Timberwolves Season Preview: Ricky Rubio Among NBA's Most Interesting Plotlines

With only two more days until the 2011-12 NBA season SB Nation is ramping up its preseason storylines. According to NBA writer Mike Prada, Ricky Rubio is one of the most important people in the NBA going into the season. The Timberwolves' point guard rates as one of the most important rising stars in the league:

These are three young point guards poised to become stars this season, but all have different obstacles to overcome. For Rubio, it's the weight of expectations, as well as his own issues as a scoring threat. His passing is great, but he has to prove he can hit a jump shot and finish himself at the rim to keep the defense honest.

Rubio is one of three young point guards that is expected to make an impact this season. Cleveland's Kyrie Irving and Washington's John Wall were two other breakout players that are expected to have a similar impact to Rubio.

Timberwolves Season Preview: Minnesota Picked Last In Northwest Division

SB Nation's NBA writer Tom Ziller is working his way through each of the NBA's six divisions and Wednesday he reached the Northwest Division. His extensive look, called NBA Festivus, has the Timberwolves looking for positives as the last place team in the division:

This was a transformative offseason for the Wolves, between the draft and free agency. And the team still figures to be one of the worst shooting squads in the NBA. The two backcourt additions, Ricky Rubio and J.J. Barea, are inefficient scoring the ball. Michael Beasley is pure gunner. The center ranks remain depressing; the team's best offensive lineup likely puts Love at center, Williams at power forward and Martell Webster at small forward, and I think I just scored 20 points on that unit.

Ziller does see some positives with the hiring of Rick Adelman and the arrival of Ricky Rubio. he also cites Derrick Williams as a solid addition for the future through the draft.

NBA Power Rankings: Timberwolves Rank 22nd At SI.com