In case you missed it in the Game Thread, here it is. Also, watch Thibs. He was pissed, too. I think the plan was to give up the layup, but no threes. Maybe even for Wiggins to foul Harden once he's within the arc, but he got in so fast....
He's horrible. I have been saying this for a long time. He's a huge liablilty because he can't shoot. Teams that are smart don't guard him so you're playing 4 on 5. KTOWN, WIGGNS, and ZACHARY have to go past 2 guards everytime because they double off Rickey. This guy had a wide open shoot with 2 seconds left and he pass the ball when he had a wide open shot last week against the Warriors. Of course, 24 seconds violation and Wolves lose a close game. How many close games are TWOLVES going to lose before they sit him? How many KTOWN game with 45 points and 15 rebounds and team still lose??? Can you imagine Clint getting 45 points and 15 rebounds and still lose?????
Basketcaseholic's ongoing fanboy fixation with Rubio is all you need to know about his knowledge of the game. He thinks Rubio is the missing key to a Rockets' championship. And weirdly enough, he might just be right, because last night Rubio contributed heavily to the Rockets' victory.
There have been. But that was 10 years ago. The game has changed completely now that if you can't shoot, you can't play. A guy like Rondo didn't have to shoot to be great. Now with all the analytic and crap, thanks to Morey, teams play the % and realize you can just not guard that guy so teams are playing 5 on 4. Jason Kidd was a Hall of Fame even before he developed a 3 point shot, but in today's game, before he had the 3 point shot, he would have been an average player. Rickey could have been Kidd if only he had a 3 point shot, instead, he is the worst player in the NBA
LIN, kind of like LIN contributing to every Rocket's win...even when he's on the Lakers, Hornets, Nets, Shanghai Sharks
Nah, it has nothing to do with the game changing. It has everything to do with the fact that they just don't trust him enough to carry the entire load. The only way he'll be effective is that when he's on the court he has the entire offense run through him, ala Chris Paul. Kidd had that and Rondo did too. They play him far too much off the ball, someone showed the last few possessions and he was just off the ball. When he's off the ball he basically hurts the team because of his shooting. His strengths have always been his ball handling and passing so you play to that. He's far from being the worst player in the NBA. He's not even the worst starting PG in the NBA. What Rubio needs or needed was a team built around his talents. Right now the Twolves are a clusterF of talent and they look like they have no real plan. Wiggins and Towns basically just take turns showcasing their talent.
All I know is that the wolves have consistently played much better over the last 4 years with him on the floor than off, that isn't my opinion that is a statistical fact. The reason the wolves continue to struggle is because Levine, Towns and Wiggins do not know how to play NBA defense, which is why they continue to be an awful defensive team. Offensively they aren't so bad despite Rubio's scoring incompetence. 10th ranked offense, 12th ranked last season. They can't stop anybody.
The is the same argument LoF's had for Lin. Problem for Rubio is that he can't shoot or finish. He is historically bad at that. Even Kidd (before developing a shot) and Rondo could finish strong. There is not a single team in this league that would waste the time or resources to build a team around such a flawed player just to see if it will work out. Rubio's best bet is to find a team that has the cast he needs to succeed, even if that means taking a backup role and getting played next to nothing and prove that he's worthy of a being the focal point of an offense.
Yeah well, Rubio came into the league as a better prospect than Lin though. I agree that no team in the NBA will do that now with him having so many seasons under his belt now most teams probably see him as a finished product, just saying that he never really seem to have that greenlight that you would expect an exciting young prospect to have. All players have flaws. Rubio's flaws aren't that he can't play, it's just when you take a PG that can't shoot and have him play off the ball constantly and have him share PG roles with other players while he's on the floor then yeah...those flaws show up a lot more. Yeah, Dunn probably fits better with what they want to do. That team needs an identity more than anything.
Honestly, I was on of the Ricky Rubio supporters, but his play aside the Rockets are too good without him to give up anything for him. Patrick Beverley in particular has learned a lot about what's expected of him and has been a better playmaker for the team and is a better shot taker. This is a really unselfish team and it would be tough to break up the chemistry for any non super star player.
If the Rockets didn't already have Harden, I would be OK with having him on the team. We do have Harden however so if Rubio comes here, he will only be able to play when Harden is sitting unless Harden played off the ball more effectively. Point is, Rubio is flawed player in arguably the largest talent pool in a league that is increasingly moving towards spread and shoot.
Just watched the video. Rubio actually is the smartest on their team & was pissed at dumb Anthony Towns who rotated to Harden when he was going for a lay-up. Worst thing to do with like 9 seconds left & 3 point lead. Just let Harden score that lay-up, we didn't have more time-outs Glad he did tho. We won.
I would think KAT has a hard time taking Rubio seriously. If he could learn how to make a simple lay-up the T-Pups probably win the game last night. I'm guessing if he put his mind to it, Stephen Hawking would have a lot higher basketball IQ then Rubio or any other NBA player or coach but he would never be worth a damn on the court.
if you cant even mak ea layup as a guard, its time to give up your salary to your fans and me and retire but he was right to be pissed at towns. how the hell do you leave ariza wide open in the corner 3 in the last seconds of a close game. thats his shot. thx kat, helped my team win the game and beasted for my fantasy team, but only 1 block with overtime, pathetic
