Date: 11/8/2015
Outlet: 1500 ESPN
Author: Derek James
Three-point play: Is Ricky Rubio on his way to best season yet?
While a lot of the focus has been on Karl-Anthony Towns' historically great start, another Timberwolf is quietly having a strong season. Ricky Rubio is building toward what may be his best season yet in the NBA. It's amazing what good health can do for a player.
Through five games last season, Rubio was shooting his best, and among the league leaders in assists. Then he hurt his ankle in a game against Orlando. Once he returned from that extended absence, he never quite recovered. Knocking on wood, the surgery appears to have been a success, and enabled Rubio to once again threaten a breakout season.
These are admittedly small samples, but that doesn't make them any less fun.
The team defense has been great and so has Rubio individually
Rubio has always held a reputation as a defender. At 6-foot-4, Rubio has the size to pester opposing defenses. Yet, Rubio's teams have rarely been strong defensive teams. Through five games this season, the Timberwolves' defense ranks fourth in the NBA. And a big reason is Rubio's defense.
While Rubio is averaging 2.2 steals per game, it's not just the fact that he's making plays on that end. Opponents are flat-out struggling to get their shots to drop with him in their face.
On 3-pointers, Rubio is forcing opponent's to shoot just 21.7 percent, which is 12.3 percent lower than average. Opposing teams are shooting 3-pointers against Rubio 39.7 percent of the time, meaning that 60.3 percent of their shots against him are coming from inside the arc. In those situations, Rubio has also been great-- causing the other team's point guard to shoot 5.4 percent below average.
Last season, Flip Saunders said that Rubio was a part of his "Gambler's Anonymous" in terms of reaching for steals too much. This season, Rubio has not only been forcing turnovers, but he's also made shooting a challenge.
Rubio's turnovers are down-- a lot
Any time you have a viable starting point guard in the NBA, they're going to turn the ball over. It's just a fact given the amount that they handle the ball. Rubio has always averaged more than three turnovers per 36 minutes, which isn't bad. Yet, in the team's first five games, Rubio has been even better.
This may simply be due to the fact that Rubio is opting for more sensible passes rather than trying to make the SportsCenter top-10. According to Basketball-Reference.com, Rubio had averaged 2.13 bad-pass turnovers in each of the past two years. His best was 2012-13, when he averaged just 1.87 bad-pass turnovers per game. This season, that number is down to 1.2 per game.
My favorite stat may be turnover percentage which tells us how many of a team's turnovers a player accounts for. Los Angeles' Chris Paul accounts for more than one-third, which isn't really a bad thing given how much he handles the ball. But for comparison's sake, Rubio is at 25 percent. Rubio simply appears to be making smarter decisions with the ball, and it's paying off in fewer lost possessions for the team.
Finally Rubio, appears to be finishing at the rim
The resounding criticism with Rubio has been his shot. It's a point that, for some, overrides all of the other excellent things he does on the floor. Yet, Rubio shot better than 42 percent last season before injury, and is shooting 39.2 percent this season -- with the ability to improve.
One of the biggest complaints was Rubio's ability to finish at the rim, but he seems to have curbed that. Within three feet of the basket, Rubio is shooting 50 percent; 75 percent from 3-10 feet; 42.9 percent from 10-16 feet; and from 16-22 feet. Even as Rubio steps out further and further, he's still been effective.
Again, this is a small sample size of data were dealing with. Aside from having to sustain this over the course of the season, the biggest thing for Rubio will be getting his 3- point percentage up again. Two years ago he made one-third of his 3-point shots, and shot terribly last year on the bad ankle. This season, he's shooting about 22 percent, but should be able to bring himself over 40 percent once that shot starts to drop.
Rubio has been a tireless worker in improving his shooting, and the early returns here have been encouraging. The Timberwolves have long needed him to finish at the rim, and he has so far. Based on how much he has improved in the other areas of his shooting, we shouldn't just expect Rubio to return to being a 33 percent 3-point shooter; we should expect him to reach league average (around 35 percent).
Wolves Press Clippings
Date: 11/8/2015
Outlet: Timberwolves.com
Author: Kyle Ratke
Scouting Report | Wolves at Hawks
7 p.m., Philips Arena Where to Watch: Fox Sports North Where to Listen: 830 WCCO
The Wolves are hoping to put together their second two-game winning streak already in this young season.
Minnesota has a 3-2 record this season with all three wins coming on the road. The Wolves sit in sixth place in the West.
Many didn’t think the Hawks could repeat what they did last season, winning 60 games, but Atlanta has a 7-1 record, good for first the East.
A few tidbits going into Monday night’s road game:
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Atlanta forward and St. Louis Park native Mike Muscala is averaging 2.3 points in 9.7 minutes per game this season. This is Muscala’s third NBA season.
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Wolves point guard Ricky Rubio has been on triple-double watch for the last two games. He’s averaging career-highs of 13.6 points and 9.2 assists per game.
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The Wolves have been pretty spectacular from the free-throw line this season, shooting 78.9 percent. The Hawks are like, ‘Oh, that’s impressive.’ Atlanta is shooting 81.5 percent.
THEY ARE COMING OFF OF…
Minnesota is coming off of a very impressive 102-93 road overtime win over the Chicago Bulls on Saturday. Andrew Wiggins got back on track, finishing with a season-high 31 points, including going 4-for-5 from the 3-point line. Two rookies were also big for the Wolves. Karl-Anthony Towns finished with 17 points and 13 rebounds, while Nemanja Bjelica had 17 points and 11 rebounds off the bench. The Wolves held Derrick Rose and Co. scoreless in overtime.
Atlanta also won on Saturday, defeating the Washington Wizards 114-99 at home. New starter Kent Bazemore led the way with 25 points. Big men Paul Millsap and Al Horford finished with 21 and 14 points, respectively. Jeff Teague and Thabo Sefolosha had 10 points each. The Hawks were a perfect 15-for-15 from the free-throw line.
LAST MATCHUP:
The Wolves were 0-2 against the Hawks last season. The last game came on Feb. 9 at the Target Center. Atlanta won 117-105 behind 28 points from Horford. DeMarre Carroll added 26 while Millsap had 19. Teague and Korver had 12 points each.
The Hawks shot a blistering 51.2 percent from the field.
Kevin Martin led Minnesota with 21 points, nine coming from the 3-point line. Shabazz Muhammad led the second unit with 18 points, while Wiggins added 15. Nikola Pekovic and Thaddeus Young combined for 25 points and 15 rebounds.
Oddly enough, the Wolves outrebounded the Hawks 50 to 36.
MATCHUP TO WATCH: KARL-ANTHONY TOWNS VS. AL HORFORD
Towns has gotten off to a hot start to his career. In five games, he’s averaging 15.2 points, 9.6 rebounds and three blocks per game. Rookie of the Year, anyone?
He’ll have his hands full on Monday night, though, against a familiar face. Towns and Horford are teammates on the Dominican Republic national team.
The center has gotten off to another solid start. In eight games, he’s averaging 17 points, 8.3 rebounds, 2.6 assists and 1.9 blocks per game. In two games against the Wolves last season, he averaged 23.5 points, seven rebounds and 3.5 assists per game.
INJURIES
Hawks: No reported injuries.
Wolves: Pekovic (Achilles) is out.
PROJECTED STARTING LINEUPS
Hawks: PG- Teague, SG - Bazemore, SF - Korver, PF - Millsap, C - Horford
Wolves: PG- Rubio, SG- Wiggins, SF- Prince, PF- Garnett, C- Towns
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