Ricky Rubio is turning heads all around NBA circles. Sometimes it’s simply because fans and players alike can’t follow or predict his passes, and other times because they cannot believe he actually made the pass he just made. Regardless of which cause, two things are certain:

1. You should not take your eyes of the court while Rubio is in the game.

2.Ricky Rubio has Minnesota TImberwolves fans falling in love.

Having watched every minute of Rubio play this year it’s instantly apparent that he makes everyone around him significantly better. His style of play is infectious, and players are willing to hustle to their spots within Rick Adelmen’s offense in order to present Rubio with passing options off the pick and roll. He makes passes other players wouldn’t dare attempt, and thus far, his teammates are converting them.

Rubio has used his 27 minutes a game in highly productive fashion, currently averaging 8.8 points, 6.4 assists, 3.8 rebounds while hitting 50% of his threes. It’s a relatively small sample size thus far, and likely to level out during the season, but Rubio is proving you can’t allow him to catch and shoot. He can hit the set shot.

Rubio single handedly led the drive to finish off the Mavericks on January 1st, making the Dallas’ defense look like a bunch of loiters on the court at times. His use of the pick and roll with Kevin Love is quickly developed into a tandem Minnesota will thrive off of watching for years to come.

Rubio is quickly proving he is capable of being the man at the helm in crunch time. He is calm, poised, and has lead his team against the Spurs and the Mavericks to victory, winning the last two games.

It is also notable that Rubio and the Wolves have not lost by more than 3 points in their 3 losses to Oklahoma City, Milwaukee, and the Miami Heat. This is a huge turnaround from previous seasons. The Wolves are in games, late in the game.

I commend Rick Adelmen for his approach to ease Rubio into games, but it is only a matter of time until he is the unquestioned starter in Minnesota. He is simply too good, and having his energy and infectious play to start games will only provide better winning opportunities for the Timberwolves.

Another point I made about Rubio, while he was struggling a bit in Spain over the past two years, was that there is no hand checking allowed in the NBA. This is a distinctive advantage to his style of play; one he will continue to use to exploit defenses night in and night out. Once his ability to shoot off the dribble improves, Rubio could potentially be the most lethal administrator of the pick and pop in basketball. The potential is there.

Rubio is already proving critics wrong, only if it’s a small sample size of 5 games, and 27 minutes per game. If you look at just a few things you will realize he is playing with the best team he has ever had. He has Derrick Williams catching reverse  alley-oop dunks that he tosses from half court. He has defenders snapping ankles trying to close out on their man as Rubio creates passing lanes nobody could see. He has three point weapons in Anthony Tolliver, Kevin Love, Wes Johnson, and J.J. Barea. He has a young team and a coach who knows how to turn marginal players into potential all stars.

Essentially, Ricky Rubio has more assets for his game to develop than ever before.

This season marks the first season in a long time for Minnesota Timberwolves fans to truly be excited about their future. Additionally, with this current roster, it proves that as crazy as we all might have thought David Kahn to be, he might actually be on to something.

On that note: David Kahn, get Kevin Love inked to that extension YESTERDAY. At all costs please make sure you have the Love and Rubio duo locked up as long as you can.

Kevin Love of the Minnesota Timberwolves is on his way to becoming an All Star. After finally receiving full time starting minutes he is blossoming into, if not the best, one of the best rebounders in the NBA.

Through the midpoint of the month of November Love has averaged over 31 minutes, 19.7 points and 15.3 rebounds per game. It doesn’t matter what team you are playing on, if you can keep up numbers like those, you are an All Star.

Love had been surrounded by a cloud of uncertainty as the season got under way, and he was only receiving about 25 minutes per night during October.

November, thus far, Love is putting up averages of 24 rebounds and 26.5 points in games where he exceeds 40 minutes played, and 16.3 rebounds and 20.3 points in games exceeding 30 minute played. It is a safe bet that Love’s minutes will not be decreasing anytime soon, but the only factors that might land Love on the pine will be foul trouble or injury.

