AbeVigodaLive wrote:
There's no excuse to be 24 and in year (x) of a pro career and not devote time to shooting if that's the ONE area your game needs the most.
Excuses for the Spanish league. Excuses for the NBA.
Enough. Rubio is to blame. NOBODY else. More importantly, maybe it's not even his fault. Not everybody can be a great shooter. Thousands of people don't make the NBA or college or even the high school team because they can't shoot. Sometimes, they just aren't good at it. You can't make just anybody a great shooter or passer in heated game situations against incredible athletes in front of 15,000 people.
So the odds are against him improving much. He is who he is. But, as I noted initially in this thread... and Q and others have noted... he's still a pretty damn good player despite it. He's so unique and so good at other things that being poor at such a critical fundamental part of the game doesn't have the impact we might otherwise think it would.
I know this word is a dangerous one... but NBA history tells us that Rubio improving as a shooter at this stage in his career would be an anomaly.
I think it's ridiculous to fault him pre NBA b/c of his age. It's hard to blame or hold that against a kid that age. His coaches over there flat out let him down. Now his NBA career, yes I put that all on Ricky. They actually teach in the NBA unlike his teams did, he spent a lot of his summers playing internationally, etc. I doubt he spent enough time on shooting and working on his scoring, but that changed last summer so I have hope.
AbeVigodaLive wrote:
Then, that's on him. Shame on him, actually.
He's in year 4 in the NBA. He played professionally for several years before that. He's made (or guaranteed to make) about $60M by the time he's 29.
He should have been devoting an inordinate amount of time to such a critical part of the game.
I agree with you. But from the time he was a pro (age 5 or something) he was to be a facilitator and not a scorer. That's what his teams wanted him to do and he became great at it. I really don't think his J has gotten much attention at all. And if you look at the mechanics, it's pretty obvious he hasn't. It would be one thing if he had great mechanics and still stunk, but that isn't the case.
I really think him being pro so early in his career actually set him back in certain areas, mainly scoring. It's pretty apparent that they don't teach. I mean look how they used him with his Spanish team lol.
There's no excuse to be 24 and in year (x) of a pro career and not devote time to shooting if that's the ONE area your game needs the most.
Excuses for the Spanish league. Excuses for the NBA.
Enough. Rubio is to blame. NOBODY else. More importantly, maybe it's not even his fault. Not everybody can be a great shooter. Thousands of people don't make the NBA or college or even the high school team because they can't shoot. Sometimes, they just aren't good at it. You can't make just anybody a great shooter or passer in heated game situations against incredible athletes in front of 15,000 people.
So the odds are against him improving much. He is who he is. But, as I noted initially in this thread... and Q and others have noted... he's still a pretty damn good player despite it. He's so unique and so good at other things that being poor at such a critical fundamental part of the game doesn't have the impact we might otherwise think it would.
I know this word is a dangerous one... but NBA history tells us that Rubio improving as a shooter at this stage in his career would be an anomaly.
Fine, there is nobody else to blame but him. So what?
in bold.
just saying, I wouldn't expect much improvement.
It is what it is at this point, just don't see the value in assessing blame for it.
AbeVigodaLive wrote:
Then, that's on him. Shame on him, actually.
He's in year 4 in the NBA. He played professionally for several years before that. He's made (or guaranteed to make) about $60M by the time he's 29.
He should have been devoting an inordinate amount of time to such a critical part of the game.
I agree with you. But from the time he was a pro (age 5 or something) he was to be a facilitator and not a scorer. That's what his teams wanted him to do and he became great at it. I really don't think his J has gotten much attention at all. And if you look at the mechanics, it's pretty obvious he hasn't. It would be one thing if he had great mechanics and still stunk, but that isn't the case.
I really think him being pro so early in his career actually set him back in certain areas, mainly scoring. It's pretty apparent that they don't teach. I mean look how they used him with his Spanish team lol.
There's no excuse to be 24 and in year (x) of a pro career and not devote time to shooting if that's the ONE area your game needs the most.
