Rubio vs Jennings

[kobimel]

Who will outperform the other when the two projected NBA lottery picks face off on Thursday? I say Rubio wins the individual battle and Joventut win the game.

[rikhardur]

In normal conditions I'd say Rubio, but he's still recovering from the injury and will not play much I suppose.

[TalkBasket]

Rubio is not in his best shape so the duel is not that equal now. Jennings is more of a scorer and Rubio prefers to pass the ball to his teammates.



Rubio's experience is ahead of Jennings and that is very important.

[kobimel]

Just watched this last night. Anyone else get a chance?



Brandon Jennings



Jennings started for Roma and played 23 minutes. He showed good court vision but still needs to work on his decision making. His teammates don't seem to trust him as their point guard, and rightly so. Ibrahim Jabber was the point guard for the majority of the game, with Jennings on the wing.



He showed how his speed can come in handy as he beat the other 9 players on the floor to the other basket for an easy layup after a Joventut free throw, twice. He also had some nice drives and was able to maneuver his way in the air around much bigger players than him. Overall, he scored 12 points on 5/10 shooting (0/2 from 3).



He picked up 2 quick fouls in the first quarter but his coach left him in the game for a few more minutes before taking him out. He picked up just one more throughout the rest of the game.



He also had 2 assists, but more importantly he had 0 turnovers, which is a great stat to see from a 19 year old guard. He didn't try any fancy passes, but did jack up an ill advised long three pointer over Rubio at one point, which rimmed out.



He got to the line just once, but scored both shots.



His defense was pretty solid; he constantly moved his feet and hands and didn't leave his man for a second. Rubio did manage to blow by him twice, though, with some impressive dribbling. He was constantly hustling and once jumped deep into the stands to save a loose ball.



He didn't let his ego take over, and his teammates seem to have warmed up to him as a player they can trust.





Ricky Rubio



Rubio played his first Euroleague game of the season after coming back from a long injury. He came off the bench for 9 minutes.



He immediately made his mark on the game by causing a turnover after subbing in. His defense over the whole game was GREAT. Like Jennings, he was constantly hustling and looking for the ball.



He showed very impressive dribbling moves and court vision. Twice he drove to the basket, waited for the defense to collapse on him and then found a teammate for an easy dunk.



He didn't attempt any shots but his effect on the game was positive nonetheless.



He also had 3 turnovers, though. He tried some tough passes which didn't always work. He also had 0 fouls.





Conclusion



Rubio has matured into a great true point guard. He always looks to find his teammates. His defense was great and he was able to slow down Jennings during his time on the floor. Jennings, on the other hand, seems to be more of a scoring point guard. His defense was solid as well. Both guys are very creative. Their decision making still needs some work, but that's always the case with young point guards. Neither showed a tendency to foul a lot, but Jennings did pick up 2 quick ones in the 1st quarter. I'm looking forward to see both guys play again this season.

[TalkBasket]

Nice review Kobi <!-- s:thup: -->[img]{SMILIES_PATH}/thup.gif[/img]<!-- s:thup: --> I only saw game stats so it's good to read what was happening on the court. Hopefully we can see these two teams meet once again in the latter stages of EL with both Rubio and Jennings fully fit. That means that Joventut and Lottomatica should reach quarter-finals though which is not very likely.