[NickWayne87Participant]

PUT THIS MAN IN THE STARTING LINEUP FROM THE NEXT GAME FORWARD AND DON’T LOOK BACK!!!!

[Michael.S.Participant]

He simply racks assists up! 7 at the half off the bench. 14 last game, pretty incredible.

[The8thDeadlySinParticipant]

I thought this was going to be about trading him… LoL.. Yeah, he is a starter and is probably the 2nd purest PG in the league besides Nash..  And its a close second..

[natedogggParticipant]

give him the keys and let him and love grow into a franchise duo.

[IndianaBasketballParticipant]

I’m more than impressed with this kid. He’s that good.

He’s not the athlete Rose, Westbrook or Wall is, but he has a chance to be a superstar point guard.

[Wavy BagelsParticipant]

 He shows more substance in his game than flashiness. Was intended/projected to be the other way around.

[NbanflguyParticipant]

He also has actually shot the ball well so far to. Even from deep

[IndianaBasketballParticipant]

And his defense is very solid. I think he defends Derrick Rose pretty well.

[NickWayne87Participant]

 High basketball IQ beats elite athleticism anyday of the WEEK.  You’ll always see a guy with high bball iq and avg (mortal) athleticism be an allstar (i.e. Kevin Love, Steve Nash, Tim Duncan) and a guy with elite athleticism and low bball IQ be a scrub (i.e. Tyrus Thomas, Shawne Williams, Gerald Green).  Not that elite atheleticism isn’t important it can make the game easier for you but wont get you anywhere without knowing the game.  All it really does is sell tickets lol.

[IndianaBasketballParticipant]

Rose and Rubio going at each other lol.

Where is Kevin Love’s post game? Most of the time he catches the ball, it’s nowhere near the actual low post.

[IndianaBasketballParticipant]

While Rose is making basketball after basket in the 4th, Love has been nowhere to be found. Waiting for somebody to create for him and get him an easy basket. Not one time have the Wolves given him the ball in the post and ran a set through him.

 

[The8thDeadlySinParticipant]

Crunch time C for the Wolves – Randolph

Crunch time SG for the Wolves – Ridnour

Interesting….

[IndianaBasketballParticipant]

Rose is out of this world.

[HaleParticipant]

 Rubio can’t guard Rose at all when he actually attempts to attack.

[NbanflguyParticipant]

^ no one can

[HaleParticipant]

 Fair enough.

[WizardofOzParticipant]

 He’s a sick bounce passer.

[IndianaBasketballParticipant]

How can Love be the best power forward in basketball when his team didn’t run one offensive possession through him during crunch time? 

And there are people on this site that would take him over Dirk right now?

[IndianaBasketballParticipant]

I don’t think there’s a pass Rubio can’t make… He can be flashy or very fundamentally sound. He’s decisive passing the ball and puts zip on it when need be and can lob it.

He’s got all of the moves for a point guard… He’s got the hesitation dribble, the crossover… Change of pace. He’s very good in the pick and roll. His first step, quickness and speed is better than I thought. He’s got the ball fakes, step throughs, etc. He can finish with either hand when laying it up.

He’s like a 6′ 4" Rajon Rondo, but with a better jump and more positive vibe to him. He really makes his teammates better.  He’s got that "it" factor you like in a point guard. His IQ is high and you can just see the game is slow for him, which is scary considering he’s so young.

He just needs to keep improving and getting better, but there’s a lot to like about him. And defensively, he’s solid. He’s got active hands and long arms. Rose beat him off of the dribble a lot, but that’s to be expected, plus it’s not like the Wolves back line rotates.

[HaleParticipant]

Reminds me of Jason Kidd.

[aamir543Participant]

As far as "Freeing Rubio", it’ll happen but give it some more time, Luke Ridnour hasn’t done a bad job at all either. He’s scoring very efficiently and is shooting more than 50% from the field.

Now if Ridnour starts to slip, than Rubio should definately start. But for now, keep it the way. I think that by the end of Febuary, the T-Wolves will be within 4-5 games of .500, and for this young team that is good.

They were without Beasley tonight, who although is off to a slow start, gives them some scoring punch. Randolph is playing well, but the other role players, Barea, Wes Johnson, Tolliver, Ellington, and Milicic. Derrick WIlliams is actually playing pretty well, however he needs more PT, and I’d rather give him more minutes than Tolliver.

