Ricky Rubio WILL be the best passer in the league, sooner then you think too.

#91
really impressed with Rubio! just watching him play is exciting! kind of the days when Magic Johnson had the ball, you know something good is going to happen. it's just a matter of finding your sweet spot,playing or thriving in a system that suits you. Imagine Rondo on a different team say the Knicks (before Amare/Melo) or anyother team. i don't think he'd be in the same level as he is right now. Now switch Rubio in his rookie year with the first season Boston had the big three (KG, Allen and Pierce)..although Rondo just need to play D and be fast and be the energy guy. bottom line it's being in the right place, right time right people..hasn't really worked out for Tyreke yet.
 
#92
not only is he exciting but he's the type of player other players want to play with. you KNOW he will set you up with an assist, he's going to help you get points.. and the team will definitely get the rock.

thats the type of player you can build around on.
 

piksi

Hall of Famer
#93
Both Evans and Rubio are good in their own way. The difference is that it is much easier to get the player like Evans than it is like Rubio because some things you can't teach. Rubio has don well as it was expected. He will continue to grow. He could be new "Nash" and e can be better.
 

Tetsujin

The Game Thread Dude
#94
Both Evans and Rubio are good in their own way. The difference is that it is much easier to get the player like Evans than it is like Rubio because some things you can't teach. Rubio has don well as it was expected. He will continue to grow. He could be new "Nash" and e can be better.
I wouldn't go quite that far yet. He's good though.
 
#95
He can be better at certain things than Nash, but I doubt he'll ever be better than Nash overall. Nash is one of the greatest shooters of all time, so even with the most optimistic projection of Rubio's scoring ability, I doubt it can ever be as good as Nash's because he's the pinnacle of that type of player.
 
#96
Both Evans and Rubio are good in their own way. The difference is that it is much easier to get the player like Evans than it is like Rubio because some things you can't teach. Rubio has don well as it was expected. He will continue to grow. He could be new "Nash" and e can be better.
When the hell did you return? Haven't seen you in years! We need your game threads again...
 

piksi

Hall of Famer
#98
Due to the time difference and early working hours I don't get to watch many Kings games hence the inability to do the threads. That is also why I am moslty just reading discussions when I find time.
 

Tetsujin

The Game Thread Dude
Rubio with the pass off his teammate's face on the fastbreak. Four fouls today. Not among his better games but still not mind-crushingly terrible. For all the excitement about them, Minny still about to have as many losses as us
 
13 points (5-14, 1-2 from 3) 14 assists, 6 rebounds, 1 block, 5 TO, and a +29 on the floor today in 30 minutes against Washington.

This kid needs to start. he is just so good, and makes everyone on that wolves team so much better when he is near them..makes everyone take quality high % shots, makes everyone involved and rewards anyone who moves and doesn't stand in place... just a joy to watch and would make any fan wish he had him running his team, simple as.

If his teammates could hold on to his passes and be ready for them all the time, he wouldn't have half the TO he has so far too.

His transition to the NBA couldn't have been better.. kid's a natural.
 
The scary thing is that the holes in his game require just simple experience and seasoning, with the exception of his shot off the dribble. He's going to be so good in so little time. I wish he was in a Kings uniform, he's the ideal PG and leader.
 
13 points (5-14, 1-2 from 3) 14 assists, 6 rebounds, 1 block, 5 TO, and a +29 on the floor today in 30 minutes against Washington.

This kid needs to start. he is just so good, and makes everyone on that wolves team so much better when he is near them..makes everyone take quality high % shots, makes everyone involved and rewards anyone who moves and doesn't stand in place... just a joy to watch and would make any fan wish he had him running his team, simple as.

If his teammates could hold on to his passes and be ready for them all the time, he wouldn't have half the TO he has so far too.

His transition to the NBA couldn't have been better.. kid's a natural.

That's good stuff. But everyone knew he was a good passer coming into the draft. The two years in Europe served him well in helping him mature and improve his game. He was still a boy when he was drafted by Minnesota. This year's Minnesota team also has a lot of players for him to pass to as well, with Love, Derrick Williams, Beasley.
 
My 2cents: Watched him in the game against the Heat, and part of the Mavs game. Yeah the kid is good. It was my first time watching him, and i can already tell this kid knows what the hell's he's doing out there on the court. Made some bad turnovers but again hes only.. 21. What i noticed was that his teammates seemed to have no problem giving him the ball and letting him be the ballhandler out there.
 
The scary thing is that the holes in his game require just simple experience and seasoning, with the exception of his shot off the dribble. He's going to be so good in so little time. I wish he was in a Kings uniform, he's the ideal PG and leader.
i wish the maloofs got on their hands and knees to beg adelman to coach this team again. i don't know how good rubio would be with a headcoach like westfail
 
I could imagine it now: "Rubio finds an open Salmons" clank. "Rubio sets up Cousin's with a beautiful pass" layup, whiff, put back, whiff. "Rubio to JT in the post" drops ball, claps hands, damn.
 
