Minnesota Sports Forum

Now when we know at least majority of Timberwolves team in next season, we can start making predictions.

I will predict that Ricky will average 12 points 11 assists 5 rebounds 2.7 steals and has 41% FG.

I believe that Ricky will get little more minutes than last year since Flip is going to play him also in the end of 4th quarter. More minutes and absence of Love will mean more FG attempts for Ricky. That and Ricky continuing to improve in finishing at the rim will result more points. 2012-13 post all star break when Wolves played without Love, Ricky averaged 12.9 points. I will expect him to get almost same but with better efficiency.

Assist prediction may look quite high but you have to consider how much coaching change can affect Ricky's numbers. It has been very rare that point guards would have got a lot of assists in Adelman's corner offence. Most of point guards have seen their assists numbers drop badly when they have played for Adelman (for example Bibby, Porter, Alston and Lowry have had better assists numbers when they have not been playing for Adelman) In contrast point guards tend to get much more assists under Flip. Cassell, Billups and Brandon all had their best assist seasons under Flip. I can think only one guard, Terry Porter that has played for both Adelman and Flip and his assists numbers increased clearly when he started playing for Flip even though he was already clearly downside of his career.

I think we will see Rubio unchained this year. It will make us very exciting to watch.

Mikkeman has done a terrific job of defining why Ricky's stats will be greatly improved, and I actually think he may have understated Ricky's 2014-5 PPG. It's funny...with all the high-flying, high-ceiling guys coming in, the guy I am most excited about this year is Ricky. I think he is poised for a breakout season.

I have been shying away from the stat prediction threads for the newcomers, because we really don't know how much they are going to play. But we know Ricky is going to play a lot, maybe 38 minutes a game compared to his career 32, and that there are a lot of points to be replaced with Love gone. We also suspect that Flip will coach Ricky differently and give him more freedom to be Ricky. So with all that, here are my predictions:

PPG: 15
APG: 11
RPG: 5
SPG: 2.5
42% FG

- 12 PPG
- 10 APG
- 4 RPG
- 2.5 SPG
- 41% FG

If I'm low on the projections, and he does average what LST projects, he better be in the All-Star game. Those are tremendous numbers.

if Rubio scores 15 points, the wolves will not be in good shape

37 MPG
13.2 PPG
11.8 APG
4.2 RPG
2.6 SPG
2.7 TO
43% FG
36.2% 3FG

Camden wrote:- 12 PPG
- 10 APG
- 4 RPG
- 2.5 SPG
- 41% FG

If I'm low on the projections, and he does average what LST projects, he better be in the All-Star game. Those are tremendous numbers.

I think if he does LST projections and we are in the playoff hunt he would make the All-Star game.

Cam's projection flow right out of Ricky's post-allstar stats from last season, which were 10.7 points, 9.0 assists, 3.5 rebounds, 1.9 steals and a 41.5% shooting. I think those last 2+ months of the season are probably the most predictive for a still young player like Rubio whose NBA development was set back by reconstructive knee surgery and rehab two years ago. Moreover, Cam's projections are also fairly conservative because they assume very little improvement this off-season.

We've already seen that Ricky has put on a lot of muscle this off season, which will invariably help him finish inside -- something he had already improved significantly late last season. Apparently, he has also been working all summer with a shooting coach who will be with the club throughout next season. So I think we will see Ricky's game improve in the following respects:

1. Improved shooting efficiency based on (a) better finishing inside as a result of his stronger upper body and improved technique that he displayed late last season, and (b) at least small to moderate improvement in both his mid-range and 3-point shooting resulting from work with his shooting coach.

2. Improved assist total based on being surrounded by much better athletes and moving targets who will likely maximize Ricky's unique passing ability.

3. Improved all-around game, including shooting, based on getting more help defensively, which will help him maintain his energy and legs on the offensive end. Last season, Ricky was the team's only good defender and he had to put forth a tremendous effort on the defensive end all by himself. Now he'll have help from at least two others in the starting line-up -- Wiggins and Thad Young along with more minutes for Dieng.

My prediction for Ricky:

12.5 PPG
10.0 APG
4.0 RPG
2.0 SPG
43.5% FG
36% 3-pt
82% FT (4.8 Attempts per game)

If Rickys release doesnt get quicker, I have a hard time seeing him make big improvements in his scoring. What I saw last year were dedenders running out on him and his shot was so slow they got there in time to be enough of a distraction. Which really hurts his mechanics
Can anyone give some info on how his shot is coming along? Better form, quicker release? Is there any video out there attesting to his progress?

12.1 ppg
9.1 ast
4.8 reb
2.3 stl
38.9% fg
3,217 claims that he's still improving.