Minnesota Sports Forum

AbeVigodaLive wrote:I'm in the middle on this one. I like some things Rubio can do... hate other things. Same with Teague. It's why both are middle-of-the-road starters. But a closer look at Teague:

- Indecisive. I know he has a tough role with a lot of proverbial mouths to feed... but there seems to be openings and he's simply not taking them. It is the same vibe I got that season in the playoffs when Atlanta won 60 games but were throttled by the Cavs when they dared him to shoot. He eventually did... but it was all out of rhythm and you could tell he was overthinking stuff.

- Those look-ahead passes... I've mentioned them before. You expected those with Rubio. LATE in the Phoenix game, somebody broke free and Teague hesitated... and didn't make the pass for what seemed like a pretty easy layup. Instead, it became a halfcourt game... and I think that might have been the possession that ended with an off-balance 28 footer from Butler to beat the shot clock.

Summary: Stop thinking so much and be more aggressive.

Yeah, in terms of talent and performance, I see them as relatively equal too. But for me to get on board with the swap, Teague needs to significantly outperform Ricky on the court, because we lost two big things when Ricky left:

1) A contract that was much more workable for Thibs when it becomes time to max our Big Three. I'm not too hung up on the extra millions per year we have to pay Teague, but the additional year on his contract makes it almost a certainty that one of the Big Three will have to go before the last year of Jeff's contract. Maybe Thibs has a plan for how to navigate this, but I sense he is only kicking this big can down the road.

2) Charisma. Several posters here have talked about how the team is more difficult to cheer for this year...and this in a year that has started out stronger than any in a long time. I think this emotional reaction is due to Ricky's departure. I've always thought of Teague as a good guy, but he lacks Ricky's energy, flair and charisma. Not his fault...Ricky was one of a kind.

When Teague hit that big three-pointer to put us up 6 late in the Suns game, I had a brief feeling of "yes, this is why Thibs went out and got him". But of course he didn't finish strong either offensively or defensively, and that brief feeling went away. Maybe tonight is the night Jeff outplays Ricky for a win on the road (Gobert out will help) and helps me start moving on from Rubio.

Maybe LST... maybe.

Then again, maybe Thibs thought Teague's playoff experience would come in handy down the line... or any other number of reasons from better spacing to better happy hours to better groupies on the road.

Well innthe head to head matchup Rubio was outplayed by 2 of his own teammates much less Teague who at times didn't even wave at Rubio when he was taking a shot. After a hot start he is REALLY struggling and with Gobert our it's gonna be rough going. I feel bad for the guy he never seems to get a break.

monsterpile wrote:Well innthe head to head matchup Rubio was outplayed by 2 of his own teammates much less Teague who at times didn't even wave at Rubio when he was taking a shot. After a hot start he is REALLY struggling and with Gobert our it's gonna be rough going. I feel bad for the guy he never seems to get a break.

Rubio got destroyed by Teague it was a massacre lol, I have a feeling this thread will get more and more hilarious to read through as the season goes on

monsterpile wrote:I feel bad for the guy he never seems to get a break.

I feel bad for the guy because he's such an obviously good guy. I'm not sure what bad breaks he's faced that many other players haven't. He can't shoot, that isn't a bad break, it's just reality, and that's the biggest thing holding him back.

Who's really deserving of the "obsessed with Ricky" title at this point. Guys are jumping thru hoops to stick up for a former player who's currently fighting the same battles. Now we're feeling sorry for him??
Think the years of me getting shit has been a deflection attempt by those who are really obsessed.

TheSP wrote:

monsterpile wrote:I feel bad for the guy he never seems to get a break.

I feel bad for the guy because he's such an obviously good guy. I'm not sure what bad breaks he's faced that many other players haven't. He can't shoot, that isn't a bad break, it's just reality, and that's the biggest thing holding him back.

Well what I meant is he had all those injuries to start his career a new coach every year for 4 years and then he gets moved to Utah and Hayward leaves and now Gobert is hurt for an extended time. His mother passed away from cancer. It's not like he has had the worst luck ever but after a pretty charmed basketball life in Spain it hasn't exactly been smooth sailing regardless of his own game which you point out. He is still living a pretty good life playing basketball.

Ultimately like I have been saying for a couple years he may be the next Calderon type a good player with major flaws who may end up bouncing around because he is good enough for teams to want him but not good enough to be the answer. That's why I was ok with them moving him for another option and I'm still a fan of his. I hope it still works out well for him in Utah. It's been up and down.

Ricky is now at a career low in 3pt%, asts, reb, stls. 3rd lowest fg%. Career high in turnovers

kekgeek1 wrote:Ricky is now at a career low in 3pt%, asts, reb, stls. 3rd lowest fg%. Career high in turnovers

I'd be interested to see how his numbers this year compare to numbers last year around the same time of the season. He was really struggling early on last year.

Bringing this backup, but adding in Dunn is looking good.