National Basketball Association

Mailbag: T-Wolves shouldn't wait around for Rubio

Published Sep. 15, 2009 12:23 a.m. ET

foxsports

What do you think of Ricky Rubio's decision to forgo his NBA career for at least two years? Is this player really worth the wait? — Anonymous

From what I've seen and heard of him, Rubio does indeed have incredible court vision and is an outstanding passer as well. However, he lacks strength, a consistent jump shot and the ability to play acceptable defense. And, yes, since he backed out after the T-Wolves had reached a buyout agreement with his Spanish team, it was strictly Rubio's decision to avoid playing in the NBA for the time being.

One key consideration in this whole business is that Rubio didn't exactly distinguish himself when playing against Team USA last summer in Beijing. As a result, I think the kid is just plain afraid to go up against NBA players for 82 games.

The fact that his competitive fire doesn't burn hot enough for him to want to play against the world's best hoopers says something significant about Rubio's makeup. In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if he never played in the NBA.

Indeed, he's hardly worth the trouble and the wait. Ramon Sessions is a much more accomplished NBA point guard than Rubio will ever be.

In your estimation, which was the best defensive team in NBA history? — Daniel Lee, Los Angeles, CA

This is an easy one: The 1965-66 Boston Celtics.

In an era when Wilt Chamberlain typified the league's emphasis on high-volume scorers — with Wilt, Jerry West and Oscar Robertson all averaging over 30 points per game that season — the Celtics won their eighth consecutive championship on the basis of their defense.

During the regular season, they allowed opponents to score only 107.8 ppg, which was 4.2 points lower than the league's next best team defense (St. Louis). Boston's points-against-average was also 7.7 ppg less than the 115.8 points that all of the nine ball clubs scored per game.

In the Eastern Division finals, the Celtics squared off against Chamberlain and his Philadelphia 76er teammates (who had actually finished one game ahead of Boston in the regular season). The 76ers had averaged 117.3 ppg during the 80-game season but were limited to 104.0 while losing the series in five games.

Of course, the backbone of the stingy Celtic defense was Bill Russell. Back then, blocked shots were not included in the official statistics, but in hindsight, it is universally agreed that Russell must have averaged at least 10 swats per game.

Two other starters were also defensive stalwarts — Tom "Satch" Sanders and K.C. Jones. In addition, John Havlicek, who was Boston's sixth-man, was another ace defender — as demonstrated by his eventually being named to five All-NBA Defensive squads when he became a starter. Moreover, even though Woody Sauldsberry was on his last legs, he was still a plus-defender and was the only NBA player who could routinely shut down Elgin Baylor.

What was particularly interesting about this squad was that they played superior defense even as they played a decidedly up-tempo offense, which proves that, contrary to current thinking, the latter doesn't necessarily prohibit the former.

Why do you hate the Warriors so much? — Alex Patsel, San Francisco, CA

It's not the Warriors, per se, that rouses my ire. It's the coaching and swollen ego of Don Nelson.

For sure, the Warriors did a great defensive number on the Mavs in the opening round of the 2007 playoffs. But the Mavs' lack of heart as well as Avery Johnson's abruptly altering the starting lineup for the series were also significant factors in the outcome.