We’ve already established that the Timberwolves have at least five top-100 players, but just how high did Ricky Rubio rank on one particular list?
About a week ago, we took an initial look at Kelly Scaletta’s NBA player rankings over at Today’s Fastbreak.
We’ve already seen Zach LaVine (#83), Andrew Wiggins (#73), and Gorgui Dieng (#71) come off the board. And as Scaletta inches towards the top-50, one more Timberwolves player was announced.
Ricky Rubio began last season ranked as the 64th-best player on ESPN’s Player Rank nearly a year ago, and he only managed a #60 ranking on this list, although Scaletta spoke glowingly of the Timberwolves point guard throughout the piece.
Regular readers of Dunking With Wolves know what our collective thoughts on the Spaniard are, and here are mine, in short: Rubio is a top-10 point guard who, with a league-average jump-shot, would immediately vault to top-five.
As it is, Rubio is a top-flight passer and defender who draws fouls on offense even without shooting a high percentage at the rim, and makes his free throws when he gets to the line. Perhaps his greatest qualities are the ability to dominate defensively both on and off the ball, and the mastery of the pick-and-roll on offense.
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Scaletta’s player rankings include a current rank as well as ceiling and floor ranks for the upcoming season. Rubio’s ceiling is listed at #30, and his floor at #70. Those numbers do seem about right. Remember, he is still just 26 years old and could be an All-Star-level player with a bit more consistency on offense.
And don’t forget, Rubio hasn’t played with an All-Star since Kevin Love‘s one monster season. Second-year Karl-Anthony Towns plus third-year Andrew Wiggins and some shooters (new addition Brandon Rush, a healthy and second-year Nemanja Bjelica), along with a modern offense could equal insane assist numbers.
Here are Scaletta’s comments on Rubio’s ceiling:
"Provided he and the Timberwolves stay healthy, there’s a decent chance Rubio is an All-Star this year, or at the very least earns some regular-season accolades. All-NBA and/or All-Defensive honors are not impossible. He is already better than his numbers or reputation suggest.There were only three point guards who had an Offensive and Defensive Real Plus-Minus better than 1.5 last year, according toESPN.com: Chris Paul, Kyle Lowry and Rubio. And in terms of overall RPM, Rubio was 17th among all NBA players.Provided the Timberwolves make a playoff push, Rubio will be in the running for some awards."
Obviously, the point guard position is stacked league-wide, so an All-Star berth would be a surprise. But Scaletta is not far off.
And here’s Scaletta on Rubio’s defense:
"The only point guard with a better DRPM than Rubio’s 1.89 last season was Chris Paul. And that’s not a case of the numbers lying.Rubio was primarily deployed as the defender on the ball handler in the pick-and-roll or defending spot-ups on over 75 percent of his defensive possessions and his opponents scored just .8 points per possession. All told that’s only 513 points he gave up on the 640 plays he defended on those two play types.When you’re yielding a defensive rating of 80.0 on 75 percent of the plays you defend, you tend to have a pretty positive impact on the defense."
Indeed, Rubio could very well go from a top-flight defender to an otherworldly defensive force under Tom Thibodeau’s scheme and direction. The length of Rubio and Wiggins plus Zach LaVine, Gorgui Dieng, and Towns is fantastic. Add in Kris Dunn off the bench, and there’s a lot for Thibs to play with.
We’ll explore Rubio’s value for the upcoming season and how Thibodeau may use him on both ends of the floor as we roll through August and September.
Next: How Good Will Karl-Anthony Towns Be In Year Two?
Only about a month until training camp, folks…