Rubio to the Timberwolves, At Last
By Rafael Uehara
Yahoo! Sports’ Adrian Wojnarowski first reported today, June the 1st, that Spanish quarterback Ricky Rubio has reached an agreement to join the Minnesota Timberwolves next season. Rubio finally agrees to come to the NBA almost two years after being drafted fifth overall in the 2009 Draft.
He has had a dreadful season. There is no possible way to deny that. The most hyped European prospect of the last 10 years has struggled badly on his second year with powerhouse Regal FC Barcelona. After doing well right away at Palau Blaugrana, as part of a team that cruised through its way to a EuroLeague title, Rubio has failed to make any sort of progress that would inch him closer to the National Basketball Association.
Someway, somehow, Rubio’s shooting regressed. Over 64 combined games between ACB play and EuroLeague play, Ricky has hit only 33 three-pointers over 130 attempts; that’s 25.38% shooting from beyond the arc. He shot 38.9% from downtown last season. According to DraftExpress, his true-shooting percentage is currently at 47% and his effective field-goal percentage is at 38%.
And due to his shooting deficiency, Rubio has lost space. His minutes are actually up by a very small margin but his usage clearly indicates head-coach Xavi Pascual doesn’t trust him out there during key stretches. Whenever the going gets tough, back-up Victor Sada, a more established veteran who is a better shooter, checks in. Ricky’s poor shooting makes him a liability and as a result, he has played in crunch time only a handful of times all year. Actually, through these ACB playoffs, Rubio has come off the bench.
As a playmaker, it’s tough to evaluate his development because he doesn’t get to create much. Barça is a veteran team, with high expectations and a deep set of weapons. They run a disciplined offense that moves the ball extremely well and focus on generating shot attempts from half-court sets. Except for one-man fast-breaks, you’ll rarely see Regal pushing the ball in order to score in transition.
Rubio is the type of ball handler who thrives in the open court, likes to control the tempo of the game and feels more comfortable monopolizing the ball whenever he has to slow down. He’s also a great playmaker off the pick-and-roll. Barcelona’s offense doesn’t allow him to do either of the things listed above. It’s just a poor fit, although it wasn’t made so clear last season.
In Minnesota, expect Rubio to adapt well to the more free flowing game of the NBA and to simply look better. He won’t be asked to spot-up like he was in Barcelona and his deficiencies won’t be so out there in the open.
Rubio’s low profile season doesn’t mean he’s a bust and it doesn’t mean he won’t reach the absurd high expectations we all set for him. It just means that a 20 year-old prospect is displaying the highs and lows every 20 year-old does. Now it’s time to see how he does under pressure and against the best competition in the globe.
Editor's Note: Rafael Uehara is the managing figure of 'The Basketball Post'. More of his work can be found here and he can be followed on twitter @rafael__uehara or reached via e-mail at rafael.uehara@thebasketballpost.com
Yahoo! Sports’ Adrian Wojnarowski first reported today, June the 1st, that Spanish quarterback Ricky Rubio has reached an agreement to join the Minnesota Timberwolves next season. Rubio finally agrees to come to the NBA almost two years after being drafted fifth overall in the 2009 Draft.
He has had a dreadful season. There is no possible way to deny that. The most hyped European prospect of the last 10 years has struggled badly on his second year with powerhouse Regal FC Barcelona. After doing well right away at Palau Blaugrana, as part of a team that cruised through its way to a EuroLeague title, Rubio has failed to make any sort of progress that would inch him closer to the National Basketball Association.
Someway, somehow, Rubio’s shooting regressed. Over 64 combined games between ACB play and EuroLeague play, Ricky has hit only 33 three-pointers over 130 attempts; that’s 25.38% shooting from beyond the arc. He shot 38.9% from downtown last season. According to DraftExpress, his true-shooting percentage is currently at 47% and his effective field-goal percentage is at 38%.
And due to his shooting deficiency, Rubio has lost space. His minutes are actually up by a very small margin but his usage clearly indicates head-coach Xavi Pascual doesn’t trust him out there during key stretches. Whenever the going gets tough, back-up Victor Sada, a more established veteran who is a better shooter, checks in. Ricky’s poor shooting makes him a liability and as a result, he has played in crunch time only a handful of times all year. Actually, through these ACB playoffs, Rubio has come off the bench.
As a playmaker, it’s tough to evaluate his development because he doesn’t get to create much. Barça is a veteran team, with high expectations and a deep set of weapons. They run a disciplined offense that moves the ball extremely well and focus on generating shot attempts from half-court sets. Except for one-man fast-breaks, you’ll rarely see Regal pushing the ball in order to score in transition.
Rubio is the type of ball handler who thrives in the open court, likes to control the tempo of the game and feels more comfortable monopolizing the ball whenever he has to slow down. He’s also a great playmaker off the pick-and-roll. Barcelona’s offense doesn’t allow him to do either of the things listed above. It’s just a poor fit, although it wasn’t made so clear last season.
In Minnesota, expect Rubio to adapt well to the more free flowing game of the NBA and to simply look better. He won’t be asked to spot-up like he was in Barcelona and his deficiencies won’t be so out there in the open.
Rubio’s low profile season doesn’t mean he’s a bust and it doesn’t mean he won’t reach the absurd high expectations we all set for him. It just means that a 20 year-old prospect is displaying the highs and lows every 20 year-old does. Now it’s time to see how he does under pressure and against the best competition in the globe.
Editor's Note: Rafael Uehara is the managing figure of 'The Basketball Post'. More of his work can be found here and he can be followed on twitter @rafael__uehara or reached via e-mail at rafael.uehara@thebasketballpost.com
Great article! I hope you're correct... certainly makes sense the way you describe things!
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