Why, yes, Zach LaVine is going to have to grow up now that Ricky Rubio probably at least a month and maybe more with that significantly sprained ankle.
In a hurry.
Flip Saunders is starting him tonight in Rubio's spot against the Heat in Miami and here are a couple reasons why after Saunders said he had a long talk with Mo Williams today:
* He thinks LaVine, a rookie who still is very much learning the point-guard position, will benefit from playing with the team's veteran starters -- Kevin Martin, Nikola Pekovic and Thaddeus Young -- rather than playing with other young players on the second unit.
* And he wants to limit Williams -- the team's oldest player at age 31 -- to about 25 minutes a game, no more than 30 per for sure and starting LaVine with the veterans is an organic way to more evenly distribute minutes and keep Williams' playing time down.
As for Rubio, Saunders said he and the team won't know much more until the next two weeks are up. He said he expects Rubio to be on crutches for the next 10 days to two weeks, He said the MRI taken today makes them certain there is no fracture, but he said there's still a chance they could discover in two weeks that Rubio has a "high ankle" sprain, which is a slower healing injury.
