Fortunes of the Minnesota Timberwolves have drastically changed since the last time Ricky Rubio took the floor. The ‘Wolves were 2-2 with last-second losses to the Memphis Grizzlies and Chicago Bulls when the Spanish star went down with a nasty ankle sprain against the Orlando Magic in early November, leading some to believe that forecasts of Minny being one of the league’s worst were premature. Not quite – the Timberwolves have succumbed to a rash of injuries since Rubio’s and hold basketball’s worst record at 8-39.
But 2014-2015 was never going to be about legitimate contention in Minnesota, and the incredible development of Andrew Wiggins – no doubt spurred by absence of his veteran teammates – is more important to this franchise long-term than 10 or 15 extra wins. And now that Rubio is finally set to return to the lineup after missing 42 games, Flip Saunders can begin to better assess the future viability of his young core.
According to multiple reports, Rubio will play on Monday versus the Dallas Mavericks. John Krawczynski of the Associated Press reported the news yesterday morning, and it has since been confirmed by ESPN’s Marc Stein. Saunders said as much after Minny’s loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers last night, too:
We’ll see how Ricky is on Monday and he’ll be able to play a few minutes… I’m hoping that Mo [Williams] and Ricky will both be available.
Rubio’s return should prove a major boon for the ‘Wolves. Not only is he one of the team’s foundational pieces, but Minnesota also endured Saturday’s game with just one healthy point guard – forcing D-League call-up Lorenzo Brown to play all 48 minutes of action.
With the Timberwolves’ long-shot playoff hopes far, far gone, of greatest interest concerning Rubio’s return is his supposedly improved jumper and how his presence will effect Wiggins. The 24 year-old made a very encouraging half of his 24 mid-range jumpers before spraining his ankle, and Saunders says Rubio made greater strides from that perspective over the past few months due to work with shooting specialist Mike Penberthy:
Flip said Rubio's 3 months away may be a blessing in disguise. Has remade his jumper with more arc. Penberthy has helped a lot
— Jon Krawczynski (@JonKrawczynski) February 1, 2015
Whether that improvement translates to the court or not, the playmaking knack and overall orchestrating comfort of Rubio should be a benefit to Wiggins. Lost in the rookie’s awesome performance over the past five weeks has been that he’s doing it without the aid of a true floor general – Williams is a small shooting guard masquerading as a point, and fellow first-year pro Zach LaVine is a combo guard by its very definition.
But it won’t come together immediately for Minny, of course. Rubio will be rusty and on a minutes restriction for his first few games back, and Wiggins and company forced to adjust as the result of sharing the floor with a real playmaker.
As the season quickly approaches spring, though, Saunders’ hope – and perhaps expectation – is surely that his team becomes more competitive now that its close to whole. And with Wiggins and Rubio finally playing together, that wish doesn’t too far-fetched.
What do you think?
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