Ricky Rubio is one of the NBA’s best passers and point guard defenders. He’s also just 25 years old. How did he become so anonymous?
Ricky Rubio is still essential to the Timberwolves’ present and future
The Timberwolves’ point guard is still playing an important role in Minnesota’s rise.
Brett Davis-USA TODAY Sports
Maybe it's because more was expected after he held his own in a gold medal game showdown against players like Kobe Bryant and LeBron James. Perhaps it's because former Timberwolves general manager David Kahn selected him and eventual flameout Jonny Flynn over future MVP Stephen Curry. Maybe it's the dozens of games Rubio has missed due to various injuries.
But while his game has some glaring holes and is different than most of the league’s best point guards, it’s just as influential. Rubio may not have turned into the star many once thought he could be, but judging him against those initial expectations is both unfair and misguided.
As has been the case for years now, the Timberwolves are a better team with Rubio on the floor. Minnesota is 5-4 with him and 0-4 without him. They’re also seven points better per 100 possessions when he plays, per NBA.com.
“Ricky provides leadership,” Timberwolves head coach Sam Mitchell said via the Minneapolis Star-Tribune following the team’s win last Tuesday over Miami, which was Rubio’s first game back after missing the previous four with a leg injury. “We don’t turn the ball over. We can play with pace at times, but we also can make good decisions with the ball. It was good to have Ricky back, to have our team back.”
Rubio’s box scores rarely jump off the page, but good things seem to happen when he plays. An easy layup on one end, a contested shot on the other, maybe a fast break generated out of nowhere.
His passing gets most of the attention, but Rubio impacts the game most on defense. At 6’4, he’s taller than most point guards, and his 6’9 wingspan blankets passing lanes. He also possesses the foot speed to stay with the league’s quickest players and the brains to position himself properly on and off the ball. He anticipates opposing passes as well as anyone in the league.
Players shoot about three percent worse when being guarded by Rubio, and the Timberwolves surrender just 91.3 points per 100 possessions with him on the floor compared with the 108.3 they allow when he sits, per NBA.com. Those numbers aren’t anomalies. Minnesota’s defensive rating was nearly eight points better with Rubio on the court last year. He’s always at the top of the NBA leaderboard in steals as well.
The other end of the floor is more complicated. Rubio remains a poor outside shooter (36 percent from the field, 18 percent from deep). He’s incapable of consistently knocking down jump shots and reluctant to take them, though he has shown more aggression this year. He also has trouble creating points for himself in the paint.
He’s still a wizard with the ball, completing passes other players wouldn’t even consider attempting.
But those passing angles aren’t always easy to find with opponents sagging off him. Perhaps that’s why the Timberwolves have been four points better per 100 possessions offensively without him on the floor this season.
Then again, our Small Sample Size may be making an appearance. Since drafting Rubio in 2009 the Timberwolves have almost always been a better offensive team when he plays. He improves their performance by about 4.6 points per 100 possessions in total, according to Britt Robson.
That’s no accident. Rubio isn’t much of a scorer and cramps the Timberwolves’ floor spacing, but he runs the offense, defers to teammates and hits them in the right spots to score. Rubio is averaging 8.4 assists while turning the ball over a career-low 2.1 times per game this season. That’s valuable.
More importantly, it’s taken Rubio less than a month to bond with franchise player Karl-Anthony Towns. The two are already in sync on pick-and-rolls, as 29 of Towns’ 84 field goals have come via Rubio assists, according to NBA.com.
Towns is always ready to receive passes from Rubio even if no angle exists, and Rubio is confident in Towns’ ability to be in the right place at the right time.
Rubio's made a similar impact on Andrew Wiggins. Of Wiggins' 91 field goals, 24 have come off Rubio passes. Some of these are immediate highlights, while others are perfectly placed chest passes to Wiggins on the wing.
The Timberwolves are taking a different approach to rebuilding. While they've loaded up on young players, they've also brought in aging veterans like Kevin Garnett, Andre Miller and Tayshaun Prince to help those players transition to the NBA. Rubio is more than a decade younger than Garnett, Miller and Prince, but his role on the team is the same. The fact that he's still in the prime of his career and can therefore be a significant influence on the court as well makes him more valuable.
“Ricky is a veteran who is true leadership,” Garnett said Sunday, via Robson. “[He’s] a real point guard who understands how flow goes. He understands rhythm, he understands momentum, he understands when to be aggressive himself... He has that exact feel you want from a point, always giving, always looking, seeing things before it happens.”
Rubio is an essential part of the Timberwolves’ present and future. The trio of 20-year-olds Towns, Wiggins and Zach LaVine deserve most of the spotlight, but the play of the Timberwolves’ young vet is as important to their short- and long-term dreams.
See More:
