Watching passing savant Ricky Rubio take on Tom Thibodeau’s strongside overload schemes was must watch TV (at least for my warped mind) last night. Pitting young Rubio’s flair, passing accuracy and court vision versus an attacking defense designed to hem the ball in on one side of the court just oozed possibilities.

The Bulls entered the game with their usual side pick and roll (PNR) coverage of downing (sending the ball handler baseline). Against middle PNRs, the Bulls looked to force Rubio away from the screener, most times toward his left hand. The results were mixed as Rubio dished out 12 assists but also gave the ball away 5 times. We’ll take a look at both the good and bad from Rubio last night.

One of the ways the Wolves countered the Bulls downing side ballscreens was having the screening set an angle with his butt to the baseline (same as a step-up screen). This allowed them to still screen (or more slow) the on-ball defender (who has jumped to Rubio’s high shoulder) as well as allow Rubio the option to crease (change direction and get back to the middle of the floor) off the PNR.

Early in the second quarter, Rubio engages in a side PNR with Anthony Randolph. Randolph sets up a step-up screen on Rubio’s defender John Lucas. After a delayed roll, Randolph does a good job of reading space and staying high near the elbow. Rubio changes speeds to keep Lucas off-balance all while keeping Randolph’s defender, Omar Asik, engaged on him. It’s an incredibly nuanced maneuver and allows him to find a nifty passing angle to Randolph near the elbow.

The next clip is one of the craftiest PNR moves I’ve ever seen. Randolph and Rubio engage in a PNR again, this time in the middle of the floor. With the Bulls forcing Rubio left, Randolph adjusts his screening angle so his butt is facing the baseline, allowing Rubio the opportunity to crease and get back toward the middle of the floor.

Rubio wraps around Randolph, who responds by diving straight down the lane-line toward the rim. Rubio then pulls back on his dribble while changing speeds, then re-attacks to pull Boozer up toward him and creates a small pocket in which to make a sweet drop-off pass to Randolph at the rim.

Despite the previous successes, Rubio didn’t always get the better of Thib’s defense last night. Late in the game Rubio makes two costly turnovers. Early in the third quarter, Rubio and Randolph run a step-up screen on the right side of the floor. This time, the Bulls’ defense get exactly what they want out of their coverage. As Rubio drives toward the baseline, he tries to float a long skip to the opposite wing towards Kevin Love. Ronnie Brewer, guarding Luke Ridnour in the baseline corner, reads the play and streaks in front of Love for a steal.

Near the end of the third quarter, Randolph and Rubio get the better of the Bulls again. Randolph teams with Love to set a double high ballscreen in the middle of the floor. The Bulls look to force Rubio away from the screen toward the right sideline. Rubio responds by blowing by his on-ball defender and attacking Carlos Boozer.

Love fades near the opposite elbow and Randolph reads Rubio’s drive and makes a delayed roll to the rim. Rubio’s hard push engages both his on-ball defender, Derrick Rose, and Boozer. With two defenders committed to him and Joakim Noah tightly hugging the sweet-shooting Love, Randolph’s hard dive to the rim is uncontested. The result is a basket plus a foul on a late-rotating Noah.

This final clip showcases that Rubio still is a young kid that needs to refine his decision-making. Randolph and Love again come over to set another double high PNR in the middle of the floor. The Bulls influence Rubio to his left and away from the screen. This time, Rubio is baited into a sub-optimal decision.

Rubio dribbles left toward the wing and launches a 3-point shot with 17 seconds still left on the shot clock (and with Taj Gibson also in his face). With his passing prowess and dribble penetration being his primary strengths and his shooting still a work in progress that is undesirable result for a possession.

Rubio’s combination of court-vision, creativity and flair will always lead to a relatively high turnover rate. He will simply attempt passes and find angles that very few rarely even see and that will lead to a higher rate of mistakes. However, eliminating shots like that is something that will help accelerate his maturation as a player. (That balance is quite the conundrum because Rubio needs to prove he can make those shots, so the defense respects the threat, but not actually take them. For an example of this see: Nash, Steve)

All in all, Rubio in just his 10th game had an excellent showing against an elite defensive unit and certainly has fans in Minnesota ready to see what comes next.

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