Minnesota Sports Forum

AbeVigodaLive wrote:


[Note: As I noted before, I guess it's a good problem to have considering where the team has been. But it most definitely would show up in the playoffs.]

This bolded part is pretty funny considering your love (or lack thereof) for Mccants.

I don't know that I have ever witnessed a player insert more "most definitely"s into an interview in my life.

Q12543 wrote:

khans2k5 wrote:

Q12543 wrote:

longstrangetrip wrote:

60WinTim wrote:Rubio catching up on the reps he has missed this summer... ;-)

https://instagram.com/p/7mK92vxd4H/

Absolutely indisputable evidence that Ricky has resolved all of his shooting issues!

Heh. But that's definitely the shot that he should be working on. Nevermind the pull-up 18 footers when opposing guards go underneath the screen. Nevermind the poor finishing. I just don't see how guys at his age can really improve shooting while on the move (pull-ups and finishing). But they CAN improve catch-and-shoot 3's. We've seen it with others over the years and even Rubio has had a few respectable years from beyond the arc both in Europe and in the NBA. If he can hit 3's and Free's, I can live with the poor finishing and pull-up jumpers.

Developing a set shot doesn't help at all when you're the primary ball handler. That's the reason he has to learn to finish at the rim or hit the 18 ft jumper. When you take the ball out of his hands he brings no positives to an offense so while a set shot would help in that regard, his value still would mostly come from having the ball in his hands setting up other guys. If he doesn't improve his finishing or shot off the dribble, he'll need to go eventually because that just won't pass in the playoffs. In today's game, your primary ball handler has to be able to score or your offense gets shut down come playoff time.

I'm not a big fan of there being any particular formula or singular attributes that one player out of a rotation of 8 or 9 MUST have to win a playoff series.

The reason I think Ricky should focus on the 3-point set shot is that it's the easiest one to improve on in my opinion and it's also the most beneficial to an offense, all things considered. I hear you on the ball handling aspect, but Ricky has found a way to be pretty damn good in pick and rolls despite his poor jumper and finishing skills.

Watch what teams have been doing to Tony Allen in recent playoff series and he's not even a primary ball handler. Those are the kind of adjustments made in the playoffs that just don't happen during the year. So while you think our playoff success won't be greatly hindered by Ricky's scoring ability or lack thereof, just know that those adjustments will be made come playoff time and it's going to look worse than it already has during the regular season. Playoff defenses take away your best option. That's why Lebron had a jumper happy finals against the Mavs. They are going to force Ricky to beat them, just like they force Allen to beat them and same with Draymond in the finals when they would double Steph off the PnR. Any weakness you have is their target that they are going to exploit come playoff time and it has a huge negative effect unless you can get what they are forcing you to take to a respectable level which is what Draymond and Iggy eventually got to in the finals that won them the series. For us it will be shutting down passing lanes and forcing Ricky to score the ball or play off the ball and really limit the impact he can have on a game as just a spot up shooter. Any player severely lacking in an offensive or defensive way is going to be exploited. Cleveland had Delly setting picks for Lebron to force Curry on him. You won't ever see that in a regular season game. The adjustments come and it is highly likely we will be exploited if he doesn't improve in either of those specific areas.

Khans=

Watch what teams have been doing to Tony Allen in recent playoff series and he's not even a primary ball handler. Those are the kind of adjustments made in the playoffs that just don't happen during the year. So while you think our playoff success won't be greatly hindered by Ricky's scoring ability or lack thereof, just know that those adjustments will be made come playoff time and it's going to look worse than it already has during the regular season. Playoff defenses take away your best option. That's why Lebron had a jumper happy finals against the Mavs. They are going to force Ricky to beat them, just like they force Allen to beat them and same with Draymond in the finals when they would double Steph off the PnR. Any weakness you have is their target that they are going to exploit come playoff time and it has a huge negative effect unless you can get what they are forcing you to take to a respectable level which is what Draymond and Iggy eventually got to in the finals that won them the series. For us it will be shutting down passing lanes and forcing Ricky to score the ball or play off the ball and really limit the impact he can have on a game as just a spot up shooter. Any player severely lacking in an offensive or defensive way is going to be exploited. Cleveland had Delly setting picks for Lebron to force Curry on him. You won't ever see that in a regular season game. The adjustments come and it is highly likely we will be exploited if he doesn't improve in either of those specific areas.

Great post Khans. Thanks for making me depressed. If Ricky cant shoot, that will be exploited, period. Hope he gets better is all I can say, or Pork Chop is right, he ain't our guy. Why DID Flip draft Tyus, anyway?

Even great players are played differently in the playoffs.

In 2005's 2nd round... the Dallas Mavericks didn't want Steve Nash to beat them with the pass. So, they forced one of the best shooters in the game to become a scorer. He averaged about 40 ppg in the final few games for Phoenix to pull off the victory.

But it shows that teams come up with entirely new ways to defend teams in playoff series. Dallas just wanted to upset what Phoenix did so well... free flowing basketball. So, they forced Nash to play in an unconventional way... and it would have worked if Steve Nash wasn't so good and one of the best shooters in NBA history.

Rubio in the playoffs vs. a good coach would be a nightmare.