One month into the season, wearing the familiar No. 9 on his back, Rubio has never looked more uncomfortable on a basketball court, a stranger in the place he likes to call home. He is averaging career lows in points (6.2), rebounds (3.1), effective field-goal percentage (.369), field-goal percentage (.341), 3-point shooting (.185) and minutes (23.9). He is still trying to figure out how to share a backcourt with Russell with similar success that he had with Donovan Mitchell in Utah and Devin Booker in Phoenix. Karl-Anthony Towns, the player the entire offense is built around, has missed most of the season with a wrist injury and COVID-19. The season was rushed together quickly with little time for training camp and chemistry building, and Rubio had to sit out eight days for contact tracing due to the league’s health and safety protocol, which threw things even more out of whack.
He hasn’t looked like the joyful player he has been most of his career. In his words, he feels … “off.”
“Trying to pick it up, but it’s tough,” Rubio said. “It is what it is. There’s no excuses. I’m going to keep working hard. I’ve been in the league for 10 years and I know who I am, but it’s off. My game is not here, and I’ve got to find it.”
“We expect a lot out of Ricky as a decision-maker, as an organizer out there,” Saunders said. “Ricky is the type of person where he wouldn’t give any excuses, but being out for a few games and the protocols going through and then having to jump into a major role pretty quick there, one that he didn’t have before that, it’s a tough transition.”
“I think Ricky would tell you, too, we’ve got to eliminate the turnovers, especially from our point-guard position,” Saunders said. “Those live-ball turnovers are ones that hurt us on the defensive end, too, and when you’re losing games, no matter who’s in, who’s out, there’s always going to be frustration, too. So it’s about how you handle yourself in the moments in the valleys that make you appreciate the mountains more.”
It would certainly help if Rubio could hit a shot or two. Rubio has never been a sniper, one point of consternation during his first six seasons in Minnesota. But there was considerable optimism about his ability to play off of Russell after Rubio shot a decent 36 percent from deep over 65 games in Phoenix last season. That’s not Ray Allen, but it was enough to keep defenses honest and take a little bit of the pressure of Booker. But Rubio has not made a 3 since New Year’s Day. He is 0 for his last 14 over the previous 10 games and has scored in double figures just once this season.
read the full article here:
https://theathletic.com/2353284/2021/01/29/ricky-rubio-timberwolves-return/
