Ricky Rubio may be back sooner than expected: NBA News
The Minnesota Timberwolves started the season pretty well considering the amount of injuries they were facing and got off to a 5-2 start. Since then though, more and more players have missed games due to injuries and it resulted
in Minnesota dropping its five straight games, before tonight’s win against the Sacramento Kings.
They can have some respite now as Kevin Love is now back in rotation having recovered a bit earlier than expected from his broken hand. The good thing though, is that the Wolves may have more help coming their way in the form of
Ricky Rubio. The point guard, who was expected to be out of action till the end of December, is making progress on his recovery and may be back sooner than expected.
Rubio travelled to Vail, Colorado Monday for a three day trip to his surgeon and the Timberwolves are hoping he makes a return to full-contact practice.
Rubio has not played a game since March last year after tearing the ACL in his left knee. Coming back to court after such a long time, it is hard to predict how well he will fare or how much time he will need to get back in his
groove. But after seeing Damian Lillard and Matthews tearing apart the Wolves defence the other night, Minnesota could certainly use his defensive ability on the court.
“When he was healthy last year, he was very good keeping the people in front of him," said Timberwolves head coach Rick Adelman. "He was able to control the guard he was guarding and not let him get around him. He was in the Top
5 in steals. He was always in the right spot defensively as a team defender, too. He'll help us. He'll give us a little more size there. His instincts will help us a lot."
The Wolves lost three games in row after Love’s return, and there seems to be some chemistry issues present at the moment. Rubio’s return can mean they will need even more time to synchronize together and work out their chemistry,
but in the long run it will be worth the effort.
There is still no definite timetable on Rubio’s return, but for those who were not expecting him to play at all this year can be in for a nice surprise.
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