Utah Jazz: 2 studs and 1 dud in blowout win over Raptors

Utah Jazz stud: Rudy Gay

Yesterday, we made predictions about Gay’s Utah Jazz debut. We anticipated 15 minutes of action, 6 points and 3 rebounds for the veteran forward.

We were pretty close on the minutes, and not terribly far off on the rebounds. Otherwise, we sold the newest Jazzman woefully short.

Gay finished this contest with 20 points on roughly the best efficiency a coach could ask for: 7/8 from the field and 5/6 from downtown. Playing against a Toronto Raptors team that used to feature him on offense, Gay took an opportunity to turn back the clock.

Like O’Neale, Gay’s production came within the flow of the Jazz’s offense. He largely took and made reasonably uncontested shots. He also impressed Utah Jazz fans with stout defense on the perimeter and solid lateral passing (nobody could accuse Gay of taking good shots when great ones are available elsewhere).

It’s worth noting that Quin Snyder did not utilize Gay as a small-ball center in this contest, opting to pair him with Hassan Whiteside most frequently in the second unit. That’s fine. Gay can play that role situationally, but even in an NBA trending towards small-ball, the 6’8, 250 pound forward still possess the lateral quickness to guard perimeter-oriented 4s.

We also saw him taking advantage of his thick frame to body up rail-thin Raptors big man Chris Boucher on a couple of occasions last night. Gay is likely to mostly feature as a perimeter weapon for the Jazz, but make no mistake, he can wrestle on the inside if the need arises.

Gay’s Utah Jazz debut didn’t have to go nearly this well to satisfy fans of the team. He probably won’t be good for 20 points per contest, however, adding a player who is even remotely a thread to deliver this sort of performance should be a significant boon to the Jazz’s title odds.