Timberwolves’ Season Grades

Ricky Rubio: C+

Ricky Rubio spent all season coasting, then realized his numbers were low and decided to get those up.

This season he averaged a career best, a staggering, 11.1 points per game. He also averaged 9.1 assists per game, which I’ll admit is very impressive.

My problem with his season is he would have one game where he shot 1/11 and had eight turnovers, but then he’d have a game with 20 points and 16 assists.

In the games where he was absolute trash, the team would win. In the games that he played well, the team lost. So, not sure what that means. I don’t like to look into the numbers too much.

What made Rubio turn his game around in the second half of the season was, in part, the Derrick Rose trade rumors. The Wolves were very close to moving Rubio to New York for Rose. Rubio took offense to that and stepped up his game.

Whatever happened that made Rubio improve, worked. The second half of his season was terrific. When the team was rolling Rubio had to throw the ball up and he’d hit Wiggins or Towns for an assist.

Rubio even stepped up his shooting ability. Watching games, I’d see Rubio shoot a three, roll my eyes, maybe say a word that I’m not allowed to publish, then the ball would go in. It’s really shocking to see Rubio shoot 20 percent from three over his career, then suddenly he can’t miss.

Consistency is a big issue for Rubio. This offseason he really needs to work on his shooting and his quickness. He has the most broke jump shot out of any point guard in the league, regardless of a few games he had here and there.