Minnesota Timberwolves: Is the Russell-Rubio backcourt doomed to fail?

The Minnesota Timberwolves’ backcourt pairing of D’Angelo Russell and Ricky Rubio has been a substantial failure in the early portion of the 2020-21 season.

The Minnesota Timberwolves have a backcourt conundrum that must be fixed if the team hopes to save their faltering 2020-21 season.

D’Angelo Russell and Ricky Rubio are the second and third highest-paid players on the team, suggesting that both players are key components of the team’s success. Unfortunately, the eye test says that the two players cannot share the court without a complete breakdown of scheme on both ends of the court.

Can these two be compatible in a way that benefits both players or is this experiment doomed to fail?

Minnesota Timberwolves: Is the Russell-Rubio backcourt doomed to fail?

President of Basketball Operations Gersson Rosas shocked the fan base by trading for hometown hero Ricky Rubio, on draft night in November.

While draft capital was involved, the deal with Oklahoma City was highlighted by a salary swap of James Johnson for Ricky Rubio. The team lost a capable power forward presence but managed to acquire a fan-favorite playmaker who had found success during recent stints in Phoenix and Utah.

Gersson Rosas and head coach Ryan Saunders proclaimed the move as an opportunity to showcase “multiple ball handlers,” with the idea that together, the two guards could orchestrate an explosive offense.

This concept of having two ball handlers who can collapse the defense and create value out of every possession is why Rosas and Saunders were excited by the prospect of trading for Rubio back in November.

However, this concept hinges on two things: initiating the offense through Russell, and using Towns as the cog for both ball handlers.

Unfortunately, the latter part of the equation has been absent for much of the season thus far. In the six games without Karl-Anthony Towns prior to the big man’s Saturday return, Rubio and Russell have had a net rating of -33.3. Both point guards have struggled to learn each other’s play styles and their minutes together have resulted in massive point differentials on both sides of the court.

Our very own Bradshaw Furlong recently broke down the deficiencies of the Russell and Rubio backcourt and why it is unlikely to work long-term.

The problem for Minnesota is that the team cannot afford to completely separate Russell and Rubio in the rotation. The two point guards are unquestionably two of Minnesota top players skill-wise, as well as two of the most experienced players on the roster. Separating their minutes completely would underscore the team’s cumulative talent and potentially cause turmoil for whomever has their playing time get cut.

While the eye test has not been pretty, there may still be hope that Russell and Rubio’s strengths can be advantageously merged.

How the Minnesota Timberwolves can utilize the pick-and-roll

D’Angelo Russell is an electric player but can often become lost within an offensive scheme that does not showcase his strengths. This season, Minnesota has attempted to move Russell into an off-ball shotmaking role while initiating the offense through Ricky Rubio.

In theory, this idea makes sense as Russell is an elite shotmaker who finished in the 80+ percentile among spot-up shooters over the past two seasons. Unfortunately, this concept has taken away opportunities for Russell to be a playmaker emboldening him to take contested perimeter shots upon receiving the ball rather than attacking the defense.

Russell’s greatest strength is as a pick-and-roll ball-handler who can create open shots for both himself and the roller. Russell averaged 0.89 points per possession on pick-and-roll plays in each of his past two seasons, on par with talented playmakers such as Ja Morant, Jamal Murray, and De’Aaron Fox.

Ricky Rubio’s struggles so far in second stint with the Timberwolves

Last season in Phoenix, Ricky Rubio was at his best when acting aggressively as a scoring threat. He finished the season averaging a career-high 13 points per game, and notably scored 20 or more points in 14 of his 65 games.

His ability to create his own shot in the paint or space the floor and capitalize on catch-and-shoot situations forced the defense to react to him. Any reaction at all allows Ricky Rubio to utilize his playmaking ability to find holes in the defense. The result was 8.8 assists per game to coincide with his improved scoring, as well as aiding in career years for Devin Booker and Kelly Oubre Jr.

Thus far, the 2020-21 season has seen none of the expected impacts from the Rubio acquisition. Rubio’s playmaking prowess and improved scoring potential have completely disappeared as he looks lost within the Timberwolves’ offense.

Not only has he been unable to score 20 or more points in a contest, a feat that became commonplace in recent seasons, but the point guard has only eclipsed the double-digit mark once in the team’s opening eight games. Rubio often looks unsure of himself and his teammates while on the floor, resulting in a noticeable lack of passing wizardry that fans have become accustomed to.

How Karl-Anthony Towns’ absence has impacted Rubio and Russell

Rubio excels late in the shot clock when the play begins to break down. He has always been able to use his abilities as a ball-handler to collapse the defense, creating passing lanes for cutters or spot-up shooters.

Rubio has even learned to create scoring opportunities for himself during these attacks with an underscoring layup or his signature one-foot fadeaway in the paint.

The key to the Russell and Rubio backcourt may be to allow both players to play to their strengths.

Russell should initiate the offense with a pick-and-roll on most possessions, especially when these two are playing alongside Karl-Anthony Towns. This is Minnesota’s best half-court offense, as it prioritizes getting the ball into the hands of your two cornerstone players.

Rubio, meanwhile, should be used as the “break glass in case of emergency” ball-handler. A kick-out by either Towns or Russell off failed pick-and-roll action may present an open shot opportunity for Rubio, but his ability to also attack off of that action forces the defense to collapse a second time on the possession.

Once the defense starts scrambling, Ricky Rubio’s passing ability can be leveraged to find the weakness in the defense, be that a cutter or a spot up shooter. In this case, that cutter or spot-up shooter is likely to be one of Minnesota’s primary scoring threats in Towns, Russell, or Malik Beasley.

During the first two games of the season while Towns was healthy, this trio had a net rating of 59.1 in limited minutes. The Russell and Rubio backcourt was particularly effective in the fourth quarter of both games, executing in the half court to close out victories in each. The addition of Towns also provided a considerable benefit to the defense, resulting in a defensive rating of 81.8 in these minutes.

Both Russell and Rubio are capable off-ball defenders but they each struggle on-ball against quicker guards. This weakness makes the presence of a rim-protector like Towns crucial to stopping a ball handler from scoring at the rim with ease.

While it may be a small sample size, these two games provide proof that the two ball handler concept is capable of working as long as Karl-Anthony Towns acts as the fulcrum of both the offense and defense. Now with Towns back in the lineup, Minnesota will look to extrapolate the trio’s early results.

The Timberwolves’ franchise and fans alike are hoping this lineup can work in extended minutes. It has to, or else this season may already be lost.