TORONTO - In his brief 10-month stint with the Raptors, Rudy Gay averaged just under 20 points per contest, accounting for the bulk of Torontos offence while hitting some big, game-winning shots before he was whisked away to Sacramento. His tenure wont be remembered for any of that, rightly or wrongly, and the Kings forward has mostly come to terms with that. He wont be remembered for the shots he made. No, "Rudy the Raptor" - as Kings coach Mike Malone refers to Gays previous incarnation - will be remembered for the shots he missed. All 530 of them. Even Gay himself, given the opportunity to sugarcoat his shooting woes ahead of Fridays return to Toronto, wouldnt put lipstick on the pig that was his horrid field goal percentage. It was bad, and he knows it. Surrounded by the sizeable Toronto media army he left behind for small-market Sacramento following Kings practice on Thursday, Gay was asked if he feels slighted when hes been called inefficient. "I was inefficient when I was here," he admitted, to the surprise of those who may have expected him to dance around the obvious. "Im not anymore. I was when I was here." Fridays game will mark Gays first visit to Air Canada Centre since he was sent to the Kings, along with Quincy Acy and Aaron Gray, on Dec. 9 in exchange for Patrick Patterson, Greivis Vasquez, John Salmons and Chuck Hayes. He was acquired from Memphis less than a year earlier, a trade engineered by former Raptors general manager Bryan Colangelo in the hopes of landing a star player that could dig the team out of its playoff hole and, in doing so, save his own skin. The experiment was short-lived. "He was put in a tough situation where he was looked on to be the saviour," coach Dwane Casey said of Gays time in Toronto. "Thats not his role as far as [the] type of guys we had. Hes a dynamic player, a big-time talent. He was brought here for the right reasons. It ended up turning into something that wasnt meant to be." After he and the Raptors closed out last season on a high note, the team opened with a record of 6-12 as Gay struggled, putting up some of the worst numbers of his eight-year career. "For whatever reason in Toronto he was only shooting 38 per cent, taking over 18 shots a game and everyone wanted to say he was the most inefficient player in the NBA," Malone said. "All I can base his play on is as a King. Hes been shooting the ball over 50 per cent, 20 points a night and hes a proven playmaker and rebounder as well." Nearly three months removed from his time in Toronto, Gay is enjoying a career resurgence as a member of the Kings. Hes scoring more points, taking three less shots per game while getting to the free throw line at a higher rate. He has shot 50 per cent or better in 23 of 37 games as a King, something he accomplished once in 18 contests with the Raptors this season. Whats responsible for his turnaround? It has a lot to do with the space occupied and the attention drawn by the Kings beast of a centre. "If you go back to his time in Memphis. when he had the luxury of playing with a very talented frontcourt in Marc Gasol and Zach Randolph. he was much more efficient with that line-up," Malone pointed out. "So we felt that he and DeMarcus (Cousins), especially the inside-outside combination, would be very tough to guard." With Gay, Cousins and breakout point guard Isaiah Thomas, the Kings are the NBAs only team that features three 20-point scorers. Although the record hasnt necessarily reflected it - Sacramento is 16-26 since the trade - that trio has co-existed better than expected. As a team, the Kings rank 12th in offensive efficiency, despite dropping to the bottom of league in assists. For a collection of reasons, many of which are probably too tough to explain or quantify, Gay has found a home in Sacramento and he seems to fit. Of course, he is not the only one with a new lease on life in the aftermath of the trade. The Raptors are now 27-14 without Gay in the line-up, jockeying for playoff position in the Eastern Conference as the Kings toil in the basement of West. Gay is genuinely happy for his old teammates, many of whom he considers close friends, but the Kings forward doesnt necessarily buy into the correlation between his departure and his former teams success. "We dont know if that would have happened if I were there, too," said the 27-year-old. "It happened early in the season. Nobody knows. Its one of those things that it has happened now, the trade happened, now theyre a playoff team. Of course, Id like to be a part of that, but Im in Sacramento now and I have to build this team." However, Raptors fans remember the missed shots, they remember the isolation-centric offence that torpedoed their teams overall watchability for the first month of the season, but, most of all, they remember the losses. In Gay, the Raptors got what they paid for and their inevitable break-up should not have come as too much of a surprise. He probably doesnt deserve to be booed when he returns to the ACC wearing visiting purple Friday night, but he will be and when he is, he wont be caught off guard. "I dont care," he said. "Im just going out there and doing my job. Honestly, I joke with these guys all of the time. I say, If you put two rims up in the kitchen, Ill go out and play. It really doesnt matter what happens, whos booing, whos cheering. It doesnt matter." Authentic Chiefs Jerseys China .Y. - The New York Islanders are brimming with confidence these days, thanks to a standout goalie and a newfound winning attitude. Christian Okoye Jersey . 