A torn ACL ended the season for Minnesota Timberwolves' guard Ricky Rubio which quickly hurts the Wolves on the court, but his absence will also impact the bottom line for Miinnesota and the NBA.
Rubio was already and international star and his ability to burst on the scene in his rookie season with Minnesota enhanced his status along with lifting the young Timberwolves into a must-follow team and story this NBA season. One of many key subplots to help the NBA quickly recover from the offseason lockout that leaked into the regular season to take away two months of NBA action.
As Canis Hoopus mentions, the injury comes just as the Wolves were trending in a positive direction.
It's the Wolves' marketing slogan, but nevertheless, everyone was beginning to talk about the team in a very positive way. A good portion of that was due to Rick Adelman, Kevin Love, Nikola Pekovic and Derrick Williams. But much of it was thanks to the arrival of Rubio. We'd waited two years. The Rubio Bubble was full and our expectations were high.
But while fans are sad to see Rubio's season end prematurely, so is the league as the storyline building in Minnesota suddenly turns tragic for this season which will impact the bottom line without Rubio's on-court exploits to entice viewers outside of the Minnesota market to continue to follow along.
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