Right now I think Rubio is better, but it's going to be interesting to see how both of them develop. Rubio has been playing pro-ball for 6+ years and as a result already has an understanding of pro-level defenses. I think he is a lot closer to his max potential than most young PGs. Lin, however, has only been playing PG and against pro-level competition for 2 years. He's learning how to run a team on the fly and I think we're going to see more rapid improvement from him compared to Rubio.
I followed Rubio's games quite a bit last season. Teams were playing him like Rondo. His field goal percentages were often dreadful. His form appears to be ok, but he doesn't seem to be able to set his feet before taking the shot, and the confidence was apparently absent. Lin definiately needs to protect the ball better and defend better. Hopefully he'll improve a lot in these aspects, and fast.
ACL tears are rarely only ACL tears. There are almost always complications, the most common of which is meniscus damage. Most teams are not willing to divulge the full extent of injuries so we may never know the full story. If Rubio is rushed back, he will have ongoing problems. If not, he can have a long, productive career, as his game is not predicated upon athleticism. He's been playing as a professional for a long time, and has shown no signs of improvement as far as his shooting is concerned. Like Rondo, he doesn't have the confidence or inclination to fix this serious weakness in his game. Lin, meanwhile is one of the hardest working guys in the league during the offseason, and spartascience has proven highly effective in improving lin's athleticism significantly in both offseasons.
Well Rubio didn't play substantial minutes at 14 so what's his "true" experience? I think 2 years v. 6 years is good enough to get my point across.
I didn't vote as I don't know what "hype" there is to live up to. Both are great kids and I hope they will both become great PGs. To evaluate Lin's ability/value/potential, one need to factor into his intangibles and not just by looking at his stats. His bball IQ, his court vision, his perseverance, his desire to improve, his passion, his leadership, his discipline, his confidence... It's just not what he does during the 48 minutes of the game, it's also what he does the other 23 hrs 12 minutes of the day. You'll be surprised come November how much the kid has improved and how different his game looks. And people keep saying Lin not going to be the next Nash. But Nash is not Lin either. Actually I think Lin's style of play is more like a Tony Parker. When Lin develops further down the road, he'll have his own style. BTW, when asked last summer who he thinks the best PG in the league is, he said Chris Paul.
I sort of agree, there's not a huge disparity between the two. Rubio brings excellent passing ability and great defense to the table, while Lin has a much greater edge in scoring ability, getting to the free throw line, and shooting ability. Rubio's weaknesses are Lin's strengths, as Rubio's advantages are Lin's shortcomings.
If the question were "who will be the first of the two to win an NBA championship", I'd pick Lin. Lin is a better all-around player that helps his team on multiple fronts. Many of the shortcomings that Lin's detractors cite are overblown. "Suspect shot" If the detractors were to have said that about Lin after his first year, I'd have agreed with them. He shot 24% outside of 3ft his rookie year. His improvement over the his rookie and sophomore years was huge though. His outside shooting this past year was comparable to Russell Westbrook and Tony Parker. Neither are lights out shooters but no one ever accused them of having "suspect" shooting. This past year Lin was 3rd behind Steve Nash and Stephen Curry in off the dribble shooting percentage. I'd wager big money on another big jump in Lin's shooting this upcoming season. Did any of you watch that off-season training video he posted last week? Remember at the end when they were joking about "83%"? That wasn't his free throw percentage, it was his shooting percentage from the NBA 3 point line in a practice session. With over 500 attempts. "Non-existent defense" I already wrote a comparison of Rubio and Lin here, but the TL; DR is that Lin's defense is actually fairly solid, with the exception of his one-on-one defense. "Turnover prone" I'm not going to disagree with the fact that he had a lot of turnovers last season but 1) he didn't have training camp with the Knicks and barely had any practice sessions with the starters due to the condensed season, then had to essentially learn on the fly, 2) he had a high usage percentage, especially during the Linsanity era, and 3) his aggressive, attacking style of play lends to a greater number of turnovers.
Too bad we can't combine Rubio and Lin into the ultimate FrankenPG. Anyway, I think both are two of the most likeable young players in the NBA. Is Rubio ever not smiling? I like players who have fun!
is he ever smiling? he probably is, but he tends to look so serious. Love is the one always smiling after each Rubio dime, Rubio just runs back all serious. but his looks / fluffy hair make him cute and funny regardless.
They both will be near all star level point guards, however the timber wolves will be at least the sixth seed going into the playoffs.
It was actually Jeremy's annoying li'l bro who said he would get his own percentage up to 83%; but Jeremy was making some 76% shooting 3's by the hundreds. This season will not be Jeremy's best season. He works so hard every offseason he doesn't make minor leaps, he transforms himself each summer. We'll see notable improvements every season. He looks bigger stronger has a great left hand, and has a full training camp to look forward to. Spartascience + JLin = Linning Time. :grin:
