Ricky Rubio is the only player in the NBA this season who have played all 12 minutes in the fourth quarter in all of his team's games
Kyrie Irving wins the first battle against Rubio. He looks solid, with a decent shot, quick feet and a nice floor game. Rubio had an ok game, but was troubled a bit by foul problems, missed a few easy jumpers and a few bad TO's. The Wolves are a really young team with some talented players in Love, Rubio and Williams, (who I thought really showed something tonite). I originally pegged them to be a top 5 lottery lock, though with Adelmans coaching and Rubio's quick aclimation to the nba, perhap a top 5-9 lottery team is more likely. Their major problem aside from the lack of a SG is their defense. Their roster is offensively talented, but horrible defensively. Love their best player is a great rebounder and good scorer, but at best, makes no difference on defense; Beasly, Ridnour and Darko are likewise average to bad defensively.
Rubio didn't play a good game due to his standarts but his teammates were missing open shots all over the place so maybe we shouldn't blame him
They have no defense in the interior. Put Tyson Chandler on this team and they are a playoff seed. Darko is a big donut, just a big nuth'n.
I dont see anyone blaming him in this thread. Even the harshest Rubio critic will have a tough time pinning this loss on him. Fact as they lost because of bad defense, bad shooting and a lack of energy on both ends. I think the Wolves like most young teams rely on energy from homecourt, fastbreaks and offense to keep them in games, often playing up to the level of their opponents but ultimately falling short due to defense and experience. The Wolves tonite lacked not only defense but offense and energy as well.
I dont know about playoffs, but I agree a healthy Tyson Chandler would definitely be a huge improvement and the perfect complement for Kevin Love.
Rubio had 4 TO in pretty easy situations, it's unusual sign for him. He also didn't play well to his standart (or average to NBA standarts) on defense against both Sessions and Gibson and his mistakes costed them a few crucial baskets
Agreed (it was actually 3 TO - 1 terrible pass on the break, 1 stripped in the lane and 1 charge). Tho I thought he played ok to not terrible overall.
The Wolves looked good against OKC, MIA, SA, and DAL, but it seems they started resting on their laurels a bit after those two big Texas team wins. Adelman needs to start Rubio pronto. Ridnour is ok for them when his shooting’s hot, but when it’s not he’s a huge negative. And if Williams can’t play the 3, they need to trade him for the best shooting guard they can get (K-Mart please). He’s just not reaching his potential playing behind a great player like Love. Wes Johnson and Beasley are by far the worst starting 2/3 tandem in the entire league. It’s sad how good the Wolves could be if Kahn wasn’t such a fool wasting valuable #4 and #6 picks on garbage like Flynn and Wes Johnson.
Rubio is so much further along in his development than Wall right now. He just knows how to run a team the way a PG should. I don’t know what Adelman is waiting for in giving him the starting nod. Jan Vesely with his NBA debut - he is soooo skinny. Pretty funny when he airballed his first NBA free throw.
Talking about T-wolves defense. I think everybody is ovverating K-love. I watched several minessota games and guy is so obsessed with rebounds that he forgets other important things. Instead of helping his teammates when opposing player drives to the basket, he always tries to get into best position for the possible rebound. even, on the offense, when rubio, ridnour or whatever drives to the basket, when his opponent helps his teammate, Love could just put step back, take the pass and score - but instead, he moves even forward to get into better position for rebounding. I admire love, he is best player on the team, but his obsession with rebounds sometimes hurt the team.
I can tell Love is counting his stats in his head when he plays. Rubio looks great, but then again it's the winless Wizards.
It does not matter wether rubio starts or not while he gets constant minutes (is 2nd from all rookies in average playing time).
Vesely will improve, just a matter of time. It's not easy to start in NBA after injuries/diseases while all others are playing almost 10th game.
I realize Rubio's playing a lot of minutes and closing games, but you’d think you’d want a player like him who makes the whole team better setting the tone early. The Wolves were down by four before Rubio went in and fueled a run for the Wolves to finish the half up 14 points. Now in the second half you're seeing the lead start to evaporate with Rubio not out there. His presence is just so felt out on the floor.
Yeah, rubio gives much to the team. But on the other hand, I don't want to imagine how wolves bench would suck without rubio. Williams and Rubio seems really understanding each other. Almost all williams points come from rubio passes.
