He is shooting 44.4 percent overall, with that number dragged down by a 3-for-15 performance in the Spurs’ victory over Memphis. Gay has averaged 18.3 points off the bench in three games, and has made 7 of his 15 3-point attempts. He has also led by example on the court, where he has been playing some of the best basketball of his 13th NBA season since arriving in Central Florida. Gay has relished his role as the Spurs’ eldest statesman, serving as a go-to mentor for younger players. When 34-year-old guard Marco Belinelli limped off of the floor with a sprained foot in the Spurs’ restart opener against Sacramento, it left Gay as the oldest available member of the roster in Orlando. “For me, it’s looking at it like a second chance and an opportunity to do something than just play basketball at the same time.”ĭeRozan isn’t the only older Spur seemingly invigorated by the four-month layoff. “I think it’s a second chance to be able to come out here for many a reason, to try to bring awareness to what is going on in the world and also to be able to play basketball after missing it for months,” DeRozan said. Poeltl couldn’t convert the go-ahead layup for what would have been a third Spurs victory in four days.įrom the time the NBA restart was announced, DeRozan said he approached it as a chance to reset and refocus. On : Popovich endorses NBA’s relaxed bubble dress codeĮven after the 76ers’ Shake Milton gave Philadelphia a one-point lead on a 3-pointer with 6.2 seconds remaining, DeRozan drove and dished to Poeltl diving at the rim. He nearly got them to 3-0 on Monday, scoring 30 points - including 13 in the fourth quarter - in a 132-130 last-second loss to Philadelphia. “He feels it.”įor the Spurs so far in Orlando, “in with the new” hasn’t exactly meant “out with the old.”ĭeRozan has been a significant reason the Spurs have opened 2-1 in the bubble and remain squarely in the postseason hunt heading into today’s contest against Denver. “He understands the important parts of the game,” coach Gregg Popovich said. He has been wildly efficient with his shot, hitting 26 of 43 (60.4 percent).ĭeRozan has been even better than that in fourth quarters, averaging 12.7 points and converting 81.3 percent from the field in the final frame. In three games since the restart, DeRozan is averaging 23.7 points and 6.7 assists. “They make me feel old,” DeRozan said, “but they are keeping me young.”Īs much as the Spurs’ time in Orlando has been spent preparing for the future, DeRozan and the 33-year-old Rudy Gay have made certain the team has not neglected the present. With 21-year-old Lonnie Walker, 23-year-old Dejounte Murray, 26-year-old Derrick White and 24-year-old Jakob Poeltl buzzing alongside him like kids hopped up on too much Skittles and soda, DeRozan can’t help but feel like he is stuck in a time machine on the fritz. On : Spurs Podcast: Can the Spurs’ lineup makeover help them in NBA’s reboot?
It has been an interesting opening to the NBA restart for DeRozan, who has found himself as the oldest member of the Spurs’ new starting lineup by the length of a presidential term. “They understand Daddy is at work right now,” DeRozan said. The Spurs forward will miss his children. A confluence of world and NBA events have led DeRozan to spend his birthday Friday on the job in Orlando, Fla.
If that seems an odd choice for a grown man’s birthday party, that’s because it wasn’t a choice at all. His two young daughters, Diar and Mari, will be 2,500 miles away, at home in Los Angeles. Later this week, DeMar DeRozan will celebrate his 31st birthday at Disney World. (Photo by Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images) Mike Ehrmann, Staff / Getty Images Show More Show Less
#RUDY GAY SPURS ESPN LICENSE#
NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. LAKE BUENA VISTA, FLORIDA - AUGUST 03: Rudy Gay #22 of the San Antonio Spurs is defended by Al Horford #42 of the Philadelphia 76ers during the first quarter at Visa Athletic Center at ESPN Wide World Of Sports Complex on Augin Lake Buena Vista, Florida. (Photo by Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images) Mike Ehrmann, Staff / Getty Images Show More Show Less 2 of2 LAKE BUENA VISTA, FLORIDA - AUGUST 03: DeMar DeRozan #10 of the San Antonio Spurs handles the against the Philadelphia 76ers during the first quarter at Visa Athletic Center at ESPN Wide World Of Sports Complex on Augin Lake Buena Vista, Florida.