People keep talking about whether Ricky Rubio should be starting games for the Timberwolves. But there isn't much disagreement as to how he is finishing them.
Rubio's strong fourth quarters already are becoming a hot topic. After Sunday's victory over Dallas, Mavericks guard Jason Kidd talked about how simple the Wolves offense was down the stretch.
"They ran one play the whole time and he executed it," Kidd said of the pick-and-roll attack.
So is that a bad thing?
Not to San Antonio Spurs coach Gregg Popovich. After Monday's morning shootaround Popovich talked at some length about his impressions of Rubio and the retooled Wolves lineup.
"There are a lot of changes, not just Ricky Rubio," Popovich said. "But you can see a lot of good."
Especially when it comes to the relatively pared-down Wolves offense late in games.
"It's basketball," he said. "We all run the pick-and-roll. John [Stockton] and Karl [Malone] ran the pick-and-roll [in Utah] for a gazillion years. It was pretty simple, but it depends on who's doing it. And [Rubio] is very good at it. No reason to make something complicated if someone is great at doing something simple."
