Sacramento Kings: Can Rudy Gay Succeed In Sacramento?

Dec 15, 2013; Sacramento, CA, USA; Sacramento Kings forward Rudy Gay (8) drives in against Houston Rockets shooting guard James Harden (13) during the fourth quarter at Sleep Train Arena. The Sacramento Kings defeated the Houston Rockets 106-91. Mandatory Credit: Kelley L Cox-USA TODAY Sports

The Sacramento Kings arrow seems to be pointing up as of late and it is starting to look that Rudy Gay is starting to find himself in Sacramento. Through two games with Sacramento Rudy Gay is shooting better than .500 from the field and averaging more than 20 points per game. A big question that has come to mind however, can he keep it up?

Through 18 games as a new Raptor, Gay played just as well but as time went on his percentages seemed to drop. So if you go by the history of this situation, you would have to say no, Rudy gay cannot keep up this pace. I am here to tell you, Gay has a better chance of succeeding in Sacramento and that although history may show one thing; Rudy has a chance to change his past.

So first off, Gay will not have the first option obligation of carrying an offense like he had to do in Toronto. Rudy Gay took 18 shots per game for Toronto and was a big focal point of their offensive scheme. By taking so many shots, Gay averaged a horrific 38.5 percent from the field. In Sacramento the Kings have made it clear since Vivek Ranadive took over the franchise that DeMarcus Cousins will be their franchise center piece.

DeMarcus has definitely been playing up to his expectations and is a potential all star candidate this year. The Kings are committed to Cousins for four years and have no intention of reducing his role down as their go-to player during the season. Having that big of a player on your roster, opposing teams have to turn their focus on the dominant big man, which gives Rudy Gay better looks and not as many forced jumpers.

The Kings also have an upcoming point guard in Isaiah Thomas, who has stated he wants to be recognized as of the top tier point guards in the NBA. To do so, Thomas knows he is going to have to be more of a distributor than a scorer and it seems he has taken on that challenge head on. Through his last five games Thomas is averaging just about eight assists per game. The Kings have really started to step up their passing game from last year and with so many scoring options on the roster it is good to see that the ball is in motion around the court.

To settle in with just an easy one word answer, to explain why Rudy Gay can keep up his level of play in Sacramento: talent. The Kings just have more talent on their roster than the roster he left in Toronto. The Kings have shown many times this season that they can go toe-to-toe with the top teams in the NBA and now Rudy Gay gives the team a third option that has proven he can take over games when necessary. The one thing I would also like to point out is the tandem between Gay and Cousins.

Rudy had his best years of his career in Memphis when he played with two great big men in Marc Gasol and Zach Randolph, while also having a rising point guard in Mike Conley. That feel he had in Memphis should feel somewhat identical here in Sacramento, as the pieces listed in Memphis are the same pieces growing for the Kings in DeMarcus Cousins and Isaiah Thomas.

Only having two games in it’s pretty hard to determine weather or not this situation for Gay will really workout, but all signs should be pointing up and Kings fans should be happy with what they have been seeing thus far.