Ricky Rubio appreciation thread

[lobishome]

I have nothing against Monty but Kokoskov might have been more successful with Rubio at PG because one of Ricky's strengths is he can be a extension o the coach on the court anf this would have been a great help for Igor. It's a pity, he made a great job in Utah.

[Saberestar]

The NBA constantly rewards flopping, so everyone knows that it is an skill. He is one of the best at that.

The biggest problem is gonna be his shooting and scoring ability. He is not good finishing at the rim, so everyone knows that he is trying to pass when going to the hole.

Watching Utah I understand why did not want him anymore, but on our team he is a clear upgrade over Melton and Okobo. We are a better team than yesterday.

I don't think Utah used him correctly. Too much off the ball and he looked like a totAlly different player in Utah than he did with the wolves

Great post! Utah had him off the ball a lot, had Ingles and others handling the ball a bunch. I think with the Suns you will see Rubio playing more of the QB role like he did in Minnesota. You're going to see guys getting a lot of easy shots this season.

Rubio would be perfect next to an SG like Klay Thompson, but Devin Booker (like Mitchell) wants the ball in his hands.

That is why I am not THAT optimistic about the fit.

As a franchise we are all in with Booker, and he is closer in playing and mentality to James Harden/Kobe Bryant...every year he is getting closer to that type of player.

Even with that in mind Rubio is a big upgrade on our roster and we will improve our win record for sure. Not too dificult to do it anyway.

[PharmD]

Ricky + Zach Lavine was a great combo. I mean look:



Ricky is awesome at conducting 'off screen' plays (which i think Booker would like to do a lot of? i'm not totally familiar) and is actually helped a lot by teammates that can make plays. He's not one of the typical "get the defense to collapse, find the open guy" passers; the defense really doesn't want to collapse because it doesn't respect his scoring. He's more about timing, angles, accuracy, and daring with his passing that gets his guys a step. You still need talented players to finish the play.

[WeekapaugGroove]

I have nothing against Monty but Kokoskov might have been more successful with Rubio at PG because one of Ricky's strengths is he can be a extension o the coach on the court anf this would have been a great help for Igor. It's a pity, he made a great job in Utah.

Yeah Ricky would have absolutely helped Igor who was dealt a bad hand in general.

Now I also think Monty is going to run a heavy pick and roll offense which is better for Rubio's skill set than the motion offense Utah and Igor ran.

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[NTB]

Ricky + Zach Lavine was a great combo. I mean look:



Ricky is awesome at conducting 'off screen' plays (which i think Booker would like to do a lot of? i'm not totally familiar) and is actually helped a lot by teammates that can make plays. He's not one of the typical "get the defense to collapse, find the open guy" passers; the defense really doesn't want to collapse because it doesn't respect his scoring. He's more about timing, angles, accuracy, and daring with his passing that gets his guys a step. You still need talented players to finish the play.

I think we have good finishers in Booker and Ayton. Not sure Oubre and Saric are good finishers.

[Bohkke]

Hi everyone, I've been following the NBA since Pau Gasol made it here (I'm a Barça fan) and even more so when Ricky arrived at Minnesota.

Ever since his days at Barça with Xavi Pascual, Ricky has struggled because of the coach's tight system and I'd say only under Flip Saunders and some time with Rick Adelman he's been able to play at his full strengths. He's always been the one to try and push the pace and take control of the tempo of the game, but most of the coaches he's had were all about their system and them having control of the game instead of Ricky.

With Ricky you either have a solid defender and great passer who gives his 110% every night with a crappy shot or, if you let the reigns free, you have a flashy-passing PG who'll create a better offense than most coaches can think of, as his BBIQ is as high as it gets. And will do anything to win.

His tendency when being 'free' used to be close to a triple double (like 10p-12a-10r), with the assists numbers being most of the time the bigger one. And since that days he's gotten so much better at limiting turnovers and scoring around the rim.

I'm hoping the Suns are a great fit for him, at last. Having a big that can receive pocket passes will be heaven for him. Ask Kevin Love or Nikola Pekovic. And for me, the greatest asset Rubio has is that he makes everyone around him better. Not just in basketball, but in attitude, which is much more important when building a championship culture. So many great talents have wasted away due to a lack of attitude.

Anyway, I'm more of a reader than a poster, but come the season I'll be reading you guys from the shadows and rooting from Spain for Rubio and the Suns.

Happy to have you here, and hope to see you post more and give your insights. We don't know a ton about Ricky. Someone like our late old coach Cotton probably would have been perfect for him...or D'Antoni. Hopefully Monty takes advantage of his gifts.

Thanks for the welcome. I'll be around from time to time, for sure.

Like you said, let's hope Monty knows what he's getting in Rubio and plays him to the best of his strengths.

[tropiland]

Hello, here another fan of ricky blond and now of phoenix suns of a lifetime.
Ricky has to let him play his way so that the creativity comes out for his skin .. then we will all win. players, coaches and fans.
And what is certain, is that if they let Ricky create plays and make quick transitions, many people will love him.
He is a guy similar to Jason Williams and all that he lost in Utah with his slow play and leaving it in a corner many times.
It's that simple, he will never be a franchise player, he will never be an excellent shooter but he can make everyone better and make the public enjoy good basketball.
a greeting

[bwgood77]

Hello, here another fan of ricky blond and now of phoenix suns of a lifetime.
Ricky has to let him play his way so that the creativity comes out for his skin .. then we will all win. players, coaches and fans.
And what is certain, is that if they let Ricky create plays and make quick transitions, many people will love him.
He is a guy similar to Jason Williams and all that he lost in Utah with his slow play and leaving it in a corner many times.
It's that simple, he will never be a franchise player, he will never be an excellent shooter but he can make everyone better and make the public enjoy good basketball.
a greeting

Welcome! Glad to have you!