He does have a knack for picking up some ticky-tack fouls because he is a little lacking in the mobility department, but his basketball IQ and his mentality of assuming every shot is a miss allows him to position himself early, resulting in having advantageous court position.

Love's philosphy is to assume ever shot is a miss.

It is not shocking for me to see Kevin Love having this sort of “break out” success, especially after the departure of Al Jefferson. Jefferson’s minutes were up for grabs, and with the lineup having begun to settle, combined with Darko Milicic making David Kahn look more idiotic for signing him (Darko is falling off the face of the planet – shocker!), these combined shortcomings within Minnesota’s roster are allowing Love to emerge as the Wolves’ franchise player.

Love has paid his dues, and is starting to establish himself as an elite rebounder in the NBA. He also now undoubtedly has Kurt Rambis 100% behind him. All the pieces have fallen into place for him to have huge success in Minnesota.

The main question that lingers on my mind now is how will this rebounding frenzy by Love equate to an increase in wins? How much more losing will the Timberwolves fans have to endure, even if Love is setting the league on fire while winning rebounding titles?

Corey Brewer is playing out of his head lately. He scored 25 point last night on 10-17 shooting, 2-4 from downtown. In addition to 25 points, Brewer contributed 5 steals, 6 assists 5 rebounds and 1 block. How can these numbers be possible from a guy averaging 8 PPG for his career? A fluke? When looking at his past 7 games, one would think otherwise:

18 .0 PPG, .487  FG%, 3.0 RPG, 3.3 APG, 2.7 SPG

Brewer kept Minnesota in the game last night against the Oklahoma City Thunder. He managed to somewhat contain the uncontainable Kevin Durant. To help offset Durant’s 31 he poured in 25, which exceeds anything imaginable when predicting this match up.

Brewer is living up to his lottery pick expectations. (Credit: picapp.com)

If Brewer can avoid disappearing offensively, as he occasionally does,  he might just to live up to  the hype surrounding being the 7^th overall selection of the 2007 NBA Draft. This season he has started all 43 game,  averaging 31:06 MPG, 12.7 points, 4 rebounds, 2 assists, and 1.5 steals.

This is leap from his first 2 seasons, closer to 1 full season at 84 total games. In that span he averaged 6 points a game shooting a sub .400 FG%.

After sitting out the majority of last season due to knee surgery, he has returned with offensive tenacity his reputable defensive skills further refined. He is considered Minnesota’s defensive stopper by head coach Kurt Rambis:

“He really likes it when we stick him on a guy and say, ‘Go shut that guy down.’ You know Kevin is not going to overpower Corey, so it’s a good matchup length-wise and height-wise. Corey did a real good job on him.”

As Brewer’s offensive game continues to improve his role will become more pivotal for Timberwolves’ future. He has eclipsed 20 points in 3 out of his last 5 games, and it appears to have emerged this month.

If he continues down this path of offensive brilliance, David Kahn can thank Kevin McHale for at least on of his moves while McHale was still the GM. Honestly, back in 2007, who didn’t think McHale was absolutely crazy to select Brewer with the 7th overall pick?

Darrell Kurt Rambis has made it offical: he will be the next head coach of the Minnesota Timberwolves.

The man known as “Superman” when he played has been on the sidelines with Phil Jackson. He knows the triangle.

Rambis has been mentored by one the NBA’s best all-time coaches.

Come on Phil, 4 sides are stronger than 3! (Credit: picapp.com)

He went 24-13 as the Lakers’ interim coach during the 1999 lockout-shortened season after Del Harris was fired.

Will Rambis now take his coaching career one step further, introducing the “Rhombus Offense” to the young Minnesota Timberwolves?

In a attempt to step out of Phil Jackson’s shadow, expect Rambis to pull out all the stops.

Traditionally called a diamond as a rhombus is a quadrilateral whose four sides all have the same length, Rambis’ Rhombus offense will have floor spacing down to a geometrical science. It will feature more angles and math than Phil Jackson’s triangle offense.

