Ricky Rubio Watch

[Fresh8]

Rubio was awesome again today. When will he get to start?

[Andrew]

6 points, 6 assists, 5 rebounds and 4 fouls in 26 minutes is awesome? It's a respectable debut and so far he's looking like he'll do fine in the NBA, but to call it awesome is setting the bar a little low, in my opinion.

That said, the starting spot will probably be his soon. The veteran Ridnour got the nod in the opener but I'm guessing that won't last too long.

[NovU]

NBA.com game highlights included all his assists though. I thought he played AweSomE just watching the highlight reels.

[Martti.]

Saw him playing defense? Nope, cause he didn't.

[Mavs4Life]

But coming off the deep PG Bench and still putting that up is pretty nice.

[shadowgrin]

Saw him playing defense? Nope, cause he didn't.

Because he had four fouls.
He had four fouls because he sucks on D.
People think his 'hustle' is good D.
He gambles too much with his 'hustle'.
Hustle does not equal good defense in most cases.

NBA.com game highlights included all his assists though.

It's easy to include all of his assists when there were just 6 of it.


Not an awesome debut for Sit's man-crush but still pretty respectable for a PG.
ORtg of 176 and that usg% to ast% ratio, I'll take it.

He should pass the ball to Darko and he'll be fine.

[NovU]

Those are pretty impressive numbers especially for a debut game. Liking the 0 turnover as I thought it was one category he'd struggle with. Anyways, solid debut.

Too bad same can't be said for Irving another rookie PG. He's got like 76(ORTG) 121(DRTG) .241(TS%) .208(EFG%) and -0.205(WS/48)
LMAO...

[NovU]

Both Rubio and Irving are surprisingly good. Never bought into a hype of these two, but seems like the future for these two look real promising at the moment. Irving's only 19 and perhaps will become a superstar one day. Rubio's also young and looks to be a great distributor. 2 of the most exciting prospects at PG there.

As for another young PG John Wall the sophomore, it sucks to see him playing this bad. His rookie year was disappointing but sophomore year is even worse at the moment. 0-8 as a team too.

[Andrew]

I didn't think John Wall's rookie season was all that disappointing to be honest. His shooting percentages were very ordinary but the rest of his stats were pretty good for a rookie point guard. There's definitely talent there, but it might take some time for him to really find his feet and he's in a tough spot trying to lead that Wizards team to any kind of success. His second season hasn't started off brilliantly but he's obviously got a lot of years left in him and I think they'll be better years. As for the 0-8 start, it's woeful but again, a roster like the one the Wizards currently have doesn't inspire great expectations.

Irving is similarly beginning his career with some ordinary shooting percentages but I think he's going to be fine. Gotta hand it to Rubio though, he's looking pretty good off the bench and probably will have that starting spot soon.

[Nick]

John Wall has gotta feel like he's banging his head against a wall (no pun intended........cos there isn't one there) at the moment trying to be the point guard of that wizards team... but i thought he would've had better numbers than what he's posting... that team really must suck.

Irving is in somewhat of a similar situation as Wall - leading an inexperienced team - but atleast Irving's teammates aren't selfish jerks. I don't think Irving will ever be the superstar that Wall will be though.

As for Rubio, i love watching him play. He gives me a great big boner. Just kidding. But seriously. What a player.

If he can just fill the holes (no homo) in his game then he can be something special. There's no doubt he definitely has unique court vision. If he can just become a shooting threat and better defender then... wait... i already said this..

[shadowgrin]

If he can just fill the holes (no homo) in his game then he can be something special. There's no doubt he definitely has unique court vision. If he can just become a shooting threat and better defender then... wait... i already said this..

The same can be described of the once future MVP Jamaal Tinsley as Pavel? once deliciously described him.

[The X]

shadow is a hater's hater

[Lamrock]

Due to his athletic gifts and how much Derrick Rose has shockingly improved, I'm not really to give up on Wall yet but holy shit he has fucking sucked in the NBA so far. Sure, he has Andray Blatche on his team (they should seriously just amnesty him. Terrible NBA player and possibly person) but Mr. Blows only had decent teammates in the second half of his dubious 09-10 all-star campaign.

