Rubio Worth The Two Year Wait

Last night I went to my first Timberwolves game since the Kevin Garnett era. One thing that caught me off guard was that Target Canter was almost sold-out given the fact we were playing one of the best teams in the league the Chicago Bulls, but Even the upper deck was full. Another thing is Rubio mania was in full swing last night. Most of the fans were either wearing a Rubio shirt or jersey.

But going back to game. I was very eager to see how these young Wolves would fare against a very good team. The Wolves started off rough, only making four shots in the first five minutes. With less then seven mintues remaining in the first half, the Wolves were down by 24. That deficit was because the starting five Luke Ridnour, Wes Johnson, Darko Milicic, Wayne Ellington and Kevin Love could not hit any shots, so out was Milicic, Ellington, and Johnson, and in was Ricky Rubio, Anthony Randolph, and Anthony Tolliver. Those three sparked a 23-5 run to pull the Wolves within six at half.

The Wolves would never lead in this game, but many times were tied and within a few of the Bulls. What really caught my eye was how fast the Wolves were with Rubio, Ridnour, Love, Randolph and Tolliver on the court at the same time. At one moment Rubio threw up a ally-op to Randolph which brought Target Center to its feet.

Rick Adelman might have to switch up the starting five in order for the Wolves to start off to a hotter start. If

you switch around the starting five last night, we might be talking about a Wolves victory, but were not. But going back to Rubio, he did let Rose flourish with 31 points, but all night I saw him all over Rose, and contested many of his shots. Rubio did lead the team with 12 assists, and pulled in four rebounds, and go 6-for-11 with 13 points.

13 points is nothing to be proud of, but I can see that Rubio is making the switch to NBA, and helping this team start the upward climb to the top of the NBA. I am about to make a bold statement. The Wolves will be contenders in two years. The West in getting old, and the East will always be tough. Yet I feel that the Wolves finally have enough talent, and a great coach that will finally bring respect back to Minnesota.