Ricky Rubio: We NEED him

[just23]

I really would like him, if we can get him wihtout giving our first round i swear that would be awesome! He wont come over this season so we would have a high pick and have ricky.

I'd do Bargs for Rubio and filler. I'd even throw in Miami's first rounder as sweetener if necessary. Rubio is great at starting and leading the fast break and Demar would benefit greatly from playing with him.

[Kabookalu]

Aside from many things pointed out about his game, I think many of you missed a crucial point which is needed for most of the top PGs in the league. Rondo, Curry, Nash, Paul all possess this particular skill, it's called - deception.

Watch any of the highlights or games of Rubio and you'll notice his change of speeds - in the latest vid posted versus Lithuania he comes around the pick the defender comes up to help and he changes gears and blows by him for a layup as soon as the big is out of position. Aside from his ability to change speeds, he also makes the defense shift simply by presenting angles and hand movements with the ball and then quickly finding an open man on a cut/under the basket/alley oop; you can see in all his videos how often he throws the defense off simply by looking at various options and making the defense believe he will make the simple play but instead choosing to find a cutter or an open man. This kind of passing skill set is going to make him one of the best passers of all time, it is up there with Nash/Paul in terms of making the right play. Another area which is often overlooked is how he sets up his teammates coming up court and handing it off, and then setting a screen to block the defender, this results in open shots.

Yeah good point, the ability to feign what you're really doing. As a freshman in high school trying to make the team, our star point guard once told me this, "When you want to score, make it seem like you're gonna pass. When you want to pass, make it seem like you want to score." I've been trying to incorporate this for years but it's incredibly difficult, I'm starting to think it's in your genes or you gotta super work your ass off practicing like 8 hours a day. Rubio does this like it's second nature, and the thing is he doesn't have the threat of being a shooter. It's easy for someone like Nash to feign what he's doing since he's an all around thread; penetration, passing, shooting.

[Indeed]

Good post above about Rubio's deceptiveness. That's something I've noticed as well.

I remember reading about how Jason Kidd learned the game by playing with Payton and Payton's dad. Kidd worked so much on dribbling and passing and his shot came later. That seems to be the same path Rubio took as well. He focused primarily on being able to get to where we wants to get on the floor and how to pass with either hand so that he can throw difficult passes that most defenders aren't prepared for. His abilities in both areas, as a result of that and him having the right mind for the position, are outstanding.

A lot of good NBA PGs don't even really react. They rely strictly on their athleticism and their one or two go-to moves to either get to the net or find another teammate. It's why you see so many good PGs throw passes out to people who aren't even there. They're not really reacting. They made up their mind what they wanted to do right before doing it. There are a lot of very good PGs in the NBA who have everything but this ability to react down and they're still very good PGs. It goes to show you how athletic the position is and how difficult it is to defend. Still, the ability to read and react to situations is special and Rubio has that gift.

Rubio seems to have everything that's necessary to be an excellent improviser. He has tremendous vision to see things as they're happening, great dribbling ability to get to where he needs to get to make something happen and terrific passing ability/guts to react to a play and make something happen. This "intangiable" would make him a nice prospect even if his physical measurements/athleticism were considerably below average but thankfully.. they're not.

He has a lot to learn and improve upon but I can see why people are so impressed with his approach to the game. It's very Kidd-like, which is a tremendous compliment for any developing PG.

You can tell from how a PG plays the pick and roll.
If he uses the pick and roll just to attack with his first step, he won't be able to spot others, as his head is down, and focus on dribbling and looking at the rim.

When you look at Nash and Stockton, they don't necessary try to fight off his man, but to attract two men, or spot anyone that's open, before they attacks. Those are the PGs that I would like in the team.

[Reignman]

Nope, we don't need Kyrie Irving.I haven't seen him being a very good passer like Rubio is.

Alley-oop pass on a half court set? I think Rubio did a few no look alley-oop on half court set.

