Raptors Looking Better Without Rudy Gay
The Toronto Raptors have looked like all sorts of disaster earlier this season. Their decent defense was compromised by their offense that was such a mess that opposing teams have a field day attacking them in transition after their turnovers and bad shot attempts. In fact, it is not an exaggeration to say that the team didn't have an offensive system at all. Most of the times, the team was playing like every man for himself. Passing and ball movement seemed a foreign concept to them as they seemed to always favor giving the ball to one player and hoping that player makes something out of it. The team was just an eyesore and every time I watch them play, I just couldn't see something to be happy about. For every nice play, they have ten bad ones that will leave you scratching your head as you go crazy, wondering why the team just doesn't go with the things that work and scrap whatever isn't working.
Much of the blame for the offensive woes have been deservingly pinpointed towards forward Rudy Gay. Gay has always looked promising since he entered the league. However, it seems that his game just never really developed. His shot-making hasn't really improved and he never added new arsenal into his game.
Although his rare combination of size and athleticism gives him plenty of advantage every time he steps on the court, his questionable decision-making has limited him from becoming a great player. He takes bad shots once after another although there are other and better options, like passing to a teammate per se. When he gets the ball, you can be sure that the offense will stall.
Earlier this month, the team finally made a decision with plenty of sense when they traded away Gay. Since the trade, the Raptors have played better. They have won 6 of their last 9 games and looked good doing so.
Without Gay dominating the ball, the Raptors are moving the ball more and creating better shots. Developing players like Jonas Valanciunas have also stepped up their game as they become more prominent features on the offensive end.
