On game day you get time to yourself and then you just have to go out and put together all those things you worked on during practice. You have guys on your own team who are playing their hardest to help their cause. That can be the tough thing about practice. A guy can be out there trying to outperform another guy and take his spot. During practice, guys are working hard to take spots. Rudy Gay Certainly, on game days you have a lot more time on your hands. Matthew Modderno A common claim from players is that a lot of times practices can be more grueling than playing those 90 games. You have to be able to just fight through it. Its just a really long season in general. We start out and we play preseason and things like that. Rudy Gay Actually its something more like 90 games. Matthew Modderno With that said, what was the transition like going from 20, 30 games in high school and college to 80 some games in the pros? Thats where conditioning and being in shape can come into play.
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You cant make an impact if you arent on floor. Rudy Gay Oh yeah, definitely staying healthy is one of the most important factors to trying to have a good season. Matthew Modderno On that note, you have to feel pretty good about staying healthy right? So looking back, just making it through was a big step. You can learn a good deal from being a part of something like that and being around those other guys.Īnother big deal was just making it through the season you know its a long time. It was just a lot of fun and I enjoyed it a lot. Rudy Gay Well I think being in the rookie All-Star game. Matthew Modderno What were some highlights of being an NBA rookie? If people have questioned that aspect in the past, I wont give them reason to in the future. Thats just me going out and be more aggressive. Rudy Gay Yeah Id say so, minus the technical afterwards of course. Matthew Modderno You showed a mean streak the other day with the two dunks on Yi Jianlian, is that something we will see more of from Rudy Gay this year? I feel that Ive proven I can be as aggressive as it takes. I wanted people to know I could do the things you need to play at this level. Rudy Gay Like I said, there were things I wanted to address and that was definitely one of them. Matthew Modderno Some people have questioned your assertiveness and consistency do you think you put that to rest with a strong rookie season?
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I wanted to go out and try and be dominate for my team. Rudy Gay I wanted to start out well and have a productive rookie season. Matthew Modderno What were some of those things you wanted to address last year? For now Im just trying to be one of the good players. Right now Im doing well, but Im not one of the best in the league. Someday I want to be one of the best guys in the league.
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A couple more things I want to work on and get better at. Rudy Gay Of course, there a couple of things I want to address this year just like their were last year. Matthew Modderno Have you set any goals for this season? Whether are they individually or as a team?