TheSP wrote:Rubio has an immense weakness in his game, one that unquestionably makes life more difficult for the four players on the floor with him, especially late in close games. I think if we take a step back, take a broader look at the team we see that the players he's on the floor with have their own weaknesses, thus Rubio is not able to compensate for them anymore than they for him. I don't think guys like Wiggins, KAT, Bazz, nor Lavine are ready to be the man late on either end of the floor thus Rubio's weakness is magnified. If they can bring in a quality 3 or 4, someone with reliable outside shooting and the continued maturing of Wiggins and KAT's games Rubio becomes less of a liability and his positives will be magnified.
Thinking back to the stretches in which the Wolves with Rubio have been very good offensively they had players that could stretch the floor with consistent outside shooting. Love and Martin on the floor with Rubio means teams cannot pack the paint, cutting off lanes for Rubio to drive and dish. Rubio needs space to maximize his assets, without it, yes, his weakness becomes a major part of the problem. I believe Rubio can be the driver for a high powered NBA offense, even late in close games once the correct players, with mature NBA games surround him.
I still believe Rubio can be the starting 1 for this team, just not as this team is made up at this exact moment.
You can consider me frustrated with Rubio, maybe 50.1% Porkchop, but I remember what he can do in the right position, thus I'm still opTIMistic!!
Remember, however, that the 2014 team despite all those 30 point blowout wins and solid ratings... ended up below .500 because of the team's almost universal struggles in the 4th quarter.
PG play... from both Rubio and Barea... was a very big problem.
True, but how ironic that one was a shoot first PG, the other a facilitator, and neither were the solution to the problem. Unless a CP3 falls in your lap you're going to be making a trade off by moving on from Rubio, what you gain in scoring you're highly likely to lose, at least partially, in most other areas.
Both shot terribly.
And I'm not advocating for Rubio to be jettisoned in an addition by subtraction move. Not at all. As I noted, right now he isn't the team's biggest problem. But IF Wiggins and Towns are as good as advertised, Rubio's limitations might very well plague this team down the line when it actually matters. We're a long ways away from that though.
I'm cool with Rubio here... as long as the team is ready to bring in guys or make moves to replace him eventually to make the team better.
TheSP wrote:Rubio has an immense weakness in his game, one that unquestionably makes life more difficult for the four players on the floor with him, especially late in close games. I think if we take a step back, take a broader look at the team we see that the players he's on the floor with have their own weaknesses, thus Rubio is not able to compensate for them anymore than they for him. I don't think guys like Wiggins, KAT, Bazz, nor Lavine are ready to be the man late on either end of the floor thus Rubio's weakness is magnified. If they can bring in a quality 3 or 4, someone with reliable outside shooting and the continued maturing of Wiggins and KAT's games Rubio becomes less of a liability and his positives will be magnified.
Thinking back to the stretches in which the Wolves with Rubio have been very good offensively they had players that could stretch the floor with consistent outside shooting. Love and Martin on the floor with Rubio means teams cannot pack the paint, cutting off lanes for Rubio to drive and dish. Rubio needs space to maximize his assets, without it, yes, his weakness becomes a major part of the problem. I believe Rubio can be the driver for a high powered NBA offense, even late in close games once the correct players, with mature NBA games surround him.
I still believe Rubio can be the starting 1 for this team, just not as this team is made up at this exact moment.
You can consider me frustrated with Rubio, maybe 50.1% Porkchop, but I remember what he can do in the right position, thus I'm still opTIMistic!!
Remember, however, that the 2014 team despite all those 30 point blowout wins and solid ratings... ended up below .500 because of the team's almost universal struggles in the 4th quarter.
PG play... from both Rubio and Barea... was a very big problem.
True, but how ironic that one was a shoot first PG, the other a facilitator, and neither were the solution to the problem. Unless a CP3 falls in your lap you're going to be making a trade off by moving on from Rubio, what you gain in scoring you're highly likely to lose, at least partially, in most other areas.
Both shot terribly.
And I'm not advocating for Rubio to be jettisoned in an addition by subtraction move. Not at all. As I noted, right now he isn't the team's biggest problem. But IF Wiggins and Towns are as good as advertised, Rubio's limitations might very well plague this team down the line when it actually matters. We're a long ways away from that though.
