Minnesota Timberwolves: Ricky Rubio’s Shooting Reason To Panic?
Ricky Rubio‘s shooting woes have the Minnesota Timberwolves a bit worried. They knew he wasn’t exactly a dead-eye, but they also didn’t think he’d be historically bad. Should they panic at this point or can we safely assume he’ll improve? Does Rubio do enough that it won’t matter? Let’s look at a couple of situations that compare to Rubio and see what we find.
JASON KIDD
Jason Kidd never was much of a shooter, but he had quite a stellar career. (Flickr.com photo by Keith Allison)
Although Jason Kidd was much more athletic than Rubio, their games seem to compare favorably at this point. Both had an eventful rookie season where they showed promise, but both struggled badly with their shots. Kidd’s shooting line of .385/.272/.698 has me thinking about Kendall Marshall and Austin Rivers, which is never a good thing.
Kidd’s shooting percentage from the field actually dropped in year two, down to .381. He did develop a better 3-point shot, but don’t forget that Kidd shot better than 42 percent from the field exactly ONCE (1998-99, .444). Luckily for Kidd and his teams, he was such a multi-dimensional player, he was able to produce enough to get past his shooting woes.
As his career moved on, Kidd continued to shoot better from 3, peaking at 42.5 percent in 2009-10, and his free-throw percentage finished at a respectable 78.5 percent for his career.
Let’s not forget that Kidd turned himself into a nightly triple-double possibility, with his tremendous rebounding (6.3 per game career) and the fact that he led the NBA in assists per game five out of six seasons from 1998-99 until 2003-04. His 1.9 steals per game average wasn’t exactly bad, either.
Kidd finished No. 2 in NBA history in total assists and total steals. He finished No. 26 in total defensive rebounds! He’s a point guard! The Wolves would do backflips if Rubio followed Kidd’s path.
JOHN WALL
John Wall’s shot was broken early, but he’s worked himself into a serviceable jump shooter. Photo Credit: Keith Allison, Flickr.com
A more recent example would be John Wall. Now, Wall is many times more athletic than Rubio and doesn’t have the kind of court vision. But, he does have that issue with shooting. Wall shot .409/.296/.766 as a rookie and it appeared as if his jumper was going to be a massive problem.
Then, Wall came back for the 2011-12 season and showed improvement from the field, as he jumped up to .423 and from the free-throw line, as he made it to .789. Similar to how Kidd changed his game to focus more on 3’s, Wall abandoned the shot and took only 42 in 66 games.
In Wall’s third season, he showed even more improvement. His shooting line of .441/.267/.804 started to resemble a quality NBA player. As Wall figured out what spots on the floor he liked best and started playing more to his strengths, his numbers began to creep up and his team fared much better (just like Kidd).
WHAT ABOUT RICKY RUBIO?
One thing that does stick out about Rubio’s first two seasons as opposed to Wall and Kidd is games played. Kidd played 160 games, Wall played 135 and Rubio played just 98. He played a full 2,600 less minutes than Kidd and 1,900 less minutes than Wall. Check out their numbers through each of their first two seasons:
| Player | From | To | G | MP | FG% | 3P% | FT% | ORB | DRB | TRB | AST | STL | BLK | TOV | PF | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jason Kidd | 1995 | 1996 | 160 | 35.6 | .383 | .311 | .695 | 2.2 | 3.9 | 6.1 | 8.7 | 2.0 | 0.3 | 3.6 | 1.9 | 14.2 |
| Ricky Rubio | 2012 | 2013 | 98 | 31.6 | .359 | .317 | .800 | 0.7 | 3.4 | 4.1 | 7.7 | 2.3 | 0.1 | 3.1 | 2.4 | 10.7 |
| John Wall | 2011 | 2012 | 135 | 37.0 | .416 | .236 | .777 | 0.6 | 4.0 | 4.6 | 8.2 | 1.6 | 0.7 | 3.8 | 2.3 | 16.3 |
Provided by Basketball-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 9/3/2013.
The NBA is a tough league. It takes time for a player to develop and adapt. Rubio hasn’t had the time to fully adapt just yet. The fact that Rubio is already above-average from the free-throw line (.800) and is serviceable from the 3-point line (.317) is a good thing.
The fact that Rubio’s shot looks like he’d be better suited to play Disc Golf, Jai-Alai or Cornhole is something else altogether.
It’s alarming just how badly Rubio shoots at the rim and from different mid-range spots. At the basket, Rubio shot just .448 in 2012-13. He shot .239 (!) from 3-to-10 feet and .319 from 10-to-16 feet.
One important stat to share is that of the 99 baskets he made from 16 feet and in, only 13 were assisted upon. Rubio simply isn’t the kind of player who can create his own shot. When he gets time to plant his heels and can shoot in rhythm, he’s much better. Rubio shot .293 from the 3-point line, where 85.2 percent of those were assisted.
Is it time to panic for Rubio supporters? No, not yet. Rubio will continue to rack up assists and steals. He definitely makes the Wolves better when he’s on the floor.
The numbers point towards Rubio being an average-at-best 3-point shooter who can’t create his own shot. Kidd is going to be a surefire first-ballot Hall of Famer with that label. They’d take that, right?
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