let's straighten this one out

in the rose garden, without ricky rubio and with wes matthews shooting 78%

 

That's insane?!?!

Almost as insane as the T-Puppies losing to Raptors by 19.

http://www.nba.com/games/20121104/MINTOR/gameinfo.html

 

missing our 2 best players
how would you guys do without lillard and aldridge
you would get smoked by every single team in the league

 

Excuses excuses...

Sounds like someone has the case of shoulda coulda woulda

 

tell me how you think you would do with

nolan smith
wes matthews
nic batum
hickson
leonard

as a starting lineup and then having by far the worst bench in the league

 

Well I know they would all shoot better than 25% from the field like this Rubio Kid

http://espn.go.com/nba/player/stats/_/id/4011/ricky-rubio

 

Somebody needs to go check out the advanced stats at 82games.com.

Ricky Rubio Rookie season (41 games)
Production:
Own: 14.8
Opponent: 15.2
Net: -0.4

Damian Lillard Rookie season (23 games)
Production:
Own: 17.8
Opponent: 16.8
Net +1.0

So, Rubio the great defender gets outproduced by his opponent and Lillard out produces his opponent. No surprise there, guys who can't shoot have trouble outproducing anyone (see Sergio Rodriguez, you may have heard of him, he USED to play in the NBA).

You say, Rubio isn't about individual stats? OK, let's look team performance:

Ricky Rubio Rookie season (41 games)
On Court/Off Court:
Offense: +1.7
Defense: -5.3
Net: +7.0

Not bad, at least Rubio makes a positive contribution overall, to the tune of +7.0 points per 100 possessions, when he's on the court.

But, now let's look at rookie Lillard:

Damian Lillard Rookie season (23 games)
On Court/Off Court:
Offense: -2.0
Defense: -13.0
Net: +11.0

Lillard makes a bigger positive contribution, +11.0 points per 100 possessions.

Which explains why rookie Lillard's simple rating (+4.3) is over twice as high as rookie Rubio's (+2.1). Lillard has a much higher total positive impact on his team's performance than Rubio.

As far as Rubio being a top five defender at his position, dream on. Everyone here, including Lillard himself, acknowledges that Lillard needs to improve his defense, but he's actually almost as good on defense already as Rubio (and much better on offense):

Ricky Rubio Rookie season (41 games)
Player 48-Minute Production by Position:
Pts: 14.5
Opponent Pts: 19.8
Net: -5.3 points/48 minutes

PER: 14.8
Opponent PER: 16.4
Net: -1.6

Damian Lillard Rookie season (23 games)
Player 48-Minute Production by Position:
Pts: 23.9
Opponent Pts: 20.4
Net: +3.5 points/48 minutes

PER: 17.3
Opponent PER: 16.0
Net: +1.3

Both players play the same position in the same division of the same conference. They go head-to-head again the same opposing PGs every game. Rubio, the supposed top 5 defender holds his opponent to 0.6 pts/48 less than Lillard, the horrible defender. Yet, Lillard holds his opponents total production (PER = 16.0) to lower than Rubio does (PER = 16.4). So, explain please, how does this make Rubio a top 5 defender?

And, of course, when it comes to offense, Lillard totally trounces Rubio:

Net pts/48 = +9.4 in Lillard's favor
Net PER = +2.5 in Lillard's favor

But, what about when it REALLY counts, when the game is on the line? Let's look at the clutch statistics for these two and then determine who you'd rather have the ball in their hands when the game is on the line:

Ricky Rubio Rookie season (41 games)
Clutch Statistics:
Net Points: -9
Offense: 101.5
Defense: 106.7
Net/48: -5.2

Damian Lillard Rookie season (23 games)
Clutch Statistics:
Net Points: +25
Offense: 110.1
Defense: 87.8
Net/48: +22.4

Which explains why the Blazers are 4-0 in overtime games this season and won another close game on Lillard's last second 3-pointer last night.