[tropiland]

Just get your joy back and your magic will return

Watch on YouTube

[Walt_Uoob]

All this talk about letting Rubio be Rubio makes me even more excited because it reminds me of the Terry Porter disaster. For those new to the Suns, we brought in Terry Porter as head coach for half a season and he totally kneecapped our team by trying to micromanage what should have been a free-flowing offense led by the genius of Steve Nash. Grant Hill said Nash in that offense was like a "hummingbird in a sandwich bag." As long as Monty Williams is at least somewhat closer to D'Antoni or Gentry than Porter, Rubio should indeed have a resurgence and be generally reinvigorated playing here. I can't wait!!

[Fo-Real]

All this talk about letting Rubio be Rubio makes me even more excited because it reminds me of the Terry Porter disaster. For those new to the Suns, we brought in Terry Porter as head coach for half a season and he totally kneecapped our team by trying to micromanage what should have been a free-flowing offense led by the genius of Steve Nash. Grant Hill said Nash in that offense was like a "hummingbird in a sandwich bag." As long as Monty Williams is at least somewhat closer to D'Antoni or Gentry than Porter, Rubio should indeed have a resurgence and be generally reinvigorated playing here. I can't wait!!

You had to bring Terry up?! I had told myself I wasnt going to drink tonight now Im not sure, I might need it after he came up!

[Wilber85]

I don't think Utah used him correctly. Too much off the ball and he looked like a totAlly different player in Utah than he did with the wolves

Great post! Utah had him off the ball a lot, had Ingles and others handling the ball a bunch. I think with the Suns you will see Rubio playing more of the QB role like he did in Minnesota. You're going to see guys getting a lot of easy shots this season.

Rubio would be perfect next to an SG like Klay Thompson, but Devin Booker (like Mitchell) wants the ball in his hands.

That is why I am not THAT optimistic about the fit.

As a franchise we are all in with Booker, and he is closer in playing and mentality to James Harden/Kobe Bryant...every year he is getting closer to that type of player.

Even with that in mind Rubio is a big upgrade on our roster and we will improve our win record for sure. Not too dificult to do it anyway.

You just answered why we only won 19 games .

Booker needs to be more like Klay, and less ball dominant .

[El Hespiritu]

I'm not making any statement about what systems fits better with Ricky.
He never complained about anything of this sort and I never did it as well.

We're perfectly entitled to debate if he shines more or less with one or another type of playing but please, don't you take fans opinions as if were RR opinions.

Oldelman, Smokey Flip/Interim Sam, Baldfathibs, Sociopath Eyes... all of them with different systems and concepts and TheGoldenBoy was starter the same with all of them.

Whatever idea of basketball Monty has, RR will understand it and will display it.

He's a first-class true PG; he runs the plays coaches want him to run and he plays the way coaches want him to play.

Pretty much, that's it.

[deepestblue]

As the poster above said when Ricky's allowed to be Ricky it's some of the most exciting basketball you'll ever see. Constrain him within a plodding halfcourt offense and his talents are wasted. You guys are going to love Ricky's team-building attitude, plus he's an all-around great guy!

[jcsunsfan]

I don't think Utah used him correctly. Too much off the ball and he looked like a totAlly different player in Utah than he did with the wolves

Great post! Utah had him off the ball a lot, had Ingles and others handling the ball a bunch. I think with the Suns you will see Rubio playing more of the QB role like he did in Minnesota. You're going to see guys getting a lot of easy shots this season.

Rubio would be perfect next to an SG like Klay Thompson, but Devin Booker (like Mitchell) wants the ball in his hands.

That is why I am not THAT optimistic about the fit.

As a franchise we are all in with Booker, and he is closer in playing and mentality to James Harden/Kobe Bryant...every year he is getting closer to that type of player.

Even with that in mind Rubio is a big upgrade on our roster and we will improve our win record for sure. Not too dificult to do it anyway.

Devin wants to be a two, not a pg. He knows he is better as a two. Rubio coming here will make him happy.

[jcsunsfan]

I have nothing against Monty but Kokoskov might have been more successful with Rubio at PG because one of Ricky's strengths is he can be a extension o the coach on the court anf this would have been a great help for Igor. It's a pity, he made a great job in Utah.

Yeah Ricky would have absolutely helped Igor who was dealt a bad hand in general.

Now I also think Monty is going to run a heavy pick and roll offense which is better for Rubio's skill set than the motion offense Utah and Igor ran.

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the Utah offense, and the Igor offense (same thing) do not really fit with Rubio's game. It's a motion offense that does not require a traditional pg. That is why I thought it might work last year even though we did not have a traditional pg. Rudy is a traditional pg. His game is not about coming off of picks and shooting threes or passing.

It all depends on what type of system Monty runs. Rubio can be very effective, but I do not think he would have been that effective under Igor.

[jcsunsfan]

I do find it interesting that the vast majority of fans of Rubio's former teams think very highly of him.

[El Hespiritu]

There are plenty of opinions. Some people hate him with ludicrous intensity.

My personal sensation is he's more appreciated than not by fans of former teams

[ensiferum]

Let's see how this goes.

[Qwigglez]

We haven't player fans come to our board since Vince Carter I feel so this is refreshing. Welcome everyone