Ricky Rubio appreciation thread

[PharmD]

If Rubio doesn't emerge from a 4 month lockdown with a new jump shop....I'm done with him.

He had 4 months to learn how to shoot.

Well he did shoot over 35% from 3 this year so far, on par with Oubre, Baynes and Bridges and better than Saric and Kaminsky. Heck, Booker is only at 36%.

Kind of nuts how the suns have 5 guys that shot exactly .352 or .351 (Oubre, Bridges, Okobo, Rubio, Baynes). The only guys not between 34.1 and 36.0% were Cam and Carter at 39% and Ty Jerome at 27%. That is a tight distribution.

[bwgood77]

If Rubio doesn't emerge from a 4 month lockdown with a new jump shop....I'm done with him.

He had 4 months to learn how to shoot.

Well he did shoot over 35% from 3 this year so far, on par with Oubre, Baynes and Bridges and better than Saric and Kaminsky. Heck, Booker is only at 36%.

Kind of nuts how the suns have 5 guys that shot exactly .352 or .351 (Oubre, Bridges, Okobo, Rubio, Baynes). The only guys not between 34.1 and 36.0% were Cam and Carter at 39% and Ty Jerome at 27%. That is a tight distribution.

Yes, we really need to get that up. I would make a big difference if Booker could get to 40% and the others to at least 37-38%. Baynes is streaky but I think when healthy shoots a lot better. I think Bridges will continue to improve. His % was crap for the first couple of months, then he raised it to the level of everyone else so may have shot better than anyone other than Cam and Carter down the stretch, or perhaps even better at times.

[Stark]

If Rubio doesn't emerge from a 4 month lockdown with a new jump shop....I'm done with him.

He had 4 months to learn how to shoot.

Rubio is one of the main reasons why the team improved this season. People really forget how our offence looked like before Rubio. Shooting is never Rubio's main strength and never will be. We talked about this thousand times but his shooting wasn't even bad this season. As long as he is not scared to shoot 3s i'm definitely ok with it and he wasn't. I was re-watching our games and Rubio was always active on both ends of the floor. He generates shots for everyone,takes responsibility, manages to engage Ayton on offence,deflects and steals a lot of balls,takes charges,keeps everyone motivated as a leader. As long as we have Booker we need a PG like him next to Book. Someone like CP3 or Lowry would be better but i love every part of his game.

[Sugarless]

Always happy to discuss Rubio's value.



Took some columns and a few guys out (Lecque, Bolden, Harper, Owens) to make it fit better.

[bwgood77]

Always happy to discuss Rubio's value.



Took some columns and a few guys out (Lecque, Bolden, Harper, Owens) to make it fit better.

Yeah, he makes an enormous difference, and the next 3 are the main cogs to that nice unit. Oubre, while negative, still the best of the rest, which is why he fits best as the 5th in the lineup...but the main 4 at the top are the keys to that...the younger 3 players improvement as well as Rubio as the leader on the floor is the key. Cam or another PF could fit nice in there...maybe someone who doesn't measure as a negative on that chart.

[GoodBehavior]

Always happy to discuss Rubio's value.



Took some columns and a few guys out (Lecque, Bolden, Harper, Owens) to make it fit better.

Yeah, he makes an enormous difference, and the next 3 are the main cogs to that nice unit. Oubre, while negative, still the best of the rest, which is why he fits best as the 5th in the lineup...but the main 4 at the top are the keys to that...the younger 3 players improvement as well as Rubio as the leader on the floor is the key. Cam or another PF could fit nice in there...maybe someone who doesn't measure as a negative on that chart.

Why is Baynes number so bad? The number doesn't match the eye test.

[Sugarless]

Always happy to discuss Rubio's value.



Took some columns and a few guys out (Lecque, Bolden, Harper, Owens) to make it fit better.

Yeah, he makes an enormous difference, and the next 3 are the main cogs to that nice unit. Oubre, while negative, still the best of the rest, which is why he fits best as the 5th in the lineup...but the main 4 at the top are the keys to that...the younger 3 players improvement as well as Rubio as the leader on the floor is the key. Cam or another PF could fit nice in there...maybe someone who doesn't measure as a negative on that chart.

Why is Baynes number so bad? The number doesn't match the eye test.

He had a really bad stretch coming off the bench upon Ayton's return, and didn't do well overall as a sub. He was +20 in 28 games as a starter, and -66 in just 14 games off the bench.

[Sugarless]

Always happy to discuss Rubio's value.
Yeah, he makes an enormous difference, and the next 3 are the main cogs to that nice unit. Oubre, while negative, still the best of the rest, which is why he fits best as the 5th in the lineup...but the main 4 at the top are the keys to that...the younger 3 players improvement as well as Rubio as the leader on the floor is the key. Cam or another PF could fit nice in there...maybe someone who doesn't measure as a negative on that chart.

