Ricky Rubio is Wolves second best player without any doubt.

[Yoshun]

He's played really well the last 2 or 3 weeks. Outside of that, his season has been pretty underwhelming.

Right around the time that Lavine went down

Well Lavine went down early February ( 3rd or 4th?), so almost 6 weeks.

I'm not knocking Rubio, I'm actually a fan. We really need to see him continue this pace before we can start calling him a top tier PG. That's really what separates the top tier guys from everyone else, consistent top play.

[Throwback24]

Rubio's weaknesses are very real, so I understand the haters. But he's beyond elite at the things he's good at. He's a transcendent passer. He's an elite defensive point guard. The biggest question is his shooting/finishing so bad that teams will be able to neuter him in the playoffs. Until then, I cringe when i see trade rumours involving Rubio for (insert mediocre point guard who can shoot here).

Curry struggles discerning between what a good and poor shot is. Very big difficulties.

[the7boss]

The guy also went through the death of his mother and grandmother in a short period of time, being so far from home, it must have been pretty hard. Plus the constant trade rumours. Now he feels confident and is injury free, so this is the real Ricky. Hope he is lucky enough to keep it up, he deserves it.

I'm sure he is going to be a NBA champion at some point, he needs to make the right choice when his contract expires.

[PharmD]

Ricky was unbelievably bad for the first 6-7 weeks of the season. Like out of the NBA bad.

Then he was normal Ricky good for a couple of months, like good starting NBA point guard good.

The last 10-12 games he's been incredibly good. Like top 15 player in the league good.

[Avihs7]

The guy also went through the death of his mother and grandmother in a short period of time, being so far from home, it must have been pretty hard. Plus the constant trade rumours. Now he feels confident and is injury free, so this is the real Ricky. Hope he is lucky enough to keep it up, he deserves it.

I'm sure he is going to be a NBA champion at some point, he needs to make the right choice when his contract expires.

Like resigning with Minnesota

[Ballerhogger]

See if carry it over to next season. I like his play of late but i wouldnt get to excited about it.

[PharmD]

Wolves have played the toughest schedule in the league over the last 10 games. They've had the 2nd best net rating and 2nd best DRtg in the whole league.

W @Denver 112-99
W Dallas 97-84
L @Houston 142-130
W @Sac 102-88
W @Utah 107-80
L @San Antonio 97-90 overtime
W Clippers 107-91
W Golden State 103-102
L @Milwaukee 95-102
W Washington 119-104

[Warriorfan]

The upcoming draft is PG draft. Rubio, who probably hit his mental peak earlier than most NBA guys since he was a pro at 14 might not be on the top half of starting pg's in 2 yrs.

[Johnny Firpo]

I first watched Rubio play as a 17 yr old. Same player as now he tries now on defense.

What do you mean that now he tries on defense? He was back-to-back DPOY in the Spanish league at 17, and one of the best defensive PGs in the NBA since day one. You clearly watched him a lot, if you say that he "now he tries on defense".

[Xherdan 23]

Btw..for anyone who didn't see it tonight, he had 22 points and 19 assists. Wait until you see the highlights for the first qtr where he dropped 10 dimes and one amazing bounce pass.

Watch on YouTube

They were VERY generous counting assists there, should have 12 at most.
Still, I like Rubio and I'm happy he's doing well.

[Warriorfan]

I first watched Rubio play as a 17 yr old. Same player as now he tries now on defense.

What do you mean that now he tries on defense? He was back-to-back DPOY in the Spanish league at 17, and one of the best defensive PGs in the NBA since day one. You clearly watched him a lot, if you say that he "now he tries on defense".

If Towns, Rubio , Wiggins played better on ball defense wouldn't Min rank out of the bottom third in defensive efficientcy. Steals isn't everything on defense. Same problem Curry has.

[Salieri]

I first watched Rubio play as a 17 yr old. Same player as now he tries now on defense.

What do you mean that now he tries on defense? He was back-to-back DPOY in the Spanish league at 17, and one of the best defensive PGs in the NBA since day one. You clearly watched him a lot, if you say that he "now he tries on defense".

