Rubio meet Mike Penberthy

[Mstermisty [enjin:6864008]]

I think we're in a good situation with Ricky right now. If he accepts a reasonable deal sooner than later, great. If not we play out the season and see just how valuable he is with this new group of players, and how much his offensive game improves (maybe Penberthy will really earn his check). At that point we should know whether to pay him what he wants or consider other options.

This is Ricky's team now, he is the clear leader (if he wasn't already last year). Lets see what happens. No need to overpay now that is for sure.

[longstrangetrip [enjin:6600564]]

I wish we could just have Corey Brewer help him with his 2pt shooting.

Good point. I was really impressed last year by Corey's ability to finish in traffic despite his slight frame...probably the best on the team. Unfortunately, he's evidence against my assertion that Rubio's added muscle will help him around the rim.

[bleedspeed]

I think we need to realize Penberthy is for all the young guys. Not just Rubio.

It will be interesting to see if any of the guys has career years at the FT/3P% this year.

[mrhockey89]

lst, Penberthy's shooting has been primarily been behind the 3 point line, which will ultimately lower his overall shooting percentage.

Always good to see a shooting coach for Ricky and the other young guys though.

[Camden [enjin:6601484]]

I'm not sure added bulk leads to better finishing ability. We can hope, but I don't know if there's an actual correlation. That is the area where Ricky can improve, though, and he's already crafty/shifty/quick enough to get to the rim. I'd be more worried if he couldn't beat his man off the dribble, but he can and that's where my optimism comes from. Ricky shot 41% from the field post-All Star break. That's not terrific by any measure, but it is a huge step in the right direction. Can he build off that? I'd like to say so. I'd also like to believe that he's in the best shape of his life, and is even more recovered from that ACL injury. Another area Ricky needs to improve on is getting to the foul line. His FTAs dipped last year (if I remember correctly). Rubio's a good FT shooter, and I anticipate he'll be much more aggressive this year, which should boost those FTAs (more points for Ricky).

Time will tell, but if he could become a 12-14 PPG scorer, even at 41% from the field, he's so good at other aspects of the game that we could be a good contending team with him.

[mrhockey89]

I believe bulk will help Rubio in finishing ability as well as attempting to build a possible post-up game for him. Ability to muscle off defenders with ease will effect his ability to get the 'and-1' opportunities. This won't and can't be a sudden change, but as he gets stronger that will only help for a guy like Rubio. Now let's just hope our new shooting coach can help Ricky's ability to shoot off the dribble.

[Camden [enjin:6601484]]

I don't ever see Rubio having a post game. Takes him away from his best element (creating for others off dribble penetration) while forcing more attention on his weaknesses (shooting and finishing).

[zigzag22 [enjin:6591633]]

I would put the Over/Under on the number of times Rubio posts up this season at 2.5........and then immediately invest my savings into the under.

[Papalrep]

Flip on the Friday Funkadelic betrayed some frustration. Said Pemberthy is on a level with San Antonio's coach (shooting). Then said "if he had had more than a week with Ricky, we would have seen some improvement". So Flip is fristrated with FIFA Worl championships too. Could be worse, Ricky didn't do a Paul George

[bleedspeed]

Papa. I listened to it again. I didn't hear it. He explained how his shot changes in the game. That be decelerates it.

He did mention Shabazz. That he makes people work in practice against him. Players need to be ready
to practice against.