In a battle of future NBA all star point guards, Dragic tops Rubio

by Seth Pollack on Sep 9, 2009 1:48 PM MDT in Phoenix Suns News

For all the fuss, Rubio was thoroughly outplayed by Goran Dragic who had 6 steals in this game and lead his team with 19 points. via www.fibaeurope.com

Yes, that might be going a bit far but still it was nice to see Goran Dragic put up the kind of game we knew he could and to do it in his team's toughest match against one of the best basketball teams in the world.

Lets just leave reality aside for a moment and compare Dragic and Rubio in their head to head:

Goran Dragic

27 minutes, 19 points, 60% FG, 6/8 FT (including an intentional miss), 3 reb, 1 ast, 3 PF, 2 TO, 1 blk and 6 STEALS!

Ricky Rubio

24 minutes, 9 points, 71% FG, 0 FTA, 2 reb, 2 ast, 5 PF, 5 TO, 3 steals

Isn't it obvious who the future NBA point guard is?

Seriously though, congrats to Goran. He's a great kid and I honestly can just picture his smile in my head right now. I am sure he is disappointed his team lost (90-84 in OT) but he has to be pleased with his performance. We are.

In case you missed it, Slovenia tied the game with 1 second to go in regulation on an amazing buzzer beater off an intentionally missed free throw by Dragic. That Spanish team is absolutely amazing and stacked with NBA talent. To keep it this close is a real accomplishment.

Even with this loss, Slovenia advances out of their group and will face Poland and Turkey in the next round. We'll be watching!

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Comments

Wow, that’s a heck of a difference. One good European game doesn’t prove NBA success, but it wouldn’t be a great stretch to say Dragic kicked Rubio’s butt. For the record, I wasn’t much of a Dragic basher.

by lonesomepoint on Sep 9, 2009 1:55 PM MDT reply actions

I've definitely been a Dragic basher...

Sure would be nice if he truly is turning a corner at Eurobasket and could provide good bench minutes.

Worst case scenario is that he comes back more confident.

http://seasonsofdiscontent.com/

by Scott Howard on Sep 9, 2009 2:27 PM MDT reply actions

yup, I watched it and goran was great… he schooled rubio… however at the moment rubio is stagnating… sure, he has potential to get much better in few years… he made a good choice by not coming to NBA…

spain overall is playing pretty bad so far, even with such good roster…

by zeze_999 on Sep 9, 2009 4:39 PM MDT reply actions

i think rubio will be a bust i think dragic would be a good 2 he can shoot

by Lebrontophx2010 on Sep 9, 2009 4:41 PM MDT reply actions

I wouldn’t go so far as to call Rubio a bust, the kid’s 18, and has a few season before he is NBA ready.
By comparison, Dragic is meant to be NBA ready now, and still hasn’t come out of his shell on the NBA courts.

Here’s hoping Dragic brings it this season, ready to play, because another sub-par season could see him cut from the squad.

by Chucko667 on Sep 10, 2009 1:17 AM MDT up reply actions

Or traded to the Bulls in a package for the rather superior backup PG Kirk Hinrich.

by lonesomepoint on Sep 10, 2009 2:18 AM MDT up reply actions

With a much higher, unattractive salary…

by SunsFTW on Sep 10, 2009 9:37 AM MDT up reply actions

In case the sarcasm wasn't clear

This entire “Dragic is better than Rubio” thing was really just a joke about how much hype there is for young Ricky.

Goran had a nice game. It doesn’t really change anything. A couple of games never do.

Blogging Suns Basketball

by Seth Pollack on Sep 9, 2009 5:07 PM MDT reply actions

It really looked like an exciting game, with a crappy finish… It reminded me a little of the Rex Chapman 3 pointer at the end of regulation to send it into overtime against the sonics… it was probably the best play in the history of the Suns… but in the end it still lead to a Suns loss…

by SunsFTW on Sep 10, 2009 9:39 AM MDT up reply actions

Call me a dreamer, but

wouldn’t it be awesome if the Suns’ somehow found a way to have Rubio as their point guard of the future?

by luisandro1530 on Sep 9, 2009 5:15 PM MDT reply actions

Maybe..

