Heat
McGruder turning heads with his ‘pit bull’ style of play
Rodney McGruder is drawing attention for his defense and hard-nosed approach.
DALLAS — We can’t be exactly sure of what Paul George called Rodney McGruder during and after the incidents that left the Indiana Pacers forward ejected from Saturday night’s game against the Miami Heat. Nor might it be suitable for publication.
But there is little difficulty culling what teammates call the gritty Heat rookie forward.
“He’s our scavenger,” forward James Johnson said.
“Since camp,” guard Wayne Ellington said, “I’ve always called him ‘my dog.’ He’s like a pit bull out there.”
To appreciate where McGruder stands amid this maturation into NBA defensive pest, appreciate that his preference would have been that there never was a second technical foul on George and therefore the ejection, because the first technical was part of a double technical that included the first such career NBA whistle on McGruder.
Earning the league minimum, itwas a $2,000 sanction that McGruder gladly would have done without.
“He shoved me; I just shoved him back,” McGruder said of the initial tensions with Indiana’s All-Star forward. “Just keep playing. I feel like that was a quick technical.”
Asked if hewould seek a benefactor in the locker room to avoid the financial squeeze, the product of the Heat’s D-League system said, “I don’t know. That’s up in the air right now. I’ve been talking to a couple of guys. It’s my first, hopefully the last.”
Undrafted out of Kansas State in 2013, McGruder increasingly is drawing notice for his defensive doggedness.
“I think now they know who Rod is now, at this point in the season,” Ellington said, with the Heat 13-3 with the current lineup that has McGruder as the starting small forward. “But early on, you’ve seen a lot of guys look at him like, ‘Eh? I’m going to take advantage of this.’ And about two or three plays into the game, they’re like, ‘Oh, OK, who is this guy?’
“So he’s definitely earning guys’ respect around the league and he’s starting to get a reputation for what he does.”
To Ellington, that makes moments such as Saturday’s against George particularly amusing.
“He’s always head first, nose first into everything,” Ellington said. “He makes it hard for guys when he frustrates guys.”
And, yet, McGruder said that is not the intention. At least not initially. “I’m just trying to go out there and compete and have fun, and just do whatever my team needs me to do,” he said. “If you need meto be a pest, Iwill be, for sure, bring energy and excitement.”
The pest came out ahead of the game Saturday, as the Heat made it 16 victories in their last 18 games, heading into today’s game against the Dallas Mavericks at American Airlines Center.
“Rodney’s one of them guys who sticks his nose into everything, goes for every loose ball,” Johnson said.
“I love it. I love it, That’s part of competition. Paul George is a great player. Rodney McGruder don’t care. So it’s good competition.”
McGruder said he saw no need to be involved in any controversy in the first place.
“It was a little bit of shoving, that’s it,” he said of the initial scrap with George.
Then he stepped aside as George offered a choice of words to referee Gary Zielinski that led to the second technical foul, and therefore mandatory ejection.
“He said something to the ref,” McGruder said. “I’m not sure what he said.” Well, hewas a little sure. “I feel like you shouldn’t be able to talk to them like that, anyway,” he said.
While defense got McGruder into the starting lineup, it has been an uptick in his offense that has kept him there, particularly his 3-point shooting.
Asked about when McGruder began his transformation into animpact player on offense, coach Erik Spoelstra said, “August, September, October, November. That’s what nobody wants to hear, but it’s methodical, incremental improvement.
“He’s extremely dedicated and committed, so you’re going to see improvement when you have that kind of approach every single day.”