Ricky Rubio Is really Overrated On This Forum

I wanted to start this thread because so many threads in this forum are full of posts that are advocating that the Rockets should get Ricky Rubio. The general and clear consensus in this forum seems to be that Rubio is some great catch and that he is this great young talent.

I see people saying he will be a superstar in the NBA for example. Well, this thread needs to be put here then because there is an incredible overrating and exaggeration on this guy's level and his ability in this forum.

I have watched all of his Euroleague games since he started at age 16. Simply put, this guy is nothing special at all and he is simply in the Euroleague just another role player. He's not even a good player in the Euroleague. He is something between below average and average.

He has not improved much at all since he was 16 and maybe was even better then than he is now. I don't really see his upside as being much higher than where is already is. He simply peaked earlier than other players do. His developmental curve was ahead of others. It has slowed down tremendously recently.

Rubio has some serious flaws in his game and to me he's just not worth going after. You know that Kahn will want a lot for him and the guy is not worth in what he can do on the court. I realize that he will bring in marketing money and Les Alexander is happy to have that, but based on basketball play Rubio is not a good trade target.

First, his court vision is very good, but is extremely overrated by NBA fans. They say he has Nash-like court vision which is simply false. He does not. Second, his passing ability is also very good, but again is also very overrated by NBA fans. The claim is that his passing ability is also Nash-like. But it most certainly is not. He is a very good passer and he does have very good court vision, but it's nowhere near Nash level.

Then you have his defense. Defensively he really struggles to guard quick Euroleague point guards. He is also too small to defend at the two position in the Euroleague. This is not going to change in the NBA, although it will be lessened since defense is less important in the NBA due to the rules. But the fact remains that Rubio is certainly overrated in his defense.

Then you have the problem with Rubio that he basically is terrible in the half court. He does run a team well in the half court. He does not run the pick and roll that well. He struggles to create offense for others in the half court. His passes and court vision and play making are something that he can do great when his team is running. In the half court he is just an average play maker and nothing more.

Rubio provides very weak and limited offensive ability on his own. If the opposing team makes him shoot the ball his team is playing 4 on 5 on offense. He really struggles to finish layups. Any defensive resistance and he can't score. He cannot shoot at all. The opposing team's leave him open the entire game and he is lucky if he could make 3 out of 10 wide open shots. He is such a bad shooter that really we are talking Jason Kidd if not worse. He struggles to get his own shot off.

Rubio is woefully inconsistent and he just does not play good that often. He plays one good game and then has 5 or 6 terrible games in a row. His coach has accused him on more than one occasion of being lazy and not caring about playing defense. He's been benched more than once by Barca and that shows that he is not really trying to get better or to work hard to improve.

From where he was at age 16 he is basically the same player except he has gotten bigger and stronger, which is natural and that he learned how to shoot a jump shot and improved his free throw shooting. He finally stopped shooting a set shot recently and started shooting a jumper. But this improvement level overall is minimal. Also, in some other areas of his game he has regressed IMO since age 16.

Another things about Rubio is that he seems to have a reputation for being this great basketball genius with an exceptional basketball IQ. I have no idea where this stuff comes from because he certainly does not show it when he plays. His decision making is often quite questionable and he is a big time turnover guy. He makes so many turnovers and at the worst absolute times. Some of them are just so ridiculous that it's hard to think how his coach puts up with it at all.

If you don't believe me, I have the stats to prove what I say. Rubio is 6th all-time in Euroleague history in highest turnover ratio. He is 3rd all time amongst point guards. Amongst current Euroleague point guards he is career-wise the worst for turnovers. The only current Euroleague player that has a higher turnover rate in his career is Sofoklis Schortsanitis.


http://www.euroleague.net/main/statistics/individual/per-minute?topic=AllTime_&category=Turnovers


Rubio's Euroleague career shooting percentages are:


Field Goals: 70 for 191 = 36.6%

3 Point Field Goals: 26 for 88 = 29.5%


This year his Euroleague shooting percentages are:

Field Goals: 70 for 191 = 40.7%

3 Point Field Goals: 26 for 88 = 21.4%


Remember that this year the Euroleague moved the distance of the 3 point shot back. His 3 point percentage with the new distance has even gone down from what it used to be.

For those stat gurus that make a big deal out of sample size, look at his career numbers in the ACB (Spanish League) and keep in mind that the ACB is a far lower level of competition than the Euroleague is.


Rubio's ACB career shooting percentages are:


Field Goals: 342 for 896 = 38.2%

3 Point Field Goals: 122 for 381 = 32.2%


This year his ACB shooting percentages are:

Field Goals: 17 for 56 = 30.4%

3 Point Field Goals: 4 for 20 = 20%


Again, his shooting numbers are worse with the new longer 3 point line in Europe, which is still 19 inches closer than the NBA 3 point line.


