Danny Chau wrote this in September about Alexey Shved in the blog Hardwood Paroxysm: "If it was possible for me to wax poetic about Shved without entering the realm of mindless self-indulgence, I would've opted for that route. That route doesn't exist, by the way."

More? "He has a decidedly Western game, with NBA-level quickness and athleticism to match. ... In his youth, he was an erratic, overconfident shooter with only instinct to rely on in terms of creative playmaking. Four years later, playing in the grueling pace and physicality of the Russian Superleague, he's emerged far more in control of his skills."

So that's where the Russian Rubio thing comes into play.

To read the rest of Chau's essay, go here.

Now, for some pictures to go with the words:

Here's video from Russia's Olympic qualifying tournament. Shved is wearing No. 4.

And, uhhhhh, here's what happened earlier this year when Shved got a little too fancy: