Euroleague playoffs: Sergio Llull vs Ricky Rubio and Juan Carlos Navarro (highlights)

Looked like quite a battle. Lull, Rubio, J.C. Navarro, crazy.

Don't quite understand why Navarro didn't make it here. He was making some sick shots from distance.

Hard to tell how any of these guys will do in the NBA. Llull with that sick fade away out of bounds three point shot. Nice. Sure looked from the box score and the video like Rubio was getting the benefit of the whistle.

The one thing that keeps me very interested in Rubio is Chris Paul and Kobe saying the kid can play. Chris Paul was very complimentary of him, saying he was a very tough challenge. That's a year ago now.

 

Of course its hard to gain real insight from highlights but Sergio does seem very confident in his jump-shot ability from this sample. Perhaps most disturbing though, was the relative ease his opponent is able to beat him off the dribble and what seems to be a weakness in guarding the pick and roll.

Again, highlights being what they are, that would be my observation. If those examples are any indicator though, I would think Sergio would have a very tough time cracking the Rockets rotation anytime soon with what I see as a major weakness in defense.

Thanks for sharing the clip.

 

Llull looks like a good bet to be in the NBA soon but Rubio is the prize. Rubio needs to work on his outside shot but overall looks like a star waiting to happen. The guy is 19 so basically a freshmen in college playing in a better league, I see Morey making another push for him this offseason to setup 11-12.

 

Rubio looks quick off the dribble and Navarro looks like a superstar there.

 

Navarro could be playing in NBA. He was back to Europe because economic and family circumstances. In order to come to the NBA he had to pay Barcelona a buyout of almost 4 millions of €uros. He signed with Memphis for one year and just $540.000; that means he was losing money for playing in the NBA. He wanted to continue but needed a better contract. When he was free agent NBA teams offered him no more than 2-3 million dollars per year and he still owed Barcelona 3 million euros, he would not be playing another season for free or losing money... In addition, his wife and daughters missed Barcelona and were pressuring him to return. New Barcelona "GM" Joan Creus came and offered him a great contract (13-15 million euros, 5 years) and he accepted it.

Navarro averaged 11 points in his NBA rookie season, when we signed Kevin Martin I saw many similarities between both players. Martin is taller than Navarro and has a better jump. Navarro seems like a more experienced and better player mentally, he's never afraid of pressure, he's incredibly clutch and one of the winningest players in Europe history.

About Llull, I'll post a larger story for this night.

 

Sergio looks more like a scoring PG as opposed to Rubio being a playmaking PG. The more I see of Ricky, the more I like. Kid plays so smart. No wonder Minny drafted him and doesn't mind waiting on him to come over.

 

I can't help but wonder how good these guys can actually be playing against taller, stronger, faster and more physically agressive black people (NBA) as opposed to a bunch of spaniards.

They look good don't get me wrong, but we thought vassilis spanoulis was going to be great because he ripped up the euroleague.

On the other hand guys like Scola came over and adjusted well but we'll see..

 

He WAS guarding either navarro or rubio the entire game though, navarro is a proven player and rubio is an upcoming player who is known for his ability to get to the rack.

 

How does this make him different from any other prospect?

Considering both Euro teams can beat the living crap out of Kentucky/Duke/Kansas/whatever other college team you can muster, wouldn't you actually wonder LESS about European player than normal college prospects?

 

Wow that block was so clean I think the ref was blind.

 

Llull looks like a very strong offensive player. Great jumpshot and a nice ability to finish with his left hand. Navarro was a solid player a few years back and Llull seems to be comparable, so I don't worry about the euro to NBA transition. Rubio looks good too but I think the offensive schemes in the US are quite a bit different due to the greater number of big men and the emphasis on defense here. I think he might have a tougher time adjusting to an NBA game than Llull since Rubio's game seems to be predicated on court awareness more than physical ability or shooting.

Llull should be a great instant offense player off the bench, or maybe even a starter. That depends primarily on whether he can play defense.

 

...and he got burned repeatedly.

 

I didn't see anything from Llull in those highlights to suggest that he's anywhere near ready for the NBA. His defense was atrocious.

 

Yeah, I think that point was already mentioned. Are you blind or just ignorant?

My point was he was EXPECTED to get burnt. If he could keep rubio out of the paint, what would that say about rubios ability to drive, and why would rubio be the top nba prospect in europe? Even though the kid has no jumpshot?

OBVIOUSLY he is great at getting to the paint. geesh.

 

rubio looks very good in that video. most of what he does will easily translate to the NBA

 

I think the difference between Rubio and everyone else is his defense at 19 years of age. The kid understand it takes both ends of the floor to be great and while his shot isn't great yet, it still is pretty good and should only get better as he matures. Kahn was way OVER his head when he chose Rubio, NO WAY Ricky was ever going to play in Minnesota and now he will need to get something for him...lucky Morey has everything Kahn could want.

 

i know this is kinda off topic, but it's nice to see terrence morris playing. i actually liked the guy while he was here.

 

I guess I'm in the miniority here, but Rubio looked very unimpressive to me. Was he playing hurt? Every drive he took was incredibly weak.. he would get the s*!t knocked out of him if he did that against a big NBA frontcourt. He also stands around too much without the ball for being a 'hustle' player.

JC Navarro & Llull looked very good. I guess I'll have to watch again..

 

I kept trying to place the accent of the second announcer. The first dude, the play-by-play guy, was clearly a native Italian, but the second....I couldn't quite place, maybe he was Spanish who learned Ital....

Oh, wait, yeah, the actual highlights.

Rubio's a smart player. Not exceptionally fast but I can see why Morey was after him.

Drafting Llull? Tough to tell how good he'll be but having Llull on the team is an enticement for both players to sign....IF Morey makes a play for his draft rights (and hoping he doesn't overreach again if he does try, a la, like he did with Memphis, Shane + Brooks for #2 pick....and, oh yeah, how about you throw in Rudy Gay while we're at it? You'll just wind up losing him for nothing anyw....Hello? Hello?)