So for all you people who think he doesn't play defense here are 2 articles

http://espn.go.com/blog/truehoop/post/_/id/35381/the-dirty-secret-about-ricky-rubio

But without the ball, it's a whole 'nother "holy cow." BasketballValue tells us that when Rubio is on the court, the Timberwolves are giving up 95 points per 100 possessions. When he's off, that number is 104. It's early yet, and those adjusted plus/minus numbers are particularly vulnerable to small sample sizes. But it looks right now like Rubio is already a difference-maker defending NBA guards, and that his impact on defense rivals all that stuff he's doing at the other end.
http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/dailydime

As the Bulls seemed ready to cruise to victory with their first-half lead reaching as much as 24 points, the rookie Spaniard helped his team rally and stage a furious comeback right before halftime. Minnesota ended the second quarter on a 20-2 run, fueled by Rubio's six assists during this stretch. Once the Wolves appeared to be serious about giving Chicago a game, the spotlight shined on the showdown between Rubio and Rose.

Rubio's defense along with Rose's decision to pace his scoring in the second and third quarters showed that the rookie is more than capable of handling the quickest of the elite on the defensive end. He harassed Rose defensively, forcing multiple turnovers and doing an admirable job of keeping him out of the paint for extended stretches. Between the first and fourth quarters, Rose tallied just three points on 1-for-7 shooting.
 
Yeah, Rubio's D on Rose wasn't shutdown defense, but very smart defense. Rose became a jump shooter in the second half. His 4th quarter heroics consisted of a couple threes with a hand in the face and at least one midrange jumper. That's exactly what you want Rose doing if you're the defense.
 
http://espn.go.com/blog/truehoop/post/_/id/35476/rubio-more-than-just-a-passing-fancy

Though Rubio’s offensive flair has dominated the headlines, he’s also been a key part of the Timberwolves’ defensive improvement this season. Minnesota has jumped from 27th in the defensive efficiency rankings in 2010-11 to 14th this year thanks partly to the defensive prowess of the Spanish guard.

The Timberwolves are allowing 14 fewer points with Rubio on the court than when he’s off the court, the second-best defensive rating on the team among players with at least 100 minutes played, according to basketballvalue.com.

Rubio’s overall impact both on offense and defense while he’s on the court is highlighted by his team-leading plus-minus of +52. Luke Ridnour, the current starting point guard, has the second-worst plus-minus on the team (-48).

Rubio has also had a huge impact on rookie Derrick Williams’ performance. Williams is averaging more than twice as many points per 36 minutes with Rubio on the court (15.9) than with Ridnour (6.8), and is making over half of his field goals when paired with Rubio, compared to just one-third with Ridnour.
 
Anyone who claims to know Ricky's game shouldn't need ESPN to explain to them he can d it up. ESPN stat geeks are an annoying phenomenon.

Ricky was the defensive player of the year for the ACB, and led the league in steals that year as well. Think it was 09. Anyone who's watched this kid regularly knows he's a very good defender, yet ESPN apparently just figured it out.
 
Anyone who claims to know Ricky's game shouldn't need ESPN to explain to them he can d it up. ESPN stat geeks are an annoying phenomenon.

Ricky was the defensive player of the year for the ACB, and led the league in steals that year as well. Think it was 09. Anyone who's watched this kid regularly knows he's a very good defender, yet ESPN apparently just figured it out.
Ya, but most people here think skinny kid and associate it with Kevin Martin.
 
Rubio with 18 points, 12 assists, 5 steals and 4 rebounds tonight. Hit a 3 to tie the game with 30 seconds left. Really playing great basketball. Hate to say it, but I think the Wolves blow us out in a few days.
 
Rubio with 18 points, 12 assists, 5 steals and 4 rebounds tonight. Hit a 3 to tie the game with 30 seconds left. Really playing great basketball. Hate to say it, but I think the Wolves blow us out in a few days.
Yep... Agree.. The thing with Rubio is he has the power to sell a lot of tickets as well as play the damn PG spot which we need so bad. The Evans experiment is over IMO.. Get that guy and his terrible PG play off this team before he poisons it more.
 
Yep... Agree.. The thing with Rubio is he has the power to sell a lot of tickets as well as play the damn PG spot which we need so bad. The Evans experiment is over IMO.. Get that guy and his terrible PG play off this team before he poisons it more.
also guys will ENJOY playing on your team with rubio.. you know you will get the ball you will score.. and look good thus getting a bigger paycheck in the future... Rubio is getting better and better and he is already starting under adelman that says a lot. we know adelman doesn't like to give rookies time right?

agree on selling tix. Arco would be packed.. and the jerseys will come flying off the shelves... seriously WTF was GP thinking!? heck i would throw in evans cousins and jj for rubio and scraps right now and start a true rebuild...
 
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