The Legend of Bricky Ricky

[Coach Ellis]

I rather enjoyed how much leadership Mitchell is showing already. He heard the other team talk trash about his teammate who is not a great shooter and they left him wide open and he got the ball to him right away. Mitchell seemed confident in him and I think that confidence helped Rubio shoot that shot confidently. That was one of those shots from Rubio that looked smooth and good form. Those are the shots he shoots at a decent clip, in rhythm and no hiccups in his motion.

This didn’t get the attention it deserved.

Donovan Mitchell - a rookie - had the BBIQ to know how the defense would play Rubio and realize that it presented them with an opportunity. Then he had the balls and confidence in his teammate to give him the ball to take the better shot - despite Rubio’s struggles. Had Donovan taken the shot and missed - nobody would’ve complained. Instead, he risked having it go bad to make the right pass - to make the right play - to WIN THE GAME. That’s the guy I want running my team.

That was a helluva play. Spida’s gravity pulled Lowry way out of position and provided the team with a great look at the end there. Perfectly executed on his part.

 

[Jack Strop]

Donovan recognized the double team when he tried to drive and passed it over to Ricky. It's a scenario we can expect time after time. Imagine if Utah had an off guard who was shooting 40% and ~the same at PF. Now what do teams do? Bring an extra defender over to stop Mitchell's penetration or pressure the ball and a shooter will be left open.

 

[Jack Strop]

Rubio looked like he was in utter shock that he was passed to and actually hit the shot. Good on him for staying calm and not forcing a rushed brick.

Glassy-eyed when he looked at Mitchell. Part shock and part "why the hell did you do that?"

What I really noticed was Rubio's perfect form: the goose neck arm and wrist release. His shots are often pretty ugly and flat. Not that one! Now can he duplicate that release on all his 3's?

 

[fishonjazz]

He had an out of body experience. I don’t think he even knew where he was or what was going on. It’s like he blacked out. Reminds me of that scene in old school when Frank the tank answers that difficult economic question or whatever.

It looked like the first time in Ricky’s career that he had ever done anything like that.

 

[NAOS]

^would neg.

for being a bitch

 

[HgH]

He had an out of body experience. I don’t think he even knew where he was or what was going on. It’s like he blacked out. Reminds me of that scene in old school when Frank the tank answers that difficult economic question or whatever.

It looked like the first time in Ricky’s career that he had ever done anything like that.

He has always been like this.

 

[fishonjazz]

He has always been like this.

Ya I was saying how his reaction of surprise made it look like he had never done anything like this before. I figured he had at least once or twice. He has been in the league for quite a while (and had a pretty big time career even before the nba) and has played tons of minutes and finished lots of games.

 

[Ron Mexico]

That was a very clutch shot from Rubio. Say what you want about him and his game but he plays hard and seems to care about winning.

He obviously is not shooting well and it seems his shot is worse when he is wide open and often hesitates. But that shot was even more difficult when everyone on the court heard the raptors coach yelling at his team to leave Rubio open. He didn't hesitate at all and his shot looked good.

Maybe this is a little confidence boost for him going forward.

Probably not, but one can hope.

If Rubio could just hit his threes at a reasonable clip when open it would do wonders for him and our team.

 

[franklin]

I rather enjoyed how much leadership Mitchell is showing already. He heard the other team talk trash about his teammate who is not a great shooter and they left him wide open and he got the ball to him right away. Mitchell seemed confident in him and I think that confidence helped Rubio shoot that shot confidently. That was one of those shots from Rubio that looked smooth and good form. Those are the shots he shoots at a decent clip, in rhythm and no hiccups in his motion.

This. Rubio seems to shoot very well when he's wide open, in rhythm and close to the arc.

 

[Medianz]

 

[Miggs]

Good for Rubio. He still frustrates the hell out of me at times, but he plays his *** off and I'm thrilled to see him reap some benefits of his hard work.

What hard work? Was there a post I missed about how many extra hours he put in this off-season or on off days?

 

[fallenchicken]

It's pretty hilarious how poorly timed this thread was.