Rubio's Euroleague scoring numbers are:


Career: 5.3 points per game in 49 games
This Year: 7.0 points per game in 6 games


Rubio's ACB scoring numbers are:

Career: 6.9 points per game in 172 games
This Year: 6.1 points per game in 9 games


It is true that the games are only 40 minutes long and that the game pace is slower in Europe and that rotations are bigger. So naturally the scoring is down. But let me just say that those scoring numbers are not that deceptive. He really cannot score that well and he certainly can't shoot. Rafer Alston is a much better shooter than Rubio is. For example, I guarantee you Rubio is the Euroleague's all-time leader in air balls. 2-3 air balls in one game is not uncommon at all for him. We are talking Jason Kidd shooting here or worse.

As for the hype that claims Rubio is the best passer ever in Europe....that is seriously ridiculous. Not even close to a guy like Papaloukas in passing and court vision, and I can show stats to back that up.


http://www.euroleague.net/main/statistics/individual/per-minute?topic=AllTime_&category=Assists


He is 5th best career-wise in assists ratio in the Euroleague, behind even Omar Cook for instance.


http://www.euroleague.net/main/stat...te?topic=Season_E2010&category=Assists&page=2


This year, Rubio is 24th in the Euroleague in assists ratio. Meaning, 23 other players average more assists per playing time. Watching Rubio on the court you do not see this one of a kind, all time, all world level passer and play maker like the American sports hype machine claims. You see a guy that is nothing special at all. Plenty of Euroleague point guards are in fact better passers and play makers based on what you see on the court and sure enough the stats back it up.

If you actually watch Rubio play in the Euroleague you will see that he is one of the worst players on his team Barca. This is clearly evident if you watch Barca's games. I would personally say that on his team you could rate the players something like,


1. Juan Carlos Navarro
2. Pete Mickeal
3. Erazem Lorbek
4. Jaka Lakovic
5. Joe Ingles
6. Fran Vazquez
7. Boniface N' Dong
8. Terence Morris
9. Roger Grimau
10. Victor Sada
11. Ricky Rubio
12. Kosta Perovich


The only player on Barca that I think Rubio is better than is Kosta Perovich, the team's third string center. Basically, every other player on the roster is better than Rubio is. Yet, for some reason people seem to be under the delusion that Rubio is the best player in the Euroleague. It's simply not true in the least. He's more like the 11th best player on his team. Of course this is one of the best teams in Europe, certainly in the top 5, but the point still stands of how overrated Rubio is due to hype.

I am not saying that Rubio does not have some good points, some value, and that he cannot play in the NBA. He can certainly play in the NBA. He is young and has room for improvement obviously. But the fact of the matter is that he is not what fans in this forum seem to think he is. I can assure you that Rubio is mainly hype and not substance. He is extremely overrated.

It's not that he could not play for the Rockets because he could. I am sure he could start in the NBA. But the reality is that he won't be a special player or anything of the sort and certainly no "superstar". He simply is not that good and not that talented. If you trade for Rubio you are getting basically a 6-4 version of Jason Williams that can't shoot and plays better defense. Rubio isn't worth trading value pieces for IMHO. This board seems to have huge man crush on him and it is obvious that members here simply do not know his game and don't watch him play. You can't judge him on youtube clips and the hype from NBA and ESPN, or that mock drafts hyped him, or he was drafted 5th or anything else.

His play and production on the court simply is not good. To the eye test he is an average Euroleague player at best. To the production test and stats he does not get the job done. It seems that Rockets fans believe Rubio is the answer at point guard and I really feel that he is not after watching him play the last 4 years.


You can see Rubio's stats right here:


http://www.euroleague.net/competition/players/showplayer?pcode=LFW&clubcode=BAR


For his field goal shooting percentages, remember that you have to add the 2 point field goals and the 3 point field goals together. The Euroleague does not count them together for field goal percentage like the NBA does. So for the overall shooting percentage you have to add them together.

Also, the career numbers are not listed so you have to figure them yourself, and remember to add this year's numbers as well, as they are not counted. The numbers listed for Euroleague are for Euroleague games. Under Eurocup are numbers I did not include. That is a different league. The level below the Euroleague (2nd tier of Europe), the league Iverson is in.

Where it says "other competition", those are the numbers in the Spanish ACB League, which is another league that only includes Spanish teams. Also a lower level than the Euroleague. Again, you would have to add the 2 point and 3 point fields and the career stats, plus this year's stats for those leagues. Rubio's season stats for both ACB (Spanish League) and Euroleague can be found here:


http://www.eurobasket.com/player.asp?Cntry=ESP&PlayerID=84319

 

Totally false. Every NBA forum thinks this. If you talk to serious Euroleague fans they all think he is an average player or even a bad one. People that rate him based on hype think he is some kind of basketball god of Europe. People that watch him play ever week don't think much of him at all.