This team may hover around .500 all season, or they may self combust(with Adelmen at the helm, this is unlikely, but you never know with Kahn), or they may breakout and baloon to a top 6 seed and pose as a serious threat to old adn depleted teams in the playoffs. 

[akhan786Participant]

What I love about Rubio is that he sees plays before they happen. Once he identifies, say an alley oop he can throw, he ajusts his body and movement to move the defense perfectly to set up the oop.

I remember one play where Randolph wasn’t even past half court, but Rubio saw that he was wide open. He instinctively dribbled to the side Randolph wasn’t on to shift the entire defense, knowing full well Randolph should be rolling to the basket.

Result of the play of course is a successful alley oop and tremendous momentum swing. That’s what Rubio brings. Fun, excitement, and an unnatural head for the point guard position is what makes Rubio so special.

Rubio has one of the best possible teams he could play for. I know it’s the Timberwolves but look at their roster. They  have shooters, big men, and atheltic finishers and a brilliant point guard to make all the pieces fit together.

Can’t believe I’m saying this, but the future is bright in Minnesota.

[FastAndFuriousParticipant]

 And Brandon Jennings said he was overrated hahaha…Right.

[NickWayne87Participant]

 but when rubio is on the floor, EVERYONE plays well.

[PulseGlazerParticipant]

Rubio makes the whole offense work, but I’m not worried about him starting.  He plays more than Kyrie, who does start.  Also, note that Derrick Rose was making contested long jumpers.  When his shot’s falling, he’s entirely unguardable by anyone.  Rubio stayed with him and kept a hand in his face without fouling.

As for Love, I just want to remind everyone that the Bulls have the big man defense and best overall defense in the NBA.  Love isn’t the best PF in the NBA, at best he’s third behind Dirk and LaMarcus, but he’s ridiculously consistent.  Also that crunch time plays aren’t run for him doesn’t mean he isn’t best, right Dwight?  There are different ways to impact a basketball game.  I was more concerned with how tenative Derrick Williams looked, to be honest.

[NCarmean18Participant]

 Trade Luke Ridnour to the Lakers, and Michael Beasley to either the Magic or the Nets and let young guys like Rubio, Wes Johnson, Michael Beasley, Kevin Love and Anthony Randolph fly for this young Timberwolves team. 

Side note:  With an NBA lockout at the begining of the season and Derrick Williams and Ricky Rubio are rookies, they have some of the best chemistry between a point guard and small forward in this league today.  Some could even make the case that they are in the top 2.  

These younger teams intrigue me and the Timberwolves aren’t a selfish bunch like Sacramento, so hopefully they will do themselves a favor and start with the guys that will draw in the crowds — the young, yet promising rookies and or younger talent.

[dolla130Participant]

this is the 5th game this season that both boozer and noah have found themselves on the bench in the 4thQ is it time to make some changes and trade one because they are both worse when on the floor together and thats a 110 million dollar problem

[IndianaBasketballParticipant]

Rubio is definitely "free" right now… He’s played every minute of every fourth quarter this season. I heard them say he’s only sat out 7 seconds.

And why would anybody want to trade Ridnour? He’s a very good player and the ultimate professional. He can play on or off the ball, so he really doesn’t hurt Rubio. Everytime he shoots it, I think it’s going in. Ridnour doesn’t get enough credit, the same way it was with the Bucks.

[mikeyvthedonParticipant]

Played fantastic last night. He definitely did nothing to hold Rubio back in last nights game and he usually makes life easier rather than holding someone back. I know his shortcomings as a defender, but Ridnour kept them in the game last night as much if not more than Rubio.

Kevin Love is a fantastic player, but read what IndianaBasketball said above about Kevin Love’s post game. He does have difficulty finishing around the basket at times and was obviously bothered by the Bulls big guys.

Also, and this has NOTHING to do with Kevin Love and everything to do with the other bigs on Minnesota, they were outrebounded 47-30 last night. Anthony Randolph’s Potential had 18 points in 29 minutes but 2 rebounds! Wesley Johnson is slumping more than any sophomore I am aware of (at least out of those that were expected to do anything). Rubio is a bright spot, most definitely, but this team has issues that are beyond getting him more PT.

[joecheck88Participant]

Im not going to lie. I thought Rubio would be average and argued against everyone that said he was going to be great. While he isn’t great, he has exceeded my expectations already and will only get better. He is really fun to watch and is fearless with his passing(which is a good trait when you get as many open looks for others as he does). He looks like a better scorer than Rondo. All in all, he has already exceed my expectations for what he could do.

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