And, where is Rubio's supposed great defense when the game is on the line. Lillard steps up under pressure, at both ends. Rubio wilts under pressure.

Rubio is a decent, but not great player. He's very flashy, but flashy doesn't win games. Until he learns how to shoot, teams will be able to sag off him and exploit this weakness, just like they did once they learned Sergio couldn't shoot.

Lillard, is definitely a much better overall player, especially with the game on the line. Ask any GM or coach in the league which player they'd rather build a team round, and I bet 30 out of 30 would pick Lillard - and that includs David Kahn and Rick Adelman. Kahn, because he's infatuated with all things Portland and Adelman because he's a smart coach who'd rather put the ball in Luke Ridenour's hands than Ricky Rubio's with the game on the line, and for good reason:

Luke Ridenour (2011-12):
Clutch Statistics:
Net Points: +11
Offense: 112.0
Defense: 106.5
Net/48: +5.5

So, in a direct comparison from last season (we can't do a comparison from this season, as Rubio hasn't played in any close games), Rubio isn't even the best PG on his own team when the game is on the line. He has an overall negative impact, and you can't blame his teammates, because Luke Ridenour, playing with those same teammates has an overall positive impact when the game is on the line.

BNM

 

luke is the worst crunchtime player in the world except for his one floater against the jazz
STATS BRO, STATS
I CANT BELIEVE YOU JUST SAID THAT HAHHAHAHHHAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA
LUKE RIDNOUR HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA
also you only put points, you left out what ricky does better than everyone but 2 people in the league and that is distribute

 

^Typical response when absolutely owned by stats.

 

DUDES LETS HAVE A PER/JOHN HOLLINGER CIRCLE JERK
WE DONT EVEN HAVE TO WATCH GAMES

 

how about i give you a stat
ricky as a starter 18-13
the dame lillard 11-12

 

Rubio has been overhyped as a defender since his days in Spain. I remember watching him play in the Olympics and wondering how anyone could think this kid is a good defender. He plays the passing lanes and can get steals, but that's about it. He's not a good on-the-ball defender.

 

DUDE DAMIAN LILLARD IS THE WORST DEFENDER IN THE LEAGUE

 

This.

 

I like to call this the "Andre Miller" argument. Trying to diminish a player because of his team's shortcomings.

 

Caps lock is cruise control for cool.

 

The stats clearly show Ridenour has a positive impact on his team during crunch time and Rubio has a net negative impact hen the game is on the line. Guys who can't hit a shot to save their lives aren't usually know as great clutch payers.

No, learn to read and what the stats mean. I did NOT just include points. I also included PER which incorporates all stats, including assists. And, I also included team metrics like On Court/Off Court stats to show the net overall impact a player has on his team. If Rubio is such a great distributor, his team should be doing much better when he's on the court. The problem is, he's one dimensional. What he does well (distribute) is somewhat negated by what he does poorly (shoot). Because he can pass AND shoot, Lillard has a MUCH better overall positive impact on his team - especially when the game is on the line. The eye ball test says so, and it's more than backed up by the stats.

BNM

 

You don't understand BNM. You're punching holes in their savior. They've been waiting for MONTHS for this guy to come back, so making him look bad is just unacceptable.

 

Newsflash: This just in... basketball is a team sport.

By your "logic":

Mario Chalmers is 15-6 as a starter.

Deron Williams is 13-10 as a starter.

Rajon Rondo is 12-11 as a starter.

Therefore, Mario Chalmers >>>> than Deron Williams and Rajon Rondo. Why don't you ask Pat Riley if he'd trade Mario Chalmers straight up for Deron Williams or Rajon Rondo. Let us know what he says, after he's done laughing his ass off at you.

BNM

 

BNM, why do you waste your time putting together a well-articulated, well-supported post full of statistics to communicate with an ignorant homer?

There are two things that pure statistics and facts cannot get through: ignorance and homerism. Put those together... it's a deadly combination on the brain (see: DGTG).