Ricky Rubio Proving His Worth
Feb 2, 2015; Dallas, TX, USA; Dallas Mavericks guard
Devin Harris(20) guards Minnesota Timberwolves guard
Ricky Rubio(9) during the second half at the American Airlines Center. The Mavericks defeated the Timberwolves 100-94. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports
If you have a question as to the value of Ricky Rubio to the Minnesota Timberwolves, condiser this fact: The Timberwolves overall record is 10-40, yet the Wolves have a winning record when Rubio plays and is available for the whole game.
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Last night, Rubio proved his time off was not wasted. Much has been made of his work with shooting coach Mike Penberthy and before he was ready to come back he was healthy enough to work on his shot. Last night he put his practice to good use. With two minutes left against the Memphis Grizzlies, the Wolves found themselves down 87-80. Rubio hit two threes and had two steals from that point on. He also made the two game-winning free throws to give the Wolves the 90-89 win. What made it even more impressive was the fact that he tweaked his still not 100% ankle minutes earlier. He left the court, but spent his time jogging it off under the stands at the Target Center. He shook it off, came back and saved the game for the Wolves.
It’s not too often during his soon to be Rookie of the Year campaign that Andrew Wiggins will lead the Wolves in scoring and not be the story of the game. That is precisely what happened last night though. Wiggins put up 18, Rubio had 17 including his 8 in the final couple of minutes and the Wolves had a hard-fought win.
Rubio has proven himself to be one of the most valuable players in the league this year. Even in the games they have lost with him in the line-up, they have been competitive against stiff competition. They lost to these same Grizzlies on opening night by four, lost in the final seconds to the Chicago Bulls and took the Dallas Mavericks right to the wire in Rubio’s first game back. In his absence, there were many games where the Wolves barely provided any resistance to the opposition.
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Of course, Rubio is not the only difference. Kevin Martin and Nikola Pekovic were out for most of that terrible stretch as well and have provided much-needed consistent scoring since coming back. Wiggins has improved by leaps and bounds since November as well. As painful as that stretch was to watch, I think it will be looked back on as a positive. Not only was Wiggins forced to take on a larger role and learn on the fly, it will also improve the Wolves position in the lottery, a la the Spurs when David Robinson was injured and Tim Duncan ended up falling into their laps. I still think learning to win is important though, so having the band back together (and Shabazz Muhammad almost back) will be a nice opportunity for the team to gel.
Still, Rubio is the floor general for this team and is looking more and more valuable. His incredible passing was evident immediately when he came to town, but if he can continue to can shots in crunch time, he will become almost impossible to defend down the stretch in games. His improved stroke does not seem to be a flash in the pan, and if he can stay healthy he will get the chance to prove it is for real.