[Anton123Participant]

Anyone catch the Utah-Nuggets game? Ricky Rubio ended up with a normal statline for himself: 9 points, 10 assists, 5 rebounds on 33% from the field; but boy was his intensity amazing! That was some Marcus-Smart-style defense and hustle. He had two great steals, drew at least two charges and made Gary Harris’s and Jamal Murray’s lives living hell. 

The trade seems to have really lit a fire under him, he still plays like he’s trying to prove he can shoot, is still very smart with his passing, but his intensity was on a whole different level. If he keeps it up, this just makes Utah by far the best defensive team in the league when you factor in Rudy Gobert and Derrick Favors, as well as the team’s overall defensive culture. Millsap, Jokic, Murray, and Harris looked miserable out there at times.

 

[mowestenParticipant]

 He played well over the last couple of months in Minn, and had a couple of big games in preseason. I don’t think he’s ever going to be a big scorer or great shooter, but I think he could be a key player on good team. He has always been an underrated defender IMO.

[HitsterParticipant]

Thibs moving him on has probably really fired Ricky up, we all know he isn’t a great shooter but as a creative PG he is one of the better in the NBA and is a solid defender. I don’t think defence was the issue with Thibs, I think it was more to do with shooting and possibly as Rubio had only two years left on his deal so with renewals for KAT, Wiggins coming up. They had added Butler who will be due a mega deal in a couple of years too, so if Rubio was up for renewal and probably chasing over $25 million a year, something had to give.

[HobbyOGParticipant]

 Contract year coming up soon, I expect him to continue to play like this. 

[JDB12Participant]

Overall, I’m happy he is gone as a Minnesota fan. Unless there is a super team around them, I don’t believe you can be a real contender with a PG that shoots 35% from the field no matter how great of a passer or defender someone is. But there were times where he really did live up to the hype he had coming in with some unreal passes, and I was always pleased with his solid defense. I don’t ever think he was a great on-ball defender but his off-ball defense was great and played good team defense. He always gave 100% which was admirable. Hopefully he can find a way to pick up his scoring efficiency in Utah.

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