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A third violation remains a lifetime ban.As the leaves continue to fall and the weather turns distinctly colder, our attention starts to drift towards the NFL play-offs run as we dream of our team making it to the post-season dance. If your team is in the middle of the pack at the moment, fear not - they could make a run at the right time of the year and reach the play-offs. This time last year, Washington, Kansas City, Houston, Pittsburgh and Seattle did not have winning records yet all of them made the play-offs.Which leads me to the first of the six headlines that caught my eye in NFL Week 9. Expect the unexpectedIf the 2016 NFL season has taught us anything through its first nine weeks, it would be to expect the unexpected. Just look at how the fortunes of several teams have fluctuated over the first half of this season. A collection of fails, funnies and odd moments from Week Nine Minnesota were the darlings of the league at 5-0 but have since lost three in a row, New Orleans started 0-3 but have evened up their record at 4-4, the New York Giants have won three in a row, Miami have fought back from 1-4 to 4-4 with three consecutive victories and Pittsburgh, who were once in control of the AFC North at 4-1, are now tied at the top with Baltimore at 4-4 after dropping their last three.There are plenty of other examples of teams either turning things around or hitting the skids. Philadelphia have lost four of their last five, Detroit are back in the division race in the NFC North with a 5-4 mark - and can we rule Carolina out after they improved to 3-5 with a win in Los Angeles on Sunday night?Super Stafford does the businessThe Detroit Lions have trailed in the fourth quarter of every game this season yet they have a winning record of 5-4 and quarterback Matthew Stafford is a big reason for their dramatic successes this term. Highlights of the Detroit Lions win over the Minnesota Vikings And they dont come much more dramatic than Sundays 22-16 overtime win over Minnesota. Stafford just never knows when he is beaten and was undaunted when the Vikings took a 16-13 lead with 23 seconds left, even though the Lions were without a time-out.Stafford hit Andre Roberts on a 27-yard connection and raced to the line to spike the ball and stop the clock with two seconds remaining. Matt Prater kicked a monster 58-yard field goal that would have been good from 68 and Stafford fired the overtime winner 28 yards to Golden Tate to secure an improbable victory.But improbable victories are nothing new for Stafford and when a quarterback performs like that, the belief is infectious. You can see how the Lions, like their offensive leader, never quite know when they are done and certainly dont have any quit in them.Jay rumbles onA third straight 200-yard rushing day at the office was unlikely for British-born running back Jay Ajayi given that the Miami Dolphins were facing the leagues top-ranked run defence in the New York Jets. Highlights of the Miami Dolphins win over the New York Jets But Jay - who was born in London and also lived in Essex before moving to the United States - more than played his part once again as Miami recorded a 27-23 win. Ajayi rushed for 111 yards and one touchdown on 24 carries and the Dolphins seem intent on building their attack around him.The powerhouse rusher gives his team an emotional and energetic jolt every time he touches the football and his late first down runs allowed Miami to ice a hard-fought contest and escape with the win.Eagles miss their chanceThere is a fine line between winning and losing in thee NFL and the Philadelphia Eagles discovered that in painful fashion on Sunday as they fell to a 28-23 defeat against the New York Giants.ddddddddddddEagles head coach Doug Pederson twice rolled the dice and went for it on fourth-and-short when field goals were available. The issue I have is not with going for it as Pederson did, but in the plays he called in those crucial moments. Highlights of the New York Giants win over the Philadelphia Eagles The first failure saw quarterback Carson Wentz trapped in the backfield on a read-option run and the second saw a run into the line on fourth-and-one from arguably the smallest player on the field in Darren Sproles.That failure was especially painful for the Eagles as it came just moments after Sproles was inches away from a huge punt return touchdown. He was pushed out of bounds in desperate fashion by the diving Keenan Robinson, saving seven points for the Giants.The Eagles also had a field goal blocked and still almost won the game late on, which was remarkable when you consider how many points they left on the field in a close contest.Niners embarrass themselvesThe San Francisco 49ers squad continues to tarnish the good name of one of the most successful franchises in NFL history.Colin Kaepernick threw for close to 400 yards but dont be fooled into thinking he is the heir apparent to Joe Montana and Steve Young - he still threw some terrible passes, including an ill-advised interception that set up one of several touchdowns in a 41-23 victory for New Orleans. Highlights of the New Orleans Saints win over the San Francisco 49ers But dont be fooled into thinking Kaepernick is the main problem in San Francisco. He is not, and although he is inconsistent and frustrating at times, it looks like he can do enough to get this team competitive, providing he has help from the defence.Unfortunately, this 49ers defence couldnt tackle a crossword and is truly terrible. The Niners came into this game allowing an NFL-worst 185 rushing yards per game and the Saints rumbled all over them to the tune of 248 yards on the ground. Mark Ingram rushed for 158 yards and a touchdown, becoming the seventh 100-yard rusher to face the 49ers in as many games.Raiders for realIm going to ignore my own warning at the top of this column about how quickly things can change in the NFL by telling you that I think the Oakland Raiders are for real and ready to last the course of the season in the AFC.That was a statement win on Sunday Night Football as the silver and black recorded a 30-20 victory over the Denver Broncos in a fight for top spot in the AFC West. What I liked most about the win was that the previously pass-happy Raiders got physical with the best defence in the game. Highlights of the Oakland Raiders win over the Denver Broncos Latavius Murray ran hard and effectively behind one of the better offensive lines in the NFL, which featured another Brit in right tackle Menelik Watson. Murrays 114-yard, three-touchdown display showed there is more to th