Beverley can't stay in front of his man, he's good at pressuring his man, and playing physical when he is in front of his man, but he gets blown by and crossed up frequently, too much for me to call him an elite defender.
lol Ricky Rubio forcing a trade. Ricky isn't going to force anything. If he's really lucky, somebody will overpay him for Upside Potential despite the fact that he's been playing pro ball for almost a decade and still can't make a layup.
rubio probably one of the most overrated players that constantly gets praise. yeah he can pass and can get steals but you at least have to be somewhat of a threat offensively. he absolute trash when comes to scoring. he makes rondo look like allen iverson.
Love him, hate him... ultimately we're talking about a 3rd tier basketball player at the deepest and most talented position in all of major US sports. He demands a trade or isn't happy, so what? If he's your 2nd best player you're not winning a title. What else matters?
Rubio can't make layups, outside shots, or anything. On ESPN, he is ranked #399 in the NBA 2013-2014 in FG%. In 2pt FG% he was ranked #420. In 3pt FG% he was ranked #208. Rubio's career best FG% is 38.1%, in 3 years. Out of 19 years, Kidd tied that mark once and was below it 4 times. Out of those 4, 1 was an injury year where he only played 22 games and the other 3 were the last 3 years of his career when he mostly shot 3pters. So Rubio at his best is pretty much Kidd at his worst. I would like to see Rubio become a decent shooter, but it will take a miracle.
All it takes is one dumb team. I can see the Knicks or Lakers doing it to build buzz. jopatmc - he was going to be a transcendent legendary player. He left after guaranteeing a Mitt Romney landslide, and is now posting as basketballholic or something.
Beverley's size hurts him. Rubio's superior size and wingspan helps a lot. He can guard bigger guards really well as well. The defensive scheme used by Minny was awful IMO. They avoided fouls like the plague to the detriment of the defense.
Beverly is not an elite defender. Just because he is running fast on the court and trying hard does not mean he is stopping anyone.