PF is definitely the position to upgrade in the starting 5, unless something odd happens and they decide to move on from Booker (I'm as big a fan as I'm a critic of Book, I'd wait and see how he comes back in Orlando and next season before making such a move). A solid stretch-4 with defense would be ideal, but of course there aren't many of those and half the league is looking for the same piece of the puzzle. Unusual as it would be, the Suns might find a Baynes - Ayton pair inside is best way to go, at least for the moment. They did well together before COVID-19 (in limited minutes, admittedly) and with Ayton's improving defensive instincts and mobility it could be a good enough choice. I'd rather see Oubre off the bench anyway due to his scoring, and I love Cam's game but he's a bit too weak defensively.

[PharmD]

Always happy to discuss Rubio's value.



Took some columns and a few guys out (Lecque, Bolden, Harper, Owens) to make it fit better.

Yeah, he makes an enormous difference, and the next 3 are the main cogs to that nice unit. Oubre, while negative, still the best of the rest, which is why he fits best as the 5th in the lineup...but the main 4 at the top are the keys to that...the younger 3 players improvement as well as Rubio as the leader on the floor is the key. Cam or another PF could fit nice in there...maybe someone who doesn't measure as a negative on that chart.

Why is Baynes number so bad? The number doesn't match the eye test.

He's +5.3 net rating in the 625 minutes with Rubio. That's 67% of his minutes. To have a net rating of -2.3 overall he must be like -12.9 in his 309 minutes without Rubio. Note that he's +0.7 in his 728 minutes with Booker. And for fun, +7.8 in 488 minutes with Rubio + Booker. So that would mean that he must be about -14.9 in his 240 minutes with Booker and no Rubio.

Baynes benefiting massively from Ricky fits my eyetest and it also fits the assist data I posted itt a few weeks ago. Baynes and Mikal both got more than 1/3 of their buckets off of Rubio assists.

[Saberestar]

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[3toheadmelo]

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[PharmD]

Ricky is 16-0 over the last 2 summers

[Saberestar]

"I think I found the regularity I was looking for. My best game is yet to come, but I am at an optimal time, mentally and physically, to be regular and perform at the level I like, but I want more."

"I am so glad I chose the Suns. It is a good, interesting project and where I contribute a lot."

"Phoenix has proven to have broken the dynamics of recent years. The 'break' for the covid-19 has made it look like there have been two seasons in one. We have seen a very good evolution. The project is moving forward."

"I’m very comfortable with the Suns and Monty Williams, both personally and on the court. He has concepts that I like and we have taken a very good personal relationship. It is the most important thing".

"Devin Booker is a very humble player. He knows the talent he has and what he can bring. He’s an excellent kid, one of the best players I’ve shared court with. And it’s a shame that neither the team nor the results have accompanied him, because otherwise we would be talking about a superstar. But he has never said a bad word and that says a lot about him"

https://www.rac1.cat/esports/20200910/483392558686/ricky-rubio-nba-orlando-phoenix-suns-suns-estats-units.html

[lilfishi22]

I was hesitant with the size of Rubio's deal when we signed him but I've since gotten comfortable with it. He turns 30 next month but his style, his basketball IQ and his playmaking abilities won't diminish significantly with age and certainly not before the end of his contract. What happens after his contract is up, that's a different story.

As much as we and the media talk about Booker transcending into the legit star he's become this season, I just don't see it happening (at least not this past season) without Rubio there to help him get there and it's not really talked about enough.

[bigfoot]

I was hesitant with the size of Rubio's deal when we signed him but I've since gotten comfortable with it. He turns 30 next month but his style, his basketball IQ and his playmaking abilities won't diminish significantly with age and certainly not before the end of his contract. What happens after his contract is up, that's a different story.

As much as we and the media talk about Booker transcending into the legit star he's become this season, I just don't see it happening (at least not this past season) without Rubio there to help him get there and it's not really talked about enough.

I think the biggest thing is that Booker trusts Rubio. Book hasn't had a PG he could rely on.

No doubt in my mind that Rubio is key for the next two and maybe more years. He should be able to play as a starter for several more years and as backup easily until 35. James Jones needs to find an heir apparent that Rubio can mentor either this year or next.

[Frank Lee]

I’d ink him for Life first chance. He’ll still be as crafty at 35.

[Qwigglez]

At first I was annoyed we didn't go after D'Lo, but when I heard we got Rubio I wasn't super disappointed at all. I hope we keep him long term.

[RunDogGun]

Its bittersweet for me. I was pushing for the Suns to trade for Rubio before last summer. I felt adding him and Faried would have drastically changed our team. Then we signed him for more than I was hoping for, and we didn't draft Clarke, who I felt could be a Faried type player. I think I quickly got over the price tag of Rubio, and I am back to what I was thinking the season before we signed him.
I would still like to see him work on his shot, and finishing at the rim. But overall, I really hope we keep for another short term contract after this one.

[Saberestar]

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