Hopefully for Wall, he can prove that he doesn't do everything poorly at the NBA level. Until then, they'll need to throw in a pick if they want to swap Wall for Batum and Oden.

[Fresh8]

6 points, 6 assists, 5 rebounds and 4 fouls in 26 minutes is awesome? It's a respectable debut and so far he's looking like he'll do fine in the NBA, but to call it awesome is setting the bar a little low, in my opinion.

That said, the starting spot will probably be his soon. The veteran Ridnour got the nod in the opener but I'm guessing that won't last too long.

Andrew/Shadow, it's not just the numbers that reflect the impact that Rubio has on the game. When he comes into the game, the game changes. It doesn't show in the box score. Maybe awesome was an overstatement - I was admittedly very excited that he didn't crash and burn in his debut.

And truth be told, he should be a starter. I thought he'd hold his own in the NBA but he has been better than what I expected.

[The X]

Due to his athletic gifts and how much Derrick Rose has shockingly improved, I'm not really to give up on Wall yet but holy shit he has fucking sucked in the NBA so far. Sure, he has Andray Blatche on his team (they should seriously just amnesty him. Terrible NBA player and possibly person) but Mr. Blows only had decent teammates in the second half of his dubious 09-10 all-star campaign.

Hopefully for Wall, he can prove that he doesn't do everything poorly at the NBA level. Until then, they'll need to throw in a pick if they want to swap Wall for Batum and Oden.

I hope Wall & Cousins crash & burn. Both have talent but should've stayed in college one more year to work on skills/maturity.

I will admit I'm surprised Rose improved as much as he has. A testament to how hard he must be working on his game. I like that he has kept humility where others wouldn't. Of course he cheated on SAT & I can never rate that, but I'm just talking from basketball side of it.

Back on topic, I'm happy with Rubio's start. He'll hit wall later this season. Although he's shot alright so far, the form on his jumper is damn ugly so he'll never develop into a very good outside shooter, but if he can keep defences honest, I'll be happy with that.

[NovU]

I hope Wall & Cousins crash & burn. Both have talent but should've stayed in college one more year to work on skills/maturity.

Seconded.

But I am guessing one of them will win player of the game award in this season's Rook vs Sopho game again.

[shadowgrin]

it's not just the numbers that reflect the impact that Rubio has on the game. When he comes into the game, the game changes. It doesn't show in the box score.

Give examples.
He's no Tim Tebow.

[Andrew]

Andrew/Shadow, it's not just the numbers that reflect the impact that Rubio has on the game. When he comes into the game, the game changes. It doesn't show in the box score. Maybe awesome was an overstatement - I was admittedly very excited that he didn't crash and burn in his debut.

And truth be told, he should be a starter. I thought he'd hold his own in the NBA but he has been better than what I expected.

He seems to have adapted to the NBA game very quickly and is proving the naysayers wrong. I felt he'd either succeed or fail spectacularly and it's looking like it will be the former. So much the better for him and for that matter, the league.

I hope Wall & Cousins crash & burn. Both have talent but should've stayed in college one more year to work on skills/maturity.

I will admit I'm surprised Rose improved as much as he has. A testament to how hard he must be working on his game. I like that he has kept humility where others wouldn't. Of course he cheated on SAT & I can never rate that, but I'm just talking from basketball side of it.

I definitely don't condone what happened with Rose and the SAT, that wasn't cool. I do think it points to the problem of forcing players to play at least one year of college ball and I guarantee that he wasn't the first (nor the last) to be "assisted" on the exam to secure a place in college. It definitely doesn't make it right of course but given the way the system works I'm sure there's a lot of it going on. In this instance, they got caught and the whistle was blown.

As far as Wall and Cousins is concerned, I don't think an extra year in college would necessarily have changed anything. Some people are going to succeed, others are going to fail and whether they spend one year in college or four, it's ultimately not going to ensure they have the skill level, work ethic or mindset to be successful (or fully realise their potential) in the NBA. If they're that hardheaded, it's not really going to matter.

