For those who watched the Grizzlies’ improbable, 123-119, win at Orlando Saturday night, it should be blatantly obvious now who the team’s go-to player is. Second-year forward Rudy Gay put an emphatic stamp on this team with his career-high 32-point, seven rebound performance that helped the Grizzlies snap their six-game losing streak.

Playing without Pau Gasol, Gay took the game over in the second half when his team needed him the most. He scored 23 of his points after the break, 13 of those in the fourth quarter when the lead changed hands nine times. With Orlando’s All-Star center Dwight Howard busy putting up 31 points and 20 rebounds, Gay wanted to put the Grizzlies on his back.

And he did so without shooting a ton of 3’s. He was taking the ball to the hole every chance he got. Gay also wasn’t forcing up bad shots. His ability to make 13 of his 21 shots, helped open things up for his teammates as well. Rookie Juan Carlos Navarro pumped in 27 and Mike Miller added 19.

During the fourth quarter, Gay was often encouraging players like Andre Brown, who unexpectedly played 21 minutes and grabbed a career-high seven rebounds, and Navarro. He took a leadership role, along with Miller, realizing they needed to have big games in order for the Grizzlies to win.

Through the first two months of the season, Gay not only has made dramatic strides over last season with his on the court play, but he continues to become more of a leader. By the end of the season, look for him to be the unquestioned leader of this team. That’s not to de-emphasize Gasol’s importance to the Grizzlies. But Gay is not far off from being the superstar former team president Jerry West envisioned when he traded Shane Battier for his draft rights.