That is the absolute truth.

Every player on his team is more than capable of playing in the NBA, as is Rubio. Perovich, who I rate as the worst player on his team, I believe for example, already played in the NBA.

There is nothing wrong in my statement. His team is full of guys that could play in the NBA. He is to me the 11th best of the 12. There is a big difference between Navarro and Rubio though. Navarro could play in any NBA team if he wanted to. Rubio would never be half as good as Navarro is IMHO.

Just being able to play in the NBA is not any sort of endorsement, nor should it be any reason to rate a European player. Plenty of Euroleague guys can easily play in the NBA. It does not mean they should be pursued by the Rockets, even if they are a 20 year old youtube sensation.

 

Morey does not know much about Euroleague players, obviously. I saw where he said Sergio Llull is a point guard and that he plays point guard in Europe. Llull in his whole career played shooting guard. I honestly would not trust a word Morey says about any Euroleague player.

I said in the first post the game is different and the stats are indeed different. Jenning's is not the same case as Rubio. Jennings is a guy that shoots a bunch and has terrible percentages. He also plays no defense. In Europe a point guard that does not defend and shoots a bunch with bad percentages is like an automatic loss for the team.

Of course Jennings would struggle in the Euroleague and flourish in an NBA team where he can just play however he wants, because the team has no real prospects.

Rubio is a totally different case. This guy cannot shoot at all. I posted those stats to support it. Watch him play. He can't shoot. He is Jason Kidd bad or even worse. Air balls are something you actually expect to see. 2-3 air balls a game is typical from Rubio. I am not talking Rafer Alston shooting here, it is much worse than that.

Sure, Rubio would do better in the NBA because with the rules and how the game is reffed it is frankly much easier for point guards to play on offense. The Euroleague game is way tougher defensively for perimeter players because the lane is packed and you can foul guys when they have the ball. It is true that Rubio would have a wide open lane and a no touch rule in the NBA, in addition to a more open court and refs that will baby him as another NBA marketing golden boy.

Beyond all of this the fact remains that Rubio does not have it. I have watched more than enough games of him playing to see that. He has some serious flaws in his game and they are not showing much improvement.

As far as the hype comments from some NBA players, like Team USA and so forth, I really don't care what they said. What they may have or may not have said has zero bearing on whether he is truly a good player or not. They see a 17 year old kid or whatever playing and get all excited in the hype the same way. Are they going to say something bad about the guy the media and NBA are hyping up so much? I doubt it. Much more telling to me is how Rubio is viewed by people that watch him play all season long with his club team in Europe.

He's not really considered a good player by most fans in Europe outside of Spain and some of his fans and homers. Even in Spain the fans are turning on him. Barca fans and media have been bashing his play for awhile now and plenty even want him off the team. Many Spanish fans have been very critical of his play the last two summers with the Spanish national team and actually most that I talk to hope he does not play for them at the EuroBasket.

In Europe, outside of Spain and other than people that are self-described Rubio fans, most basketball fans consider him an average player or even a mediocre one. That should be a lot more telling than what some Team USA player said about him. His own coach, Pascual, has said some quite negative things about him, such as he was not trying on defense, he does not help the team on offense, implied he is lazy. This also coincides with his coach benching him a couple times. Hardly the treatment of some superstar in the making.

Besides, I am not denying Rubio has some great games because he does. He can play in the NBA without question. But compared to the way he is talked about in this forum, his actual level of play would be about 1/10 as good as he is thought of as being here.

jopatmc keeps saying for example, that he will be a superstar. I would bet money that most serious Euroleague fans would laugh big time at that statement. I am not trying to hate on Rubio, nor bash him. My intent is to state the actual truth and be realistic about him. What I am saying is the truth about Rubio. What others in the forum are saying about him is pure fantasy. If Morey really does think Rubio is something great, not just a guy that could start in the NBA, but a great and special player, then Morey is an idiot plain and simple and should be fired immediately.

I am fully confident that every single member of this forum would agree with me if they actually started watching Rubio play. It is clear from the opinions here though that no one in the forum except me actually does watch him play. Since I am the guy that watches all of his games and has since he started, I feel like my sentiments should be considered here, rather than just nonsense comments from some like "he will be a superstar", which tells me he is being rated solely on hype and not at all on his actual play.

I'm just basically trying to say to everyone in the forum to calm down on all the wishing and asking for Rubio because he is not that good as you think by a long stretch. The Rockets might just go after him from how so many fans here talk about him and considering what I expect Kahn would ask for him, Rockets fans might end up really hating that trade and wishing it did not happen. Because as I am trying to explain, Rubio is mostly hype and not much substance. All Rockets fans need to get some actual proper perspective on Rubio before so many fans keep advocating to the management to acquire him.