What? He might not be as good a passer as Rubio but that doesn't mean he's not a good prospect. Hell, Rubio has one massive flaw in his game, he can't hit a jumper to save his life and in the NBA that means defenders will sag off him, play the passing lanes and dare him to shoot. Even Rondo had a lot of problems with teams leaving him wide open because he couldn't shoot.

BTW, I'm not saying either player is better than the other, just wanted to clarify the "don't need Kyrie Irving" stance. For all we know, Kahn probably isn't even entertaining any offers for Rubio so what do we do then?

[funkatron101]

For all we know, Kahn probably isn't even entertaining any offers for Rubio so what do we do then?

He isn't. He has said this many times now.

[gregdj]

Rubio or die trying... there i said it!

[Anatomize]

It's great to be a jumpshooter, but in today's NBA it is probably the last skill set you need to develop. If you have your dribbling/passing skill sets down as a PG, shooting is something you can develop as your career goes on. As Helix put it, Jason Kidd developed %'s well late into his career and is now a very viable three point threat. Many players now are showing you can dominate many areas of the game without needing to be a good shooter, Rondo is one of them. Rubio has many of Rondo's skills and unselfishness, he's not as fast and not as good a rebounder or an athlete but his IQ alone will make him a top PG.

And for the guy saying PG is a position of strength for us, it is totally wrong. Jack/Calderon are not nearly formidable enough to compete with all the star studded pgs other teams have; we practically have two backups sharing time as starters. In terms of point guards, the Western conference is undoubtedly more stacked at this point so let's take a look at the Eastern conference PGs:

Milwaukee - Brandon Jennings

Chicago - Derrick Rose

Cleveland - Mo Williams

Atlanta - Uses Joe Johnson/Crawford against us (both have PG skills)

Orlando - Jameer Nelson

Boston - Rondo

New York - Felton/Douglas

New Jersey - Harris

Washington - John Wall

Philadelphia - Evan Turner/Jrue Holiday/Louis Williams

Our tandem is slightly better than Miami (not like they need to handle the ball), Charlotte, Indiana, and Detroit. Truth is, our PGs just don't stack up to the rest of the league. Jarret Jack is a great player and leader but he can be inconsistent, he has all the tools to be a solid PG but he's a "jack of all trades" master of none, which makes him a perfect backup. Jose Calderon is burnt toast, so I'm not going to get into it.


On another note, I'm sick and tired of people saying Rudy Fernandez is incapable. The guy is a great **** player and he has superb ball handling ability which was on full display in Spain's finals match versus the United States. He's extremely athletic, can dunk/posterize/alley oop, lights out shooter from spot up/around picks/creating off the dribble. Fernandez has all the tools to be a very good shooting guard and a prime scorer ala Leandro Barbosa (with more athleticism). People have this notion that he's primarily a shooter because Nate McMillan only used him coming off picks and to occasionally slash. He is a dangerous 1 on 1 player, and McMillan hasn't taken advantage of this because of how many ball handlers Portland has, not because Fernandez isn't capable.

[Indeed]

Nope, we don't need Kyrie Irving.I haven't seen him being a very good passer like Rubio is.

Alley-oop pass on a half court set? I think Rubio did a few no look alley-oop on half court set.

What? He might not be as good a passer as Rubio but that doesn't mean he's not a good prospect. Hell, Rubio has one massive flaw in his game, he can't hit a jumper to save his life and in the NBA that means defenders will sag off him, play the passing lanes and dare him to shoot. Even Rondo had a lot of problems with teams leaving him wide open because he couldn't shoot.

BTW, I'm not saying either player is better than the other, just wanted to clarify the "don't need Kyrie Irving" stance. For all we know, Kahn probably isn't even entertaining any offers for Rubio so what do we do then?

As above poster (Anatomize) said.
And I don't see Irving as a good jump shooter neither.

Anyway, my point is, we need a pass first explosive PG, not a shoot first explosive PG. Irving has showed some good mentality of passing, but not as creative and willingly to pass the ball as his first choice.