San Antonio Spurs forward Rudy Gay (22) goes to the basket over New Orleans Pelicans guard Jrue Holiday (11) in the second half of an NBA basketball game in New Orleans, Monday, Nov. 19, 2018. The Pelicans won 140-126. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)ASSOCIATED PRESS
Rudy Gay's first season with the San Antonio Spurs was troublesome. Playing just 57 games, he battled recurring heel problem after a nine-month layoff from a torn Achilles. When on the court, he was forced into the secondary scoring role to LaMarcus Aldridge, and it seemed too early for someone off that severe of an injury.
Gay's final line was 11.5 points on 47.1 percent shooting in 21.6 minutes. Hardly pedestrian and, as expected, not groundbreaking numbers from someone above 30-years-old and still working into game shape.
Well, 2018-19 has proved positive for Gay, who's in the midst of his most efficient year offensively.
Through 15 games and 12 starts, Gay has 14.5 points, 7.5 rebounds and 2.1 assists per game on 50.3 percent shooting and 47.4 percent from behind the arc. The shooting marks and rebounds are all current career-highs.
The biggest reason for the veteran forward's efficiency? His mid-range shooting percentages have soared from 10 feet to just in front of the three-point line, with 63.3 on 10-to-16 feet and 46.2 on two-point shots deeper than this. Of course, the increased three-point percentage helps, but his 2017-18 to 2018-19 attempts from long distance have only increased marginally.
The defining number, however, is Gay's true shooting percentage, which sits at 58.3, per NBA Advanced Stats — another career-high.
Amongst this, the consistent part of Gay's game from Year One to Year Two with the Spurs is his percentage of shots from two-point and three-point range, at 78.0 and 22.0 and 77.5 and 22.2, respectively. He hasn't given into the NBA's three-point shooting surge and is still playing well.
Defensively, the UConn product has quietly provided quality defensive numbers. His Defensive Real-Plus Mins, per ESPN, is 2.51. That's 13th in the NBA, as of Nov. 19.
Through 12 games, the Spurs played best on defense when Gay is on the court, with a 102.8 defensive rating and 111.2 when he sits. It's in line with his 102.7 mark from 2017-18 and how he used to play on those grit-and-grind Memphis Grizzlies teams of the early 2010s.
In the three games since, it spiked to 105.7, which still doesn't represent a poor mark for the veteran forward.
Advanced stats aside, Gay has stepped up as San Antonio's second-best scorer, while LaMarcus Aldridge's struggles remain persistent. Last season's leader shoots just 42.2 percent, and what seemed like his slump-breaking game against the Golden State Warriors reverted to trouble in New Orleans, with a 2-for-11 mark for seven points and a 6-for-20 game followed.
Aldridge, given his play for the past 12 years, will come around for the Spurs. In the meantime, it has allowed Gay to step up and flash how he looked pre-injury. That's, of course, beneficial for the Silver and Black, even at a 9-10 record that places them outside the playoff picture.
Gay will play part in San Antonio's quest for a 22nd consecutive postseason appearance. It's on the line, for now, as they work through defensive issues, allowing teams to shoot 47.8 percent, while falling in the middle of the pack offensively.
