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It's the Chicago/Memphis/Sacramento, etc. problem. I.E., the severe lack of floor spacing makes it possibles for defenses to sag off Rubio. He needs to be on a team with shooters, imo. I do think Minny will trade him this season, though, and if the Cavs can find a fair deal I'd love to have Rubio in Cleveland.They all run the floor well though. I'd be shocked if they weren't a fast break team for a significant amount of their points.
The problem, I feel, is more their bench.
It now is officially off topic, we can move this if necessary
This is all really good stuff, Gour. One thing I'd like to clarify is I do think Rubio can be a starter in today's NBA, but it has to be on the right team. The two teams that, in my mind, should be trying to find a PG where Rubio could start are Boston and Dallas. Both teams have a lot of smart players and good shooters, and meanwhile, have somewhat limited starting PGs.@David. to @godfather 's (and others') point; the problem with Rubio is the fact that he can't shoot.
His true-shooting percentage doesn't speak to his shooting ability; just his ability to score efficiently. On only 7.7 FGA/G with 4.1 FTA, his TS% is skewed (if we mistakenly assume TS% measures scoring ability rather than efficiency).
His shooting percentages at various ranges tell the story of a guy who simply lacks the ability to score. And, as others have pointed out, this leads to teams having the ability to sag off him - because no matter what, Rubio is not a threat to score on his own.
To give you an idea of how this plays out in actual games over the regular season; Rubio is left "open" on 33.8% of all his attempts, and he's scoring with an eFG of 37.9% (33.3% from 2, 29.6% from 3). Those are career highs (IIRC).
By contrast, 28.5% of all his attempts are "Wide Open," and he's scoring with an eFG of 52.4% (43.1@2p/35.6@3p); so what we're seeing is someone who simply cannot score if they're not completely wide open (no defender within 6ft).
But what's amazing is the fact that he's left open/wide-open on 4.8 FGA/G, that's roughly two out of three attempts!
This means teams are NOT guarding Rubio on the ball, at all. He's left to operate, without coverage, with no defender within 4 feet of him; likely for a majority of the possessions of his recorded usage.
Think about that...
That's why I say Ricky Rubio should not be considered an elite PG (or even a starter-quality player). Is he "good," sure, I guess... But I agree with @godfather and @jking948 in that, I don't think he has a role as a starter in the NBA. Not on any team with championship aspirations.
Outside of that subset of ~5 teams, though, I do believe Rubio would be best served in the sixth-man role, an area where I think he could win SMOTY.