Minnesota fueled by the return of Rubio and Love
The Timberwolves had their best roster in recent times last year, on paper. Injuries restricted them from playing to their full potential. Their key players, Point Guard Ricky Rubio and Power Forward Kevin Love played merely 57 games and 18 games respectively last season. These injuries heavily impacted their performance and hence, they couldn’t make it to the playoffs. Now that the duo is returning from injury, let’s see how much their return will fuel the Timberwolves.
The Timberwolves put up a dismal offensive performance last year and they were just average on defense. They ranked 20th in Offensive efficiency and 15th in defensive efficiency.
Rubio’s return will help them immensely on offense. He’s an incredibly talented passer and a gifted ball handler. He averaged 7.3 APG last season and was instrumental in stitching together the Timberwolves’ offense. The only on aspect on offense which he needs to improve is: Shooting.
It’s impossible to imagine that such a talented dribbler and distributor of the ball is this bad a shooter. The 22 year old averaged a paltry .293 from behind the arc and .360 from the field. He was decent from the line, averaging .799 last season.
Having said this, Rubio is a rising star. He has immense potential to develop into a Steve Nash type point guard, and he’s entered the league at the right time, now that Nash’s star seems to be fading.
Kevin Love on the other hand, is the complete power forward. The 2 time All-Star is an incredible rebounder and scorer. While he’s not the best shot-blocker in the league, Love is a decent presence on defense too. He’s good at defending in the post, but the things he’s known for are: Rebounding and Scoring.
Love was the NBA rebounding champion in 2011 and he averaged 26 PPG in the last 50+ games season. Last season, he averaged 18.3 PPG and 14 RPG , and this was when he was nowhere near his full potential. Love also won the three point shootout last season.
In addition to his offensive skills, Love is an incredible clutch shooter. Remember his game winning buzzer beating three pointer against the Clippers last season? Here’s the clip if you don’t:
This is what the Timberwolves missed last season. The cool, calm offensive Power Forward who can knock down shots from anywhere on the field, and gobble up as many as 15 rebounds on a given night. Love might become a better offensive Power Forward than Dirk Nowitzki, who is arguably the best in the league in that category.
These two players are incredibly talented in their own ways. They have played together in Minnesota for two years but have played just 30 games together. This is the first season when both are completely healthy, albeit coming off injuries, and will play together.
They have styles that complement each other perfectly. While Rubio is perfectly capable of driving in and laying the ball in to the basket, he’s more of a passer, a facilitator. Love being a power forward isn’t a player who’ll be able to drive in. Love’s versatility in shooting will come into play here. He can collect the ball, post, lay it in. Or he can post, fade out, and shoot. Or he can just collect and shoot. After all, his 6’10″ and knows to use his height to his favour.
Rubio also has another partner in crime this season, Kevin Martin. An incredible shooter, Martin will offer more options to Rubio on offense. Martin’s return will also mean that they won’t have to depend on Rubio or Barea to produce on the offensive end. Similarly, Love has a defensive center in Nikola Pekovic. Pekovic makes up for Love’s defensive short-comings.
Together, Love and Rubio form a lethal one-two punch duo. While both are a liability on defense, their offensive talents far outweigh their defensive problems. But the Timberwolves’ front office has done a good job in assembling a team which ideally complements these two. Martin, Pekovic, Barea, Corey Brewer, Derrick Williams are all capable players who’s respective skill sets perfectly match their core players’.
Going in to this season, the Timberwolves once again have one of the best rosters in their franchise in recent times. Their key players are completely healthy and they have teammates to complement them. They will be fueled to make the playoff cut this season. Will they make it?