SPA wrote:


There better be a lot more differences than that. The expectations of Sergio were no where near those of Ricky. PG is a tough position to measure with stats, and the 20 mpg court time these guys get makes it just that much tougher.

College Wolf wrote:


You're right stats aren't everything, and watching actual games is better. Unfortunately, I wasn't following Sergio 4 years ago, but I do remember that he had a reputation of a Wonder Kid like Rubio. The ACB stats I posted first are from the Spanish league, where he was playing against adults in one of the best European leagues.

Regarding Rubio, as I've written before I don't care too much about his stats against the teams he's been playing lately, since most of them are bad to mediocre. However, over the next few weeks he will face some good and very good teams:

Euroleague games
Thursday, Jan. 14th: against Montepaschi Siena (8-1) the Italian champion, and one of the top European teams.
Two weeks later ( Jan. 27th ) The European top 16 phase will start. The top 16 teams will be divided into 4 groups of 4 teams and will play 6 games in a round-robin system.

ACB ( Spanish League ) games:
Jan. 23rd- at Valencia (12-5)
Feb. 7th- at Joventut Badalona(11-6)- Ricky's old team
Feb. 28th- at Sevilla(10-7)

Good to know, thanks. It will be interesting to see how Rubio does against top competition...

In 18-21th Feb. Barcelona plays "Copa del Rey" a elimination cup between the best 8 teams of ACB in a weekend. In this trophy Pau Gasol had his first famous performance in Spain winning the MVP (Rudy Fernández has 2 MVPs of Copa).

Barcelona starts against Cajasol on friday. Play the semifinal against Valencia or Estudiantes on saturday and then the sunday final against Real Madrid/Caja Laboral (old Tau Cerámica)/Bilbao Basket/DKV Joventut.

SPA wrote:


Thanks for the info, I didn't know about The "King's Cup" games ( that's the translation, right?; or maybe the "Royal Cup" ).

It would be interesting to see Rubio playing 3 consecutive days ( hopefully, if Barca doesn't lose ) against tough competition.

The translation is right, guibec.
King's Cup --> Copa del Rey
Royal Cup --> Copa Real

Ricky stats in other "Copas", all with DKV Joventut:

-2008/2009: 1 Game: 26 Min; 16 points (7/14 FG, 2/2 FT); 3 reb, 7 ass, 6 stl, 1 to

-2007/2008: 3 Games (Champions): 23 MPG; 8 PPG (60% FG); 3,7 RPG; 3,0 APG, 3,7 SPG; 2,0 TOPG

Today, in about 3 hours, Barcelona will play against Montepaschi Sienna in a Euroleague match. I'll inform later.

Update:

Euroleague: Regal FC Barcelona 85 - Montepaschi Siena 70

Ricky Rubio: 14 points (2/4 FG; 1/1 3pt; 9/10 FT), 3 reb, 10 ass, 4 stl, 1 to and 9 fouls received in 25 minutes.

Great game of Rubio finished with a big ovation of the "Palau Blaugrana" (Barcelona's Arena). Rubio will be a candidate for the MVP of the week in the Euroleague.

Highlights: acbtv.acb.com/video/2435

SPA wrote:


Just to say, he had 3 fouls on him, and those 9 fouls you mentioned were against him
Wow, +33 efficiency - most in both teams. Nice game Ricky

btw just a quick update on Nikola Pekovic. His last game in the Euroleague was on 6.1.2010. Don't ask me why, maybe it was his teams last game, I just don't know.
His stats:
21 minutes, 10 PTS, 4-10 FG, 2-2 FT, 5 Rebounds, 2 steals, 1 TO, 1 block, 2 fouls.
Not bad considering he's a second round pick

+33 of efficiency, the best of all games in Euroleague this week tied with Siskauskas.

TheBigTicket wrote:


Nice to hear Ricky seems to be thriving.

I was wondering a little more about Pekovic. Has anyone seen him play in a game? I've checked out some YouTube highlights and from those he seems pretty one dimensional. It appears he just uses his girth to bully his way around the rim and score. Does anyone know if he's a good rebounder or defender? Does he know how to pass out of the post? Can he make a shot beyond five feet?

It seems like there are many Wolves fans who think he'll be fairly serviceable when (if) he comes over and plays for us. From those of you who have seen him, do you think that would be the case?

YWG wrote:


I see him in several games with Panathinakos and Partizan. He's a offensive monster, one of the best pivots in Europe. He's a good rebounder but no a great rebounder. He's strong. He isn't a technical machine because he use his strengh to attack the rim. He's not a good defender and need to improve his passing skills. Pekovic is a good player and a good option for the future.

Highlights of the game of Ricky: acbtv.acb.com/video/2435

SPA wrote:


Thanks for the breakdown SPA. Howl to you. Glad we have posters on the blog who can keep everyone up to date on our European prospects.

SPA wrote:


Awesome, thanks for the breakdown on Pekovic! Really appreciate it, especially since you have firsthand knowledge. Cool.

YWG wrote:


I totally agree. I love the diversity here on TWB!

SPA wrote:


Thanks for the explanation. So Real Madrid means "Royal Madrid"? That's interesting, because I know that they were Franco's favorite team, and he and the Royal family were rivals.



SPA wrote:


Wow, what a great game against a top European team. I haven't watched the game yet, I wonder about his unusually number of free throws. This game and his last game against Real Madrid were very impressive performances against two Euroleague Final Four contenders, my hat's off to him. May he keep up his good work.


TheBigTicket wrote:


Regarding Pekovic, he was injured in the Greek league in their game against Peristeri on Saturday. He had 20 points in 14 minutes before leaving, and his teammate Drew Nicholas hit this amazing shot just before halftime:

Tonights game wasn't too important, and from the limited information I have, it's a day to day injury. So hopefully, it's not that serious.


Regarding watching Pekovic and Rubio full games ( not highlights ) against quality teams. The Spanish league ACB360 is great, but it doesn't have all the games. I could post some rapidshare and torrent links to previous games from this season, if people are interested.