Excuses for the Spanish league. Excuses for the NBA.
Enough. Rubio is to blame. NOBODY else. More importantly, maybe it's not even his fault. Not everybody can be a great shooter. Thousands of people don't make the NBA or college or even the high school team because they can't shoot. Sometimes, they just aren't good at it.You can't make just anybody a great shooter or passer in heated game situations against incredible athletes in front of 15,000 people.
So the odds are against him improving much. He is who he is. But, as I noted initially in this thread... and Q and others have noted... he's still a pretty damn good player despite it. He's so unique and so good at other things that being poor at such a critical fundamental part of the game doesn't have the impact we might otherwise think it would.
I know this word is a dangerous one... but NBA history tells us that Rubio improving as a shooter at this stage in his career would be an anomaly.
Fine, there is nobody else to blame but him. So what?
in bold.
just saying, I wouldn't expect much improvement.
It is what it is at this point, just don't see the value in assessing blame for it.
AbeVigodaLive wrote:Do Rubio's Spanish coaches get any credit for helping with defense? Passing? Rebounding? Unselfishness? Or, did they let him down in all areas?
His passing & Uselfishness has been there since he was like 14? They definitely helped him defensively, but playing against bigger/older players constantly helps that too. I think shooting takes a different type of coaching than others.
AbeVigodaLive wrote:
Then, that's on him. Shame on him, actually.
He's in year 4 in the NBA. He played professionally for several years before that. He's made (or guaranteed to make) about $60M by the time he's 29.
He should have been devoting an inordinate amount of time to such a critical part of the game.
I agree with you. But from the time he was a pro (age 5 or something) he was to be a facilitator and not a scorer. That's what his teams wanted him to do and he became great at it. I really don't think his J has gotten much attention at all. And if you look at the mechanics, it's pretty obvious he hasn't. It would be one thing if he had great mechanics and still stunk, but that isn't the case.
I really think him being pro so early in his career actually set him back in certain areas, mainly scoring. It's pretty apparent that they don't teach. I mean look how they used him with his Spanish team lol.
There's no excuse to be 24 and in year (x) of a pro career and not devote time to shooting if that's the ONE area your game needs the most.
Excuses for the Spanish league. Excuses for the NBA.
Enough. Rubio is to blame. NOBODY else. More importantly, maybe it's not even his fault. Not everybody can be a great shooter. Thousands of people don't make the NBA or college or even the high school team because they can't shoot. Sometimes, they just aren't good at it.You can't make just anybody a great shooter or passer in heated game situations against incredible athletes in front of 15,000 people.
So the odds are against him improving much. He is who he is. But, as I noted initially in this thread... and Q and others have noted... he's still a pretty damn good player despite it. He's so unique and so good at other things that being poor at such a critical fundamental part of the game doesn't have the impact we might otherwise think it would.
I know this word is a dangerous one... but NBA history tells us that Rubio improving as a shooter at this stage in his career would be an anomaly.
Fine, there is nobody else to blame but him. So what?
in bold.
just saying, I wouldn't expect much improvement.
It is what it is at this point, just don't see the value in assessing blame for it.
In bold. Underlined. And in italics.
Boy, you really have your bases covered there. Kind of your style.
AbeVigodaLive wrote:
Then, that's on him. Shame on him, actually.
He's in year 4 in the NBA. He played professionally for several years before that. He's made (or guaranteed to make) about $60M by the time he's 29.
He should have been devoting an inordinate amount of time to such a critical part of the game.
I agree with you. But from the time he was a pro (age 5 or something) he was to be a facilitator and not a scorer. That's what his teams wanted him to do and he became great at it. I really don't think his J has gotten much attention at all. And if you look at the mechanics, it's pretty obvious he hasn't. It would be one thing if he had great mechanics and still stunk, but that isn't the case.
I really think him being pro so early in his career actually set him back in certain areas, mainly scoring. It's pretty apparent that they don't teach. I mean look how they used him with his Spanish team lol.
Come on, the guys been playing professionally since he was a teenager. He's must of had thousands and thousands of practices. That's such a silly excuse. Agree with the others in that he is who he is, not everybody in the world can shoot like Curry with 100 years of practice
AbeVigodaLive wrote:
Then, that's on him. Shame on him, actually.
He's in year 4 in the NBA. He played professionally for several years before that. He's made (or guaranteed to make) about $60M by the time he's 29.
He should have been devoting an inordinate amount of time to such a critical part of the game.
I agree with you. But from the time he was a pro (age 5 or something) he was to be a facilitator and not a scorer. That's what his teams wanted him to do and he became great at it. I really don't think his J has gotten much attention at all. And if you look at the mechanics, it's pretty obvious he hasn't. It would be one thing if he had great mechanics and still stunk, but that isn't the case.
I really think him being pro so early in his career actually set him back in certain areas, mainly scoring. It's pretty apparent that they don't teach. I mean look how they used him with his Spanish team lol.
Come on, the guys been playing professionally since he was a teenager. He's must of had thousands and thousands of practices. That's such a silly excuse. Agree with the others in that he is who he is, not everybody in the world can shoot like Curry with 100 years of practice
All I'm saying is if you look at his mechanics, it's clear his shot hasn't been worked on, at least not correctly. It's obvious really to anyone that knows shooting at all. And he doesn't have to be anything close to Curry, we just need him to be the best possible Ricky.
longstrangetrip wrote:I couldn't agree more, alex...Rubio's offensive focus and strategy is a big issue now that he/they have to figure out for the Wolves to be successful. He does so many things well, especially on defense, that he is still a valuable contributor to this team. But I have a nagging feeling that he can be so much more. Last year, he showed a great talent for beating his man, often with the left hand, and getting to the basket. While he didn't finish as well as many of us would have liked, his breaking down the defense did lead to easy baskets for Pek. Where is that part of Rubio's game recently? Part of me is happy that he is confident enough with his jumpshot that he is willing to take it at any time, and I'm still convinced that he is going to figure it out (with continued help from his coach). But his low shooting percentage is hurting the team, and favoring the jump shot over driving and dishing (or finishing) is not emphasizing his strengths, I think.
I think your observations are right on the money. Being a natural optimist, though, I see it more as an opportunity for this team (and Ricky) to take a huge leap forward.
Part of the stopping to shoot instead of continuing to drive... could also be remnants from the nasty ankle injury.
Good point, abe...let's hope that's what it is and that it will get better, because it's noticeable and limits his effectiveness. To me, the ankle seems fine when he is on defense, but maybe driving to the basket effects the ankle differently
I was implying that it's more of a mental thing. He's not entirely sure about it yet. On defense, he's more reactive, so it's less noticeable?
Speaking from experience I agree that a big part of him settling for jumpers is mental. I broke my ankle by stepping on a foot while driving in the lane. It took me about a year to shake the feeling every time I'd want to drive and would settle for a lot of jumpers or pass it off before I actually penetrated. I think he'll driveplenty more next year.
His issue since the All-Star break has been his legs more than anything. He went back to his set shot which just doesn't get much lift. A lot of his 3's have been short because he's shooting with no legs. His better looking shot that he showed at the beginning of the year involved him actually jumping. I just don't get how the All-Star break was enough time to lose all his form he had worked on and shown before the break. The contested shots argument doesn't make sense to me as to why his form reverted. You would want more lift on your shot when it is contested, not less. You can also see in his free throws that he is just pushing the ball in the hoop and not shooting it. Maybe he just didn't have enough confidence with the new form that he just reverted to his comfort zone. It sucks, but it may just be something he never gets comfortable changing. To be honest I've been more disappointed is his lack of improvement in finishing than the shooting. Plenty of guys develop runners and the ability to finish through contact. He's never gone up strong in his career which is the only way to finish through contact at the rim. He's got to pick one or the other and effectively add it to the arsenal or he will never be a top 10 PG. Parker, Rondo and Wall still can't shoot well but they have midrange jumpers that keep the defense honest and they can score when they are around the rim.
