Yeah, the Wolves dig a hole earlier. Rubio expends alot of energy trying to play catch up. Most of the time they fade in the 4th quarter, because he just doesn't have the energy. They might have a few more wins, if they get the lead early and keep it. Force the opposing team to play catch up.
Wizards announcers were in awe after that last 3pointers, they seemed to be genuinely shocked with twolves' shooting percentage --- Come on, those were wide open shots, and NBA caliber players will make them.
tolliver seems to have improved his game a lot over the off season. Derrick Williams is better than Beasley.
Rubio just finds angles nobody else can find. He is playing like a true veteran. And by the way that kid Williams can play, he is gonna be a star in this game. He can shoot it.
As somebody said, Wiz got RickRoll'd. <iframe width="420" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/oHg5SJYRHA0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
He would say this latest performance was against a winless team. Then he would point out Minnesota's record. I can't believe dude got banned. I wanted to read him still stringing out a pile of crap until he had totally discredited himself. There's no opportunity for paybacks for all the he.. he game those of us that promoted Rubio as a very special player. Rubio is just getting started. By midseason, look out.
Dude is still posting on the Spurs board where he was whining about getting banned here, calling people "r****ded", "liars", "trolls", etc. The full program. http://www.spurstalk.com/forums/showthread.php?t=188980 He also called Rubio an "awful scrub" there 4 days ago (same for Rondo, Lawson, Rose, Westbrook...). He is probably posting on other boards, too. Seems to have mental issues.
Rubio, Love, Williams....that's the core of that team. As soon as they get a real center (just like 80% of the league), they will be contending.
IMO I see a lot of Calderon in him, he's very good at finding the open man, but has limited defense and offensive skills. He'll never be one of the greats because of his deficiencies in athleticism, but his ability to control the offense will keep him on the court.
There is one missconepption about rubio. Just because a lot of players from Europe sucks at defense, everyone attributes that to ricky. Instead, despite his passing abilities he was considered a top defender in Europe. He won best defender's prize in spanish national league. 2× led the Spanish ACB League in steals: (2007, 2009) Spanish ACB League Defensive Player of the Year: (2009)
I've seen enough games of him in the NBA to see that he'll struggle on D, it's not due to a lack of effort. The NBA has bigger, quicker, and stronger guards than the Spanish league, I think that award you mentioned is irrelevant. Though I do give him credit for having quick hands, he'll get his fair share of steals. To make up for the lack of athleticism Rubio is going to have to learn to be deceptive, something Scola is a master at, if he doesn't he'll never be more than a Calderon.
I have never had a misconception about Rubio's D. It's one of his strengths. He plays great position defense, is very smart in pushing his man into help and into crowded space, and he sees the whole floor defensively just as well as he sees it offensively. He's great at forcing cross court passes and giving his team opportunities to make defensive plays along with stealing the ball himself. ChrisBosh, Rubio will be one of the best guard defenders in the league. In addition to the above, he's got the size and length to flip onto shooting guards on the switches. Just because he isn't ultra athetic doesn't mean he won't be a very good defender. Rubio is already a good defender. He'll get better.
He's way more atheletic than calderon. His footstep is very quick, he already has made few blocks. I also watched several games and I did not see him struggle on D. In which game he struglled most? Wall did nothing today. As far as I remmember, only westbrook scored many points over ricky so far. PS. I know in NBA there are better players than in Spanish league, but still this counts for something. You can't say he sucks on D.
I was not sold on Rubio, but he's selling me by the minute.He's a 6'5"(in shoes) PG with long arms. What he lacks in hops, he makes up in pure size. The kid so good, DD can't even jinx him.
I don't think with such a small sample size we can conclude either way so I'm just going to have to agree to disagree. Unfortunately I think this guy has developed a cult following, including yourself, who won't ever look at things objectively. He was already being called great before he even stepped onto a NBA court, that says enough to me about his fans. IMO he brings a lot of what eminem did to the rap game, there hasn't been a white player who's had this much hype at such a young age, so he's developed a lot of hardcore fans. Another analogy would be Justin Bieber, except the fans are white boys/men
Speeking about cult, I'm following rubio since year 2006. When was the first time you heard about him?
