Robson on Ricky Christmas Eve

Britt Robson’s ramp-up to Ricky Christmas:

"Rubio tore two significant ligaments, the ACL and the MCL, in his left knee. He hasn’t played an official game in nine months. Because of the nature of the injury, he hasn’t been able to work on the most glaring flaw in his game — his jump shot — during that period. And, even if the advance word is accurate and he is activated for the Dallas game Saturday night, Minnesota is sure to bring him along with appropriate care and caution to avoid re-injury or other physical setbacks.And, given the stiff competition that awaits, it is unwise to expect a surge in the team’s record even if Rubio flourishes beyond initial expectations as he recovers to full strength."

This is all just to set a good foundation of common sense before letting the excitement build…

"But there are times when common sense should not be allowed to interfere with a fan’s enthusiasm for his or her team, let alone the glory of basketball, and the return of Rubio is just such an occasion."

That’s right, go on…

"Common sense should not be allowed to mitigate the exhilaration we feel while imagining that in a very short time now we will be treated to the prospect of Kevin Love snagging a contested rebound and zipping one of his patented overhead outlet feeds to Rubio in stride on the wing. The stage will thus be set for the maestro to blend his instinct and intuition with the geometry of his court vision and the adrenaline of his passion for the sublime assist and deliver a long, crazy-angle bounce pass or a high, perfectly arched lob to a streaking Andrei Kirilenko for the flush."

I know it’s not as rare as I’d like to believe, but to see basketball writers embrace their fandom — and with such specific details, ‘here’s what’s good and this is why’ — makes everything they write that much better to read. It also tells us what Robson wants for Ricky Christmas.

Also telling is Kirilenko’s response to what he thinks Ricky Christmas will bring to him:

"“Sometimes we don’t move the ball enough,” says Kirilenko. “I think Ricky is someone who can really let us enjoy this process — you know, get the ball, pass it, ask for the ball back, swing it, ask for the ball again and get that ball swinging back and forth. Kevin is great but it is always tougher if only one guy is scoring, especially at the end of games. If everybody has been touching the ball the whole game, everybody can pick it up during the crunch moments. With Ricky, there will be ball rotation and everybody will be touching it.”"

Bayno says what he’s looking forward to getting for Ricky Christmas.

"“The No. 1 thing is his energy and leadership. Ricky is a natural born leader. And his energy is contagious. He has been talking, helping us behind the scenes and on the sidelines when he wasn’t even playing. And after what he did last year, he built up a lot of equity in the locker room. People remember what he did last year so it isn’t a new guy coming in to talk or lead that hasn’t put the time in.”"

Adelman says he’s looking forward to seeing Ricky Christmas

"“…breaking down the defense, for sure. He is going to get to the middle of the defense and break it down and he is going to find people. He just has a flair for it. You can just see it in practice; he finds people in the right spots and he is also really good at adjusting to what the defense is doing. So I think breaking things down and getting us easier shots.”"

Everybody seems to be wishing for something for Ricky Christmas, and it’s tomorrow.