prime1time wrote:Rui, really struggled last game. 6/17 from the field 1/4 from 3. The biggest issue Rui has is that he struggles to dynamically process the game. Go back to the bubble at the end of the 2019-2020 season. Going in Rui was supposed to be the focal point. The 1st game he played well if I recall then after that it completely fell apart. In the bubble teams trapped him and mixed up the looks he saw and he just stopped functioning. That's what happened last night vs. Argentina. In a must-win game, Argentina came out with a game plan of stopping Rui and Rui just looked defeated. It reminded me of being given a riddle that frustrates you to the point that eventually you just throw your hands up in the air and give up.
Rui's at his best when the game is simple and straightforward. Give Rui the ball and ask him to beat the player in front of him, he'll know what to do. But put Rui in a situation where a defense is organized to stop him and he will struggle. Now, the fact that Rui's struggles in these moments isn't necessarily the end of the world. Currently, he's still trying to develop his skillset. He's nowhere close to worrying more about how the defense is trying to stop him but hopefully he'll get there. The promising thing for Rui is that has shown the ability to learn and figure out how to attack new situations.
As for what it means going forward, it means that we should try to limit lineups where Rui is the main offensive option. And if we do have these lineups, make sure he has shooting, so his reads are simple. Good defenses and well-coached teams will shut down Rui very easily if we put him in these situations. As for how to best use Rui right now, keep it simple for him. Floor spacer, transition/fastbreak, pick-n-pop, pick-n-roll and set plays where we can give him space to work ideally on the wing where he can pull-up for a mid-range or give a hard jab step, one dribble and get to the rim. He can also exploit switches in the low post especially when a small guard switches onto him.
Right now Rui's like a poor man's Carmelo Anthony. Hopefully, he'll eventually get to the point where he's thinking more about how defenses are trying to stop him instead of improving specific offensive skills.
Dennis Green, talking about Chicago Bears:
“They are who we thought they were”.
Rui has demonstrated over two NBA seasons his production curve. Now we get new variables. New coach. No Russ. I expect more rebound numbers and MORE EFFORT and focus on defense.