If Towns, Rubio , Wiggins played better on ball defense wouldn't Min rank out of the bottom third in defensive efficientcy. Steals isn't everything on defense. Same problem Curry has.

You haven't addressed one single point in Firpo's post.

I understand not liking Rubio. His brand of basketball is going against the grain in today's NBA where scoring efficiency and range are a must no matter the position. You're totally free to not be charmed by his qualities and there's no doubt even among us his biggest fans that his scoring incompetence hinders him quite a lot even though he manages to be a net positive offensively.

But please try to use sound arguments when criticizing him, there are plenty to be used. No need to derail the argument and ignore other posters in order to push your agenda.

[wolves_89]

I first watched Rubio play as a 17 yr old. Same player as now he tries now on defense.

What do you mean that now he tries on defense? He was back-to-back DPOY in the Spanish league at 17, and one of the best defensive PGs in the NBA since day one. You clearly watched him a lot, if you say that he "now he tries on defense".

If Towns, Rubio , Wiggins played better on ball defense wouldn't Min rank out of the bottom third in defensive efficientcy. Steals isn't everything on defense. Same problem Curry has.

The Wolves have been a top 10 defense over the last 3 months (Minnesota has the 8th best DefRtg from Dec 14-Mar 14). Since the All-Star break the Wolves are 2nd in DefRtg at 99.2 while playing an incredibly tough schedule (the 9 games since the break have included HOU, SAS, LAC, GS, MIL, and WAS who are all top 10 offensive teams and UTA who is 13th). It took a while for the Wolves to pick up Thib's defensive system, but they've been pretty good for a while and great recently.

[KokoKaizer]

Btw..for anyone who didn't see it tonight, he had 22 points and 19 assists. Wait until you see the highlights for the first qtr where he dropped 10 dimes and one amazing bounce pass.

Watch on YouTube

After watching this clip, My POV didn't change.

Rubio has still an amazing vision and The NBA is way too generous on giving assists...

[NBARocks]

They need to trade both Lavine and Wiggins while their value is high. both contribute nothing when their shots aren't falling. but hopefully, Thibs can work on their weakness in defense and there'd be no need to trade them.

[brutalitops]

I first watched Rubio play as a 17 yr old. Same player as now he tries now on defense.

What do you mean that now he tries on defense? He was back-to-back DPOY in the Spanish league at 17, and one of the best defensive PGs in the NBA since day one. You clearly watched him a lot, if you say that he "now he tries on defense".

If Towns, Rubio , Wiggins played better on ball defense wouldn't Min rank out of the bottom third in defensive efficientcy. Steals isn't everything on defense. Same problem Curry has.

We've been top 5 since the all-star break, bit late to have a run at it but you don't watch many Wolves games clearly

[wolves_89]

One thing that has largely gone under the radar due to the "Rubio can't shoot" narrative is the fact that Rubio has been a slightly above average shooter on mid-range shots this season. He is shooting 47.1% from 10-16ft and 41.7% from 16ft-3pt line (league averages are 41.2% and 40.2% respectively). As the season has progressed he's been gradually shooting more and more mid-range jumpers and has continued to make them at a good rate.

[Johnlac1]

By their season off. and def. scores the Wolves should be at .500, 33-33. But they've lost a lot of close games. However, since Jan 7 they've gone 17-12. A lot of that has to do with Rubio having the ball more and making the off. decisions.
Many fans get caught up on head to head battles with players and whether so and so outscored somebody else or had better stats. That's not it.
It's who utilizes the resources on their team better. Rubio has always been among the best in the league at setting up the offense and delivering the ball to the right player.
Were criticisms of his shooting legitimate? Yes, he had to improve that. He has done that. He is shooting over 40% from the floor for the first time in his career.
He will never be a great scorer, but he has improved.
Nevertheless, he is still the ideal pg to pair with young players. Especially explosive scorers like the Wolves have.

[Merc_Porto]

Rubio has still an amazing vision and The NBA is way too generous on giving assists...

I actually agree a lot with that.

[djsunyc]

rubio is the spanish aziz ansari