Rubio's three-point attempts are a rarity

ORLANDO – Three complete games and another four minutes into this new season, Timberwolves guard Ricky Rubio attempted his first three-point shot early in Wednesday's 98-91 victory over Brooklyn.

Until then, he hadn't tried a single one, and it wasn't because he hadn't qualified during practice and earned coach Flip Saunders' approval to shoot them at will.

"Yeah, I qualified," Rubio said, laughing. "I think they will let me shoot."

Before Wednesday's game was over, he had attempted three of them, which wasn't a coincidence.

"I did realize before the game that I didn't even attempt a three, so I was thinking to myself I have to be more aggressive," Rubio said. "And I have been working on my shot, so why not try shooting more threes?"

The Wolves hired a shooting coach partly to help improve Rubio's mechanics. Rubio's absence of a single three-point attempt in those first three games is not a comment on the work they've done, but rather it's a conscious effort to emphasize a mid-range shooting game, particularly from around the free-throw lane.

Rubio took just 10 shots from there and made one of those all last season, coach Flip Saunders said. In this season's first three games, he has shot 12 already, Saunders said.

"It's something I've been working on, and I just keep doing it," Rubio said. "It's something we talked about after the season. I'm trying to be more effective in that area because that's where the point guard can be dangerous, and it helps the team open up everything. It's a good area to take good shots. I'm just trying to get better looks, better quality shots and they're going to fall in."

Last season, the Wolves ranked 23rd in the league in field-goal percentage, and this season they rank 14th.

Last season, the Wolves ranked 26th in three-point percentage (.341), and this season they rank fourth (.413), although they're taking more than eight fewer a game.

For Saunders, it's all about getting Rubio and his entire team to take shots they're likely to make. Rubio's Wednesday stat line — 14 points on 6-for-11 shooting, 12 assists, eight rebounds — is the kind of productive game that'll earn him his new four-year, $55 million contract.

Saunders said Rubio forced too many drives to the basket last season and they resulted in too many "misguided" shots near the rim. This season, he wants Rubio to live off those 15-foot shots.

"He's just getting into a better flow, and he understands when he's open at 15 feet he should take it," Saunders said. "He should be a good shooter there. He was an 80 percent free-throw shooter a year ago. If he's an 80 percent free-throw shooter, he should be able to knock down that midrange shot."

Saunders' belief in the 15-footer and his measured trust in the three-pointer has drawn criticism, particularly from statistical-analytic devotees who believe he stresses long two-point shots and undervalues the three-pointer's mathematical advantages.

"Get it out, just get it out there now that I'm not against it," Saunders said. "If I could have taken the three-point shot when I played, I would have averaged 50 points instead of 33 when I was in high school. I love the three-point shot. You know what I like about it now? We're shooting 41.2 percent, that might be close to leading the league. So I like that about it. You just have to have the right people shoot it, and if those guys get the right shots, I'm not against the three at all."