eastern Conference and a vastly different squad from the one that centred on Gay early in the season has been covered at length. But less attention has been paid to Gay’s transformation in Sacramento, which is a shame because it’s been nothing short of outstanding.

Gay’s brief stay in Toronto was characterized by inefficiency. His shooting was inefficient, his isolation-heavy style of play was inefficient and, most importantly, the Raptors were inefficient with him on the floor.

In 18 games with the Raptors this season, Gay shot 38.8 percent from the floor and 37 percent from beyond the arc. During that stretch, the Raptors went 6-12 and, as a team, shot just 42.7 percent from the floor and 32.8 percent from deep. Ugly numbers all around.

By comparison, in 37 games with the Kings, Gay is averaging 20.8 points, 5.6 rebounds and 3.3 assists per game on 50 percent shooting from the floor and 33.3 percent from three. Most surprisingly, his true shooting percentage, which accounts for three-pointers and free throws, has risen to a whopping 58.6 percent.

His three-point shooting and rebounding numbers are down, but his assists, free-throw percentage and overall field goal percentage have increased significantly. What’s more impressive is that he’s putting up these numbers with a lower usage rate and taking a little more than three fewer shots per game than he put up in Toronto.

One of the biggest reasons for Gay’s uptick in efficiency has been his newfound ability to make shots around the basket. In Toronto, he hit 47 percent of his attempts within five feet of the basket and a horrendous 23 percent of his looks between five and nine feet. In Sacramento, those numbers have jumped to 65 percent and 49 percent, respectively. As obvious as this is, missed mid-range jumpers are a lot less damaging when you don’t couple them with blown looks at the tin.

Gay has helped bump the Kings from 17th up to 13th in the league in offensive rating for the season, and since Dec. 9th, they have scored 105.3 points per 100 possessions, good for 11th in the NBA—right behind Toronto.

There is no doubt that Gay is benefitting from playing alongside a first-rate post player in DeMarcus Cousins. Nor does it hurt him to have a score-first point guard as lethal as Isaiah Thomas next to him. But make no mistake: Gay is still getting a ton of touches. His usage rate of 25.1 is a top-30 mark in the league. But, with more offensive weapons around him, he has more room to operate in the half court. His bump in offensive efficiency reflects that.

In the NBA, sometimes players simply end up in the right place at the right time with the right teammates. For Rudy Gay, that right place seems to be Sacramento, for the time being at least.

When submitting content, please abide by our submission guidelines, and avoid posting profanity, personal attacks or harassment. Should you violate our submissions guidelines, we reserve the right to remove your comments and block your account. Sportsnet reserves the right to close a story’s comment section at any time.