NBA Draft: Are Expectations for Rookies Kyrie Irving and Ricky Rubio Too High?

The NBA will welcome aboard two new point guards who many believe will develop into stars down the road. No. 1 pick Kyrie Irving and the No. 5 pick from the 2009 draft Ricky Rubio will have eyes on them from the first tip of the season.

Each player is highly touted, and rightly so, and the all-familiar "p" word has fixated NBA general managers on Irving and Rubio. 

Irving is said to be a sure bet, as he is NBA ready even with minimal experience at the Division 1 level. He can do many things well and is a prototypical NBA point guard.

Rubio has been mentioned in the same breath as Pete Maravich. His flashy style of play and shaggy hairstyle are what probably draws the comparisons. We won't go so far as to say that, but a safer correlation of his game would be to a young Jason Williams. 

Potential is what keeps teams in the lottery and ultimately gets general managers fired. Potential is where the majority of stock is placed on Irving and Rubio. 

Irving played only 11 games as a collegiate and posted good numbers. He averaged 17.5 points, 4.3 assists, 3.4 rebounds, and 1.5 steals per game. But 11 eleven games is a small body of work. He will go from a third of a college season to an 82-game NBA season in less than a year. 

He sustained a serious toe injury that could not be classified at the time. Hopefully the rigors of the NBA game do not make him a victim of the injury bug, and the toe is not a reoccurring problem.  

Rubio decided to stay abroad to continue his basketball career after he was claimed by the Minnesota Timberwolves in 2009. He played in the Spanish ACB league for Barcelona and in the Euroleague for Barcelona, as well. 

The Euroleague is the most elite level of competition in European basketball. This past season Rubio averaged 6.5 points, 3.5 assists, 3.3 rebounds, and 1.6 steals in 22.7 minutes per game, while starting 17 of 20 contests. 

These are quite mediocre numbers, although they were in the NBA of European basketball. