What are realistic #'s for Rubio this coming season?

[AbeVigodaLive]

Not to dampen spirits... but is it realistic to expect Rubio to lead the league in assists?

Only two guys in the entire league averaged above 9 apg.

[longstrangetrip [enjin:6600564]]

Not to dampen spirits... but is it realistic to expect Rubio to lead the league in assists?

Only two guys in the entire league averaged above 9 apg.

I actually think it is realistic, Abe. Name another point guard that has all of these three criteria:

1) pass first...prefers assists to points
2) unbelievable vision and passing skills
3) teammates who will make their shots when he passes to them.

I don't think Ricky will ever scare an opponent with his shooting, but it's not unrealistic to see him leading the league in assists.

[ace [enjin:6598567]]

Not to dampen spirits... but is it realistic to expect Rubio to lead the league in assists?

Only two guys in the entire league averaged above 9 apg.

He averaged 8.2 as a rookie with terrible shooters around him. I can't imagine him not gaining at least 2 apg off made corner threes alone.

[Camden [enjin:6601484]]

Not to dampen spirits... but is it realistic to expect Rubio to lead the league in assists?

Only two guys in the entire league averaged above 9 apg.

If you don't think it's realistic then we have very different views on Ricky Rubio.

He's one of the few true pass first point guards in the NBA. He has the best vision in basketball. Yes, even better than LeBron. He's a natural passer in that everything is smooth and unforced. He has the weapons: Love, Martin, Pek, Brewer, Bud, DWill, Shved. We've seen him take over games with his passing.

Not to mention he averaged about 8 APG last season with close to nobody on the team due to injuries. Better teammates = better stats. I fully believe Ricky takes a big step this season.

[Elan24 [enjin:6583971]]

I think Ricky will find a way to average 1 basket per quarter and 1 free throw per quarter. 12 pts. I'll guess 10 assists per game.

[observerII [enjin:6598557]]

If Ricky can average 9 and 9, he will have more than done a fine job. If all the projected point-producers do indeed produce, Rick will not be needed to be a major scorer but rather a major sorcerer.

[WildWolf2813]

13.2 ppg, 11.5 apg, 4.9 rpg, 2.5 stls

40% FG, 83% FT, 34% from 3.

[SameOldNudityDrew]

Rubio's career average for assists is 7.7. So saying he'll jump up to 10, 11, 12 assists per game is decreasingly realistic, especially when you consider how few players crack double-digits. I think it is possible he could get up to 9.5 even 10, but Rondo and/or Chris Paul will still probably get significantly more assists because they're quicker and more of a threat to score. 9.5 to 10 is not bad at all though.

I can see 2.5 steals and 4.4 rebounds, very good and very respectable numbers, respectively.

Rubio's scoring total means almost nothing. His shooting percentages mean absolutely everything. He is statistically one of the worst shooters in NBA history. That's a fact. I love the guy. I love his intensity. I love his defense. I love the flashy passes. But the man shoots 36% from the field. You can't stress enough how much that hurts us. That percentage would be acceptable if he only shot threes and hit them all at that rate. But only 20% of his shots are threes. And he doesn't shoot that well from out there anyway, only 32% averaging both seasons, and only 29% last year. If he shot better, it would prevent defenses from sagging on us and make this team so much better. We always complain about how bad the rest of our team is. But part of that is other teams have basically got Rubio's man as a help man on the perimeter, which is a huge advantage for them defensively and hurts our other offensive players. He'd get more assists if he shot better too, because it would open up passing lanes.

36%! Pull up shooting percentages in the NBA and you'll see they generally bottom out around 40%, maybe 39%, with guys like Jennings and Ellis earning terrible reputations for being inefficient. And Rubio is literally 4 percentage points below that. That's off the charts bad. Realistically, I see him hitting 38% this year, and it would be nice if he could get that 3 point percentage back up to 34%. But even those numbers would be pretty low. I'm disturbed that I'd be HAPPY if he hit 40%. He offsets it by getting to the line a little. But there's no way to candy-coat it. As much as Rubio helps this team with everything else, he hurts this team so much with his shooting. If this team is going to make the leap to the playoffs, and being a real threat in the playoffs, the biggest thing that needs to happen is Ricky needs to shoot much better. There is literally nothing that would help this team more.

[WildWolf2813]

drew- the thing is, even when Rubio was healthy and dishing, the team was near the bottom in team assists per game because Rubio was the only one passing. Ridnour only assumed PG when Ricky didn't play and JJ Barea will only pass so much.

Look at the team now. The team improved in some areas, but who do you trust outside of Rubio to get any assists for this team?

[SameOldNudityDrew]

I don't disagree with anything you wrote WildWolf. But what about his shooting percentages? That's my main point. Even if he DID average 12 assists, his terrible shooting is still really hurting us.