I'm cool with Rubio here... as long as the team is ready to bring in guys or make moves to replace him eventually to make the team better.
They're still a couple years away from challenging for a top playoff position, much less a championship. By that point in a perfect world they have another, non-shooting challenged 1 on the team (Lavine?) and Rubio is either a backup, or rides the pine in games where his weakness is an issue.
SP, I think you miss the real problem with Rubio being our lead guard. It doesn't really matter today, you're right he's far from our biggest problem TODAY. The problem is when you are ready to contend, you can't have a point guard who you don't have to defend against on the floor at crunch time. Your point guard absolutely 100% guaranteed has to be a threat to score down the stretch of close games. If he's not you just can't win those games with any kind of consistency.
CoolBreeze44 wrote:SP, I think you miss the real problem with Rubio being our lead guard. It doesn't really matter today, you're right he's far from our biggest problem TODAY. The problem is when you are ready to contend, you can't have a point guard who you don't have to defend against on the floor at crunch time. Your point guard absolutely 100% guaranteed has to be a threat to score down the stretch of close games. If he's not you just can't win those games with any kind of consistency.
I am wondering about Zach's potential as a point guard. Tony Parker had a rough start, Sam Mitchell told Zach Parker went through what he is going through, with the coach riding him hard, but it made him better., But does anyone believe Zach is going to be as good as Parker has become?
I was anti Zach at PG at first, but I'm coming around. I like how easily he can get to the tin. In my perfect scenario, they share PG duties next season again, with equal minutes, then Zach taking over for Ricky the following year.
papalrep wrote:I am wondering about Zach's potential as a point guard. Tony Parker had a rough start, Sam Mitchell told Zach Parker went through what he is going through, with the coach riding him hard, but it made him better., But does anyone believe Zach is going to be as good as Parker has become?
Zach shows flashes here and there of being a possible scoring PG. I think the fact that he is getting minutes at PG is another indication the organization does have some small hope he can player there. I'll say this about Sam he had basically every single type of PG you can imagine in Toronto and all of them had success playing for him some of them had easily career years playing for Sam. That was a while ago but it's worth mentioning and considering.
I think that the people taking the position that Rubio just can't be the answer for this team as a true championship team have plenty of merit and I don't really disagree with that stance. However I do want to bring up one point that I do think gets lost in the conversation between Rubio's strengths and weaknesses...
Rubio is still a young player. He turned 25 last October. No I am not suggesting he has massive untapped potential bit something else. Rubio has lost valuable game experience to injury and the best team he played on was a somewhat disappointing team that went 40-42. There is oftent he narrative of young players learning how to win but it seems to not be talked about when it comes to Rubio. He hasn't really learned to win either. He is a young still and (assuming he can stay healthy) maybe learn what he can do in a variety of situations to help his team win throughout the game and particularly late in the game. I am not suggesting Rubio will end up being a decent shooter (except maybe from 3) or finish around the rim at some have decent rate but he may find ways to help a team even against top level competition in a ramped up playoff environment. Keep in mind this is the guy that somehow is able to draw fouls on people despite being one of the worst scorers in the floor at any time. This is one reason why I would like to see Rubio and this group together into next season and see what can happen. I am certainly no in a frame of mind where we keep Rubio at all costs but I'd stick with him for right now especially since there is still some questions about where you really need to fill a hole right now because of not absolutely knowing what you have with some players on the roster and what position they can play plus a lottery pick coming in (could end up being Rubio's replacement. Keep in mind Flip seemed to like Russel a lot of he was in a different draft slot...who knows right?
Side note:
Isaiah Thomas is now an all-star. I always liked him and it seems he is finally getting the chance to do his thing and getting recognition for it. Wouldn't it be fun to find a gem like him?
papalrep wrote:I am wondering about Zach's potential as a point guard. Tony Parker had a rough start, Sam Mitchell told Zach Parker went through what he is going through, with the coach riding him hard, but it made him better., But does anyone believe Zach is going to be as good as Parker has become?
Since Zach and Mitchell had their little public spat Zach has looked like a PG. Hes been sharing the ball and playing better D. The ideal situation for this team is that Zach becomes Westbrook. Not saying it will happen. But if he grows at the one we are far better off. I hope it happens, but I personally am skeptical.
