We know, Ricky Rubio is a highlight factory. A point guard with a seemingly instinctive feel for the game. He’s been playing professionally since he was 14, he has a silver medal from the 2008 Olympics and held his own with the best the USA had to offer in the Gold Medal game.
The knock has always been that he can’t shoot that well. The response has been that even now he is just 20 years old and his game is developing.
But the Timberwolves prospect’ shooting has regressed this season, according to a report by the Associated Press.The Spaniard is shooting just 20 percent from beyond the 3-point line in the Euroleague this season, a stat that has concerned fans of the Minnesota Timberwolves, the team that used a first-round draft pick in 2009 to claim him.
As for Rubio himself, he’s not sweating it.
“Sometimes it goes in, sometimes it doesn’t,” Rubio told The Associated Press after a recent 80-56 win over Roma Lottomatica. “I’m not worried. You have to keep shooting and believing in yourself.”
The EuroLeague moved the three-point line back this season to 22 feet (which is still short of the NBA line) and that may be part of it. But his form has never been impressive.
His passing and court vision have always been impressive. In the NBA, where no hand-checking of guards is allowed, Rubio’s quickness with the ball should help create more space for him to operate. (Why draft a strong point guard and then run the triangle offense is a different but very confusing question.)
But Rubio would get the ultimate Rajon Rondo treatment — teams will lay off him, guard the passing angles and dare him to shoot. If he cannot at least offer the threat of a shot (as Rondo does now) his impact will be limited.
But it may be a couple years before we find out. Timberwolves GM David Kahn remains confident Rubio will come to Minnesota and the NBA next season. That seems unlikely with a looming lockout. Why leave getting paid in Europe — where he plays for powerhouse Barcelona and is a rock star — to come risk the NBA lockout?