Shoot Ricky Shoot...

[Monster]

Over Rubio's career several Wolves fans here have talked about Rubio playing with Joy or flair or whatever. There have been times he hasn't played with that whether it's losing or coaching or returning from injury I think Rubio fans or the people that are much more skeptical would agree Rubio the player is better when he plays with that whatever you call it. Nash played with it Curry plays the game like he is lighting up a rec center. Lately Rubio has been playing with more flair. He puts a move on a guy going behind his back to get an open jumper or go to the rim for an easy look at the rim. This looking for his shot more has been happening for probably 25+ games but something does seemed to have clicked recently to some extent. I had seen that article posted about what Kidd had to say about Rubio and it was interesting.

There is a plenty of games left to see how he finishes up the season but this is a nice trend if he keeps it up. There could be a case for questioning if Rubio can be something in the range of not too heavy of a liability offensively and it's stuff many have pointed out over the years. Some other team might convince themselves he is worth bringing over to their team and give up something worth letting Rubio go.

I'll say this. I've seen some guys make some small improvements during the season in things like better footwork going to the rim like Bazz. It's not crazy to think this coaching staff might improve players developmentally. How much? Idk like I say every year is a evaluation period. I kinda like to see guys prove they are or aren't something. That's why long term injuries are such a bad deal you can't get a full evaluation on those guys for a full year. Fortunately in Lavine's case he has a pretty significant body of work to say he was pretty effective offensively as a SG. Defense is the next question.

[TeamRicky [enjin:6648771]]

Cool more for you:

Defensive RPM stats for Rubio (past four years):
2016-17, Ricky currently ranks 7th out of 86 point guards
2015-16 Ricky ranked 2nd out of 69 point guards
2014-15 Ricky ranked 1st out of 63 point guards
2013-14 Ricky ranked 2nd out of 54 point guards

Yeah, Ricky's the reason our defense sucks and he's responsible for global warming too.

[kekgeek]

Just saying the wolves have never been over .500 with ricky. Not all his fault of course but he has been through 2 eras as the starting PG and he has been apart of two of the worst finishing teams in history

[Coolbreeze44]

Cool more for you:

Defensive RPM stats for Rubio (past four years):
2016-17, Ricky currently ranks 7th out of 86 point guards
2015-16 Ricky ranked 2nd out of 69 point guards
2014-15 Ricky ranked 1st out of 63 point guards
2013-14 Ricky ranked 2nd out of 54 point guards

Yeah, Ricky's the reason our defense sucks and he's responsible for global warming too.

I see the game as a coach Ricky. And I see Ricky having a hard time keeping opposing dribblers in front of him. It creates pressure on other aspects of the team defensive effort. I think the metrics you point out demonstrate he's not hopeless on defense, but when you're guarding the opposing point guard and you can't slow dribble penetration, it is a major problem. That's what I see with Rubio on defense.

[Q12543 [enjin:6621299]]

Ricky isn't the only one that struggles at times to contain opposing starting PGs, as they consist of 9 out of the top 20 scorers in the game. Plus, these guys are involved so much in screen and roll action, which requires so much more than just the PG to defend. It's literally all 5 guys because the helpers need help and that's often where things break down for us.

My point isn't to obfuscate the fact that Ricky does struggle at times to get over screens and stay in front of the elite PGs, but there is a reason he is consistently viewed as a good team defender year after year. I can only think of a few starting PGs better than him defensively. Chris Paul and Patrick Beverley are the first two that come to mind.....may be Bledsoe too.

[khans2k5 [enjin:6608728]]

Why do we care about stats from years ago? He actually used to be a good defender on the ball as the stats suggest, but I don't know how anyone could keep that argument after watching him this year. He gets obliterated in the PnR and commits a decent amount of blocking fouls because he doesn't beat his man to the spot and flops. He's getting torched by guys like Elfrid Payton. It's night and day watching him defend versus a guy like Dunn defend. Ricky isn't a good defender anymore and stats from years ago really shouldn't automatically carry over to the player he is today.

That was in response to the Team Ricky article.

[Coolbreeze44]

Ricky isn't the only one that struggles at times to contain opposing starting PGs, as they consist of 9 out of the top 20 scorers in the game. Plus, these guys are involved so much in screen and roll action, which requires so much more than just the PG to defend. It's literally all 5 guys because the helpers need help and that's often where things break down for us.

My point isn't to obfuscate the fact that Ricky does struggle at times to get over screens and stay in front of the elite PGs, but there is a reason he is consistently viewed as a good team defender year after year. I can only think of a few starting PGs better than him defensively. Chris Paul and Patrick Beverley are the first two that come to mind.....may be Bledsoe too.

With all due respect, if that's the case he should be a perennial all star. Like I said earlier in this thread, he makes things very easy for us on offense (at least until crunch time). If he's as good as you think on defense we have a top 5 or 6 point guard in the NBA.

[Brooklyn_Wolves [enjin:14608167]]

Why do we care about stats from years ago? He actually used to be a good defender on the ball as the stats suggest, but I don't know how anyone could keep that argument after watching him this year. He gets obliterated in the PnR and commits a decent amount of blocking fouls because he doesn't beat his man to the spot and flops. He's getting torched by guys like Elfrid Payton. It's night and day watching him defend versus a guy like Dunn defend. Ricky isn't a good defender anymore and stats from years ago really shouldn't automatically carry over to the player he is today.

That was in response to the Team Ricky article.

Oh please, Dunn gets lit up by the likes of Brandon Jennings on semi regular basis. Day and night my ass....

[Monster]

Rubio has some liabilities defensively but he also has some assets in that regard. I can't think of too many PGS that defensively basically don't have any liabilities. Chris Paul give you everything. Most PGs defensively give up something. I'm not suggesting that Rubio ranks top 5 or top 10 or sucks but honestly it can be a tough position to defend like Q mentioned. Lately when Tubio is switched onto a Big if he isn't rolled too close to the Hoop he generally makes life difficult or that guy. I've seen Rubio give up on some plays that I think he should have hustled to at least make an effort to close out.

Overall I think Rubio and Dieng are similar in some ways what they bring and their liabilities. The both have length play smart poke the ball away generally play hard etc. they also lack some intnhe athletic dept and also could be stronger. Dieng has come farther in that regard although Rubio isn't super weak as his body has filled out. He just isn't a bulldog either. If either of those guys were your team's weakest link I think you would be in pretty good shape. The problem is those guys for much of the season are probably the team's best defenders in the starting lineup. That's probably not gonna be good enough right?

Cool as a coach what do you think if Rubio was the worst defender out there do you think that would work?

[Coolbreeze44]

Rubio has some liabilities defensively but he also has some assets in that regard. I can't think of too many PGS that defensively basically don't have any liabilities. Chris Paul give you everything. Most PGs defensively give up something. I'm not suggesting that Rubio ranks top 5 or top 10 or sucks but honestly it can be a tough position to defend like Q mentioned. Lately when Tubio is switched onto a Big if he isn't rolled too close to the Hoop he generally makes life difficult or that guy. I've seen Rubio give up on some plays that I think he should have hustled to at least make an effort to close out.

Overall I think Rubio and Dieng are similar in some ways what they bring and their liabilities. The both have length play smart poke the ball away generally play hard etc. they also lack some intnhe athletic dept and also could be stronger. Dieng has come farther in that regard although Rubio isn't super weak as his body has filled out. He just isn't a bulldog either. If either of those guys were your team's weakest link I think you would be in pretty good shape. The problem is those guys for much of the season are probably the team's best defenders in the starting lineup. That's probably not gonna be good enough right?

Cool as a coach what do you think if Rubio was the worst defender out there do you think that would work?

Yes I think it could work because I believe defense works primarily from the inside out. And defense is mostly about effort, and you certainly can't fault Ricky for that. If he was our worst defender we could be a good defensive team provided you were strong on the inside. An eraser back there can cure a lot of ills.