but Rubio has not proved himself in the NBA, so how can one tell if he’s gonna be a superstar in the future? He passes like Nash, but shoots like Matt Barnes…

by SunsFTW on Sep 10, 2009 9:40 AM MDT up reply actions

If only he could keep consistent within the 6-15 Pt, 4-9 Ast range. Of course we’re still talking about Goran so this might just be a fools dream.

by Batmanthesunsfan on Sep 9, 2009 5:44 PM MDT reply actions

Goran is going to

average 10ppg & 4apg in 18-20 minutes of play this season; mark my words!

by SunsFTW on Sep 10, 2009 9:42 AM MDT up reply actions

I thought goran had a good game as well, especially that block on rubio. You can tell that his confidence is way up ,which is going to translate into the upcoming season.

by andy289 on Sep 9, 2009 5:50 PM MDT reply actions

Then I wonder what boosted his confidence.

by lonesomepoint on Sep 9, 2009 8:01 PM MDT up reply actions

one would really hope his confidence will transfer. With the way he looked in the summer league, one could argue that he definitely has more confidence than last year!

by SunsFTW on Sep 10, 2009 9:43 AM MDT up reply actions

It's not the first time we see Goran play well

But his confidence has the consistency of a Matt Barnes 3-pointer…

Could Dragic be better playing off the ball? So that he can be more focused on guarding people (which he’s ok at) and does not have to bring the ball up the floor and try to create things on every possession?

Carlos pub, locker rooms, the Duke of skull months, the head of the men, the probability of the risk of cancer is 65 percent, but his season with a broken leg.

by gadogry on Sep 9, 2009 8:04 PM MDT reply actions

in my opinion

I think he does have the ability to creat things on every possession.

by SunsFTW on Sep 10, 2009 9:47 AM MDT up reply actions

Good point guards get more assists than turnovers.

Dragic has not done it EVEN ONCE. Seems he likes to play off the ball. But at the 2 spot we already have LB, J-Rich, Tucker, J-Dud and even Hill.

Let’s trade him 4 JJ of the Mavs. Nash will need help, particularly if and when he gets hurt.

MUST start LB. Let’s go SUNS!!!!

by BCrayZ on Sep 11, 2009 5:55 AM MDT up reply actions

You guys

The kid has barely played one season in the NBA. He’s making a huge adjustment coming over from the system he’s been in since he’s 15.

He may never “make it” but lets not be so quick to jump to conclusions with these young players. Remember Tyson Chandler? The Bulls thought he was stiff and gave up on him. LaMarcus Aldridge as well.

We’ve complained for years that the Suns didn’t develop players. Guess what. Developing players takes time and is a rocky road. Ups. Downs. All of it. Lets see how Goran looks at the All star break.

And btw – in the final two months of the season under Gentry he was statistically a top ten point guard in the NBA.

Blogging Suns Basketball

by Seth Pollack on Sep 9, 2009 9:59 PM MDT reply actions

I've heard this...

But looking back on his stats after the all-star break I don’t buy it…does anybody have proof of this? What stats are you looking at? Do you look at touches/possessions/minutes? Where’s a link?

by watdogg10 on Sep 9, 2009 10:14 PM MDT up reply actions

Only here though...

Can’t remember who brought it up previously.

by watdogg10 on Sep 9, 2009 10:28 PM MDT up reply actions

I'm pretty sure it came from the Suns stat crew...

by hcblankscreen on Sep 9, 2009 11:07 PM MDT up reply actions

Again, I personally don’t bash Dragic much. I was the one who wanted to call him Dragic the Dragon. Robin Lopez, on the other hand…

by lonesomepoint on Sep 9, 2009 10:51 PM MDT up reply actions

Robin

Robin showed that he has potential in the last few games of the season & in the first game of the summer league. See how he plays this season before you judge him as a bust.

by SunsFTW on Sep 10, 2009 9:50 AM MDT up reply actions

I couldn't agree more!

Even with the limited minutes he was getting, though more than he was getting prior to the all star break, anyone could see a drastic improvement in his game. It also appears based on his play in the summer league and with the slovinian team this year, that he has even moreso improved on his game. It is going to be hard to keep him off the floor this season.

by SunsFTW on Sep 10, 2009 9:49 AM MDT up reply actions