There was a special guest at the Palau Blaugrana on Thursday. Ricky Rubio of the Minnesota Timberwolves came back to see his former team on the play-off against Baskonia, which the home side ended up winning 92-87. “The first game of the play-offs is always hard and you have nerves to deal with” he said afterwards. “Especially when it’s the best of three. You have to win at home or otherwise it’ll be difficult going to place like Vitoria.”
On his return to the Palau, Ricky Rubio said “I am on vacation but I still want to see basketball because that’s what I like the most. The NBA regular season is now over and Minnesota did not make it through to the end season.
NBA experience
After three years in the States, Rubio is as happy as ever, especially after he finally completed a season with no recurrences of his knee trouble. “Playing 82 games was one of my targets” he commented.
He also spoke about the differences between the Liga Endesa and the NBA. “It’s not better or worse, just different” he said. “You play twenty minutes more, the court is more open and there’s more counter attacking. I like to play for show and you’re more comfortable doing that there”.
On life in Minnesota, he said that “they accepted me there from the very first day and I can sense how much I mean to the fans. That helps a lot when you’re living abroad.”