[Fresh8]

it's not just the numbers that reflect the impact that Rubio has on the game. When he comes into the game, the game changes. It doesn't show in the box score.

Give examples.
He's no Tim Tebow.

The pace,atmosphere just changes. You can see his teammates are different on the court with him there. The Wolves are doing very well against some pretty damn good teams. They haven't lost by huge margins.

Stop being a hater

Andrew/Shadow, it's not just the numbers that reflect the impact that Rubio has on the game. When he comes into the game, the game changes. It doesn't show in the box score. Maybe awesome was an overstatement - I was admittedly very excited that he didn't crash and burn in his debut.

And truth be told, he should be a starter. I thought he'd hold his own in the NBA but he has been better than what I expected.

He seems to have adapted to the NBA game very quickly and is proving the naysayers wrong. I felt he'd either succeed or fail spectacularly and it's looking like it will be the former. So much the better for him and for that matter, the league.

I don't think it should be any surprise that he has adapted because his skillset fits the mold of what the NBA looks for. He's lucky he has a coach whose style suits him perfectly and atheltic teammates and good shooters to help him boost his assist numbers. Also for the fact that he is on a very young team and most of the players trust him. I gotta say that I'm glad that he is starting now. He is playing better than I expected.

[Andrew]

No surprise at all? He wasn't exactly dazzling people in Europe the last couple of years. He obviously had talent and a lot of promise, but there were no guarantees he'd adapt and succeed in the NBA.

[Fresh8]

No surprise at all? He wasn't exactly dazzling people in Europe the last couple of years. He obviously had talent and a lot of promise, but there were no guarantees he'd adapt and succeed in the NBA.

He wasn't because he was playing in Europe where he had to play within the a strict structure for his coach at Barca. He was also a bench player. But if you watched his games, you could tell that he is very talented and has this 'x-factor'. From what we all saw, one could speculate that he was going to be good in the NBA just because of his skill set. As we've debated in this thread, some of us did think he was going to succeed.

What is a surprise is the level at which he's playing at. When I said he would adapt, I was thinking he'd average a lot of assists and I didn't think he was going to score. I thought he'd have an impact not reflected on a box score but yeah - he has exceeded my expectations.

EDIT: Speaking of Rubio makes me think that it's a shame that Juan Carlos Navvaro did not stick in the NBA. He just needed to land on the right team because he is a damn good player also.

[shadowgrin]

The pace,atmosphere just changes. You can see his teammates are different on the court with him there. The Wolves are doing very well against some pretty damn good teams. They haven't lost by huge margins.

Stop being a hater

I'm not a hater. Rubio has done nothing yet that would convince me to be a homer for him. Despite what you're saying his team hadn't won that many games if he's the game changer that you make him out to be.
It's not like he's leading a statistical category like the greatness that is Joel Anthony once did (blk%) or be chanted as the MVP during the playoffs by the fans in his home arena like Joel Anthony once had. If he does those or if he wins a ring like the marvelous Sean Marks then maybe I will change my mind about about Rubio.
Until then he's just an above average player to me (at most) who just happens to be playing alongside the greatest but underrated big man in NBA history in Darko Milicic and not the star or franchise player that you're drooling Rubio to be.

[Fresh8]

You know that I am a huge fan of Darko's as well right?

[The X]

shadow, the Timberwolves might not be getting it done on win-loss ledger, but instead of regularly getting blown out like last season, the vast majority of their losses are by 4 points or less. Rubio has had an undeniable impact, as has the continued improvement of Love.

Wolves still have a long ways to go. They've got to move forward with either Beasley or Williams as their starting SF, not both. I'm guessing it will eventually be the latter. Would love to see Wolves make a run for Bogut. I think he'd work better on the Wolves than Bucks, he'd defend rim and add another post scorer. Otherwise, I'd like to see Darko play a little more. I'd like to see Ridnour play less. Anthony Randolph is turrible, he needs to go. Rubio has to learn to defend pick and rolls better. He's getting killed on them.

[bowdown]

OMG trying to read and make sense of these spammer paragraphs fries my brain. But I cant help but try..