Gay would jump at dunk contest invite
By Marlon W. Morgan
Monday, January 14, 2008
LOS ANGELES -- When you see Grizzlies forward Rudy Gay taking off for one of those high-flying, rim-shattering dunks, note that they serve a purpose.
There's a reason why he went into Sunday's game against the Los Angeles Lakers ranked ninth in the NBA with 56 dunks, most of which have been impressive. Gay has been using the dunks as an audition for the slam dunk contest which takes place during NBA All-Star Weekend in February.
Gay, already a lock to play for the sophomore team in the Rookie Challenge, would like nothing more than to be asked to be in the dunk contest, too.
''I've been trying hard to get into it,'' Gay said. ''I'm not sure what the verdict is. I think it would be something that would be fun, something that I could be creative with.''
After watching the event in person last year in Las Vegas while playing on the rookie team, Gay came away not overly impressed with last year's competition.
Hakim Warrick, who participated in the event during his rookie year, said he thinks Gay should get an invite.
''They definitely need to put him in the game,'' Warrick said. ''He's one of those guys that can come off one foot and off two. A lot of people can't do that. Either you're a one-footed jumper or a power two-footed jumper. He does a really good job doing both, that's why I think he's really exciting.
''I think they should go ahead and throw him in there. They threw me in there. I'm lobbying for him. He's got a couple of dunks that I think will get people out of their seats.''
Gay said he and Kyle Lowry had a dunk ready to go last year in case he was asked. They might dust off that one. Warrick warned that if invited, Gay needed to arrive in New Orleans with several dunks in his bag of tricks.
''I told him if he get in it, make sure he has at least five or six dunks,'' Warrick said. ''Don't try to go in there and freelance. I tried to go in there and freelance. That didn't work to good. My dunk with Dahntay (Jones) really killed me. My single dunk was pretty good.''
Gay remembers Warrick not faring to well. As far as the advice he was given?
''I'm not listening to anything Hak has to say about a dunk contest,'' Gay said. ''Let's get that clear right now.''
Zoning in
Grizzlies newcomer Bobby Jones got his first taste of action in last Friday night's loss at Golden State. He played nine minutes, scoring two points and grabbing a couple of rebounds.
But what impressed coach Marc Iavaroni the most is the defense Jones played against Warriors guard Monta Ellis.
''I heard he was a good defender, and he looked pretty good,'' Iavaroni said. ''There was a couple of times where he kept the ball in front, and they were looking to take advantage of him. He didn't settle for that. That was really good to see. He seemed like he was comfortable in the offense. We didn't ask him to do a lot. He probably knows a couple of more sets now and should be fairly comfortable.''
Jones was signed to a 10-day contract by the Grizzlies on Jan. 10.
Following Sunday's game against the Lakers, Jones will get three more games to convince the Grizzlies to either sign him to a second 10-day contract, or sign him for the remainder of the season.
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Gay would jump at dunk contest invite
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