But will it lead to coaching greatness? All odds say no.

Imagine how lovely it will be observing the young Timberwolves attempt to run this four equal-sided-floor-spacing-assault on the rest of the NBA.

Expect this in an NBA arena near you!

Imagine the look on Jerry Sloan’s face as his Utah Jazz are torn to pieces with Rambis’ mastery of mathematics. Sloan’s overly enraged face might actually lead to his head exploding.

It is unfortunate that Standford alum Mark Madsen was traded to the Clippers. He could have been crucial in being able to decipher this highly brain intensive offense.

Perhaps David Kahn is going to have a tutor in Spain teaching Ricky Rubio the ins and outs of geometry for a couple more years prior to bringing him stateside.

The kid is good, but if you are playing professional basketball since you are 14, it is unlikely you have been hitting the books very hard.

Of course we do not really believe that Rambis is going to run the “Rhombus Offense”, but wouldn’t it be beautiful if he did?

Every NBA season sees a few guys break out. Players that finally got the chance to get the necessary minutes to put up legit stats and took advantage of the opportunity. Jeff Green of the Oklahoma City Thunder and Kelenna Azubuike of the Golden State Warriors were these type of players from this past season. Green went from 28 to nearly 37 minutes a game upping his average from 10.5 to 16.5 ppg. Azubuike’s minute total went from 21 to 32 and he took advantage upping his points per game average from 8.5 to 14.4. We at Protect the Paint will now give you Part 1 of the Top 10 Under-the-Radar Breakout Players of 2009-10.

Can Amir win Skiles over and earn playing time? (Credit: picapp.com)

10. Amir Johnson F/C Milwaukee Bucks: Only 22, but has been in the league since 2005 buried on the Pistons bench with some time in the D-League. Seldom had the chance to incur the growing pains a young player needs in order to develop—he never got the necessary minutes. Johnson should see plenty of time in Milwaukee under coach Scott Skiles who will appreciate his defensive effort. Look for Amir to round out his game and see an upward swing in production in the first quarter of the season. That is, if Skiles lets him play through his mistakes.

Dj White will prove the pundits wrong this season. (Credit: picapp.com)

9. D.J. White F Oklahoma City Thunder: The former Big 10 Player of the Year came into the league last season, but his rookie year was delayed five months after undergoing surgery on his jaw to remove a benign growth. Played six games in the D-League before debuting for the Thunder in April. Played in only seven games but immediately proved he could play against NBA talent scoring 8.9 points with 4.6 rebounds in just over 18 minutes per game. Should fit right into the Thunder rotation for 2009-10 as one of the first players off Scott Brooks’ bench.

A bigger stronger Brewer could explode this season. (Credit: dimemag.com)

8. Corey Brewer G/F Minnesota Timberwolves: Bulked up about 15 pounds while rehabbing his surgically repaired ACL which was a necessity considering he was listed last year at just 185 lbs. which wasn’t much for a player standing 6’9”. Has been working on what his game lacks most, shooting. If Brewer can raise his offensive game to match his defensive tenacity, he will be well on his way to becoming the player Minnesota thought he was when they selected him with the 7th pick of the 2007 Draft. We will get the first glimpse of Brewer’s new frame and skills starting today when the Las Vegas portion of the NBA Summer League begins.

Will Rudy get the minutes to break out this year? (Credit: picapp.com)

7. Rudy Fernandez G Portland Trailblazers: The decorated European star had an excellent first season in the NBA last year in the Pacific Northwest setting the rookie record for most three-pointers made (159), but has just scratched the surface of realizing his potential. If he gets more than the 25 minutes per game he averaged last season, the Spaniard could explode into one of the top players in the league. Recent rumors of his unhappiness after Portland’s failed attempt to sign Hedo Turkoglu could result in Fernandez being included in any potential deal in the making.

Regardless of where Thomas ends up, will he live up to his hype? (Credit: picapp.com)

6. Tyrus Thomas F Chicago Bulls: Overdue for his breakout year—showed flashes of his superstar potential. If Thomas can stop his love affair with the jump shot and continuously attack the rim, his point per game total will dramatically increase. He is a solid free throw shooter (78% last year) and by getting to the rim he could up his scoring average to 18-20 points. If he can stay on the court for 35 minutes a game Thomas should produce All-Star caliber numbers. Anything less would be a real let down. Rumored to be part of a deal that would send him to Utah with Carlos Boozer coming to Chicago.

Check back tomorrow to find the top 5 in our NBA Top 10 Under-The-Radar Breakout Players of 2009-10: Part 2

The 2009 NBA Draft is in the books begging the question: What teams added the piece that will help them out of the lottery and into the playoffs next year? The Bulls, Heat, and Blazers—lottery teams from 2008—made the playoffs, replaced this year by Phoenix, Toronto, and Washington (who traded their pick to Minnesota). Below is Protect the Paint’s grades for what this year’s lottery teams did with their lottery pick and a prediction of their lottery-status for next season.

Blake Griffin should start immediately (Credit: ESPN)

#1     Los Angeles Clippers        Blake Griffin            Grade: A

No surprise here. Look for the Clippers to make some roster moves to insure Griffin a starting spot and get rid of some locker room headaches. NEXT YEAR: they’ll be better, but the Western Conference is stacked, so back to the lottery.

Can Thabeet develop an offensive game? (Credit: ESPN)

#2     Memphis Grizzlies        Hasheem Thabeet        Grade: B

The next Dikembe Mutombo? Thabeet should be an immediate impact player on the defensive end. Luckily for him, Rudy Gay and OJ Mayo will be taking most of the shots. Lookout if he develops an offensive game. He should be in the league for his D alone for years to come. NEXT YEAR: back to the lottery.

James Harden might be the best player of the draft class (Credit: ESPN)

#3    Oklahoma City Thunder    James Harden            Grade: B

The Thunder eliminated their biggest weakness and gave Russell Westbrook a running mate in the backcourt. The combination of Westbrook, Harden, Jeff Green, and Kevin Durant is downright frightening for what the future has in store for the Thunder. Look for this team to dramatically improve their win total (23) from last year. NEXT YEAR: much improved, but back to the lottery.

The Kings surprised everyone by selecting Evans over Rubio (Credit: ESPN)

#4    Sacramento Kings        Tyreke Evans            Grade: D

This was a shocker. It seemed every mock draft, rumor, or news report had Ricky Rubio coming to Sac-town. Evans has flaws in his overall game. He is raw, but there is an abundance of raw, young talent in Sacramento. In three years, one must question where Evans will be in comparison to Rubio. Low grade is for not selecting Rubio. The kid displayed abilities and poise years beyond his age in the Olympics against the redeem team. NEXT YEAR: back to the lottery.

Ricky Rubio will likely be dealt or play next season in Europe (Credit: ESPN)

#5    Minnesota Timberwolves    Ricky Rubio            Grade: B
The T-Wolves got their man with Rubio. Flynn (see 6th pick) is an athletic, charismatic type player whom will lift his teammates on and off the court. However, he is one of 5 guards selected by Minnesota. We here at Protect the Paint envision Rubio emerging as a superstar in this league. Look for multiple moves in the near future from Minnesota. A good question is if Rubio even plays in the NBA this year. NEXT YEAR: back to the lottery.

Jonny Flynn has the talent to star in Minnesota for years to come (Credit: ESPN)

#6    Minnesota Timberwolves    Johnny Flynn            Grade: B-
Guard #2 of 5 selected by Minnesota. It will be very interesting to see who is dealt and who is kept. With Minnesota’s luck, it is a safe bet the guy dealt experiences greater NBA prosperity. Right now, Rubio has far more trade value. NEXT YEAR: back to the lottery.

Stephen Curry: NBA Rookie of the Year? (Credit: ESPN)

#7    Golden State Warriors        Stephen Curry            Grade: A+
The Warriors high-octane offense just acquired a serious scoring threat. Scouting reports knocked his defense and decision-making. Sounds like a perfect fit for the Bay Area. The only disclaimer in Oakland: the brass told Monta Ellis they would not select a PG. If the two can get along, the Warriors could be quite dangerous when going small. NEXT YEAR: back to the lottery.

Hill is the Knicks consolation prize after Curry was taken at 7. (Credit: ESPN)

#8    New York Knicks        Jordan Hill            Grade: C+
The Knicks lost out big time by not being able to draft Stephen Curry but are satisfied with Hill. Hill provides immediate relief if David Lee leaves. Pundits believe he will thrive in Mike D’Antoni’s run and gun style of play. Will the Knicks ever be good again? NEXT YEAR: back to the lottery.

Can DeRozen make Chris Bosh reconsider leaving Toronto? (Credit: ESPN)

#9    Toronto Raptors        DeMar DeRozan        Grade: A-
This is possibly the best pick the Raptors could have hoped for. DeRozen is freakishly athletic.  Will be a key piece in forcing Chris Bosh to consider staying, If Bosh leaves, Toronto has a solid component to build around for the future. NEXT YEAR: if they keep Chris Bosh, this should be a playoff team in 2010.

Brandon Jennings appears poised to excel for the Bucks (Credit: ESPN)

#10    Milwaukee Bucks        Brandon Jennings        Grade: B-
It will be interesting to listen, watch, and read about how coach Scott Skiles and his new point guard get along. It could be like dynamite and nitro glycerin. With Richard Jefferson gone, and rumors of Luke Ridnour being on the block, Jennings and Ramon Sessions will form the nucleus of a young Bucks backcourt. NEXT YEAR: back to the lottery.

Terrence Williams joins a crowded backcourt in New Jersey (Credit: ESPN)

#11    New Jersey Nets        Terrence Williams        Grade: B
Williams will fit into a young backcourt rotation of Devon Harris, Chris Douglas-Roberts, and Courtney Lee now that Vince Carter is headed to Orlando. If he learns to be consistent as a pro he will be fun to watch. It is a safe bet New Jersey might hold a higher pick in next years draft with their youth movement officially set in motion. NEXT YEAR: back to the lottery.

Michael Jordan drafted archrival school Duke's Henderson (Credit: ESPN)

#12    Charlotte Bobcats        Gerald Henderson        Grade: C-
Wow, Michael Jordan drafted a Dukie. At least he didn’t draft fellow UNC alum Tyler Hansbrough (see next pick). Henderson is super-athletic a very good defensive player. Will need to develop more of an offensive game or he could become the next Bruce Bowen (minus the corner three). Weird pick with Earl Clark still on the board. NEXT YEAR: they’ll be a better team, but back to the lottery.

Indiana failed heinously selecting Tyler Hansbrough (Credit: ESPN)

#13    Indiana Pacers            Tyler Hansbrough        Grade: F*
Hansbrough might be a tough guy—a blue-collar worker whom Indiana fans will appreciate—but he appears to be a man without a position in the NBA. Lacks the foot speed and athleticism to succeed at this level. Indiana blew it. This organization already misses Donnie Walsh. NEXT YEAR: back to the lottery.

*F grade due to who was selected at pick #14.

Brandon Jennings stepped in late on behalf the 14th pick Earl Clark (Credit: ESPN)

#14    Phoenix Suns            Earl Clarke            Grade:  A
The Suns are obviously in a rebuilding mode. Earl Clark is a shooting guard in a big man’s body and will give the team versatility. Good ball handler for his size (like a right-handed Lamar Odom). Needs to improve his range. If the rumors about his lack of work ethic prove unfounded, Phoenix could have the steal of the 2009 NBA Draft. NEXT YEAR: back to the lottery.

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