Monday, February 20, 2012

Seamless transition for Ricky Rubio?


I don’t know if Ricky Rubio ever ran with the bulls in Pamplona, Spain but he sure has the Minnesota Timberwolves running this year. Rubio’s aggressiveness in the open court and ability to see the floor has made the game a lot easier for his teammates this year.

The Timberwolves are actually averaging three less possessions per game than they did last season but they are winning more. The T’wolves have won 16 games so far this year which puts them just one game shy of their win total for the whole 2010-2011 season and the biggest reason for that has been Rubio’s passing.

How adept is Rubio as a passer? In 82 games last season, the T’wolves only had seven games where one of their players had 10 or more assists. In only 32 games so far this season Rubio has already accomplished this feat 13 times including a streak where he topped 10 assists for four consecutive games.

It’s a good thing he is creating easy scores for others because his shooting numbers have tailed off. Rubio started the season shooting over 50% but his shooting percentage is currently sitting around 38% at the moment. While not particularly a good thing, his poor shooting hasn’t been problematic for them either. Mainly because the T’wolves have the league’s leading rebounder Kevin Love in the paint snatching up a lot of those missed shots.

Rubio is not a bad rebounder himself and is currently ranked ninth among guards in defensive rebounding with four per game. Being so aggressive on the boards allows Rubio to get his team into transition quickly and keep opposing defenses on their heels.

One of the reasons why Rubio is able to concentrate so much on defensive rebounds though is because Coach Rick Adelman allows Rubio to guard shooting guards rather than the opposing team’s point guard. Rubio is usually paired up with point guard Luke Ridnour in the lineup in order to keep him from being exploited by some of the speedier point guards around the league.

Despite his one-on-one defensive deficiencies, Rubio has proven to be a very effective defender in the zone and as a help defender. His ability to anticipate where the ball is going has him ranked second in in the league in steals with 2.34 per game. Steals as you know are another tool that passing point guards like Rubio use to initiate the fast break.

So for those Rubio fans who think that he has made a seamless transition from the European league to the NBA, it hasn’t been quite that simple. Just as many scouts predicted Rubio has both struggled with his shot and his defense but having a seasoned coach with the basketball acumen that Adelman possesses has helped a lot.

Adelman has shaped the T’wolves into a team rather than the collection of individuals they were when Kurt Rambis was coaching them.  He has his players playing to their strengths and has the team as a whole playing as a cohesive unit which covers some of their individual deficiencies; especially Rubio’s.

Which means Rubio gets to shine in the spotlight and continue to wow fans with his highlight-worthy passing ability. I guess it’s true that winning covers a multitude of sins because nobody pays attention to how bad his defense and shooting are as long as the T’wolves are winning and playing exciting basketball. 

Roosevelt Hall is an NBA Blogger for The Sport Mentalist 2 and also writes for Shatter The Backboard. He can be contacted at RHall@shatterthebackboard.com. Follow him on Twitter @sportmentalist and add him on Facebook Roosevelt Hall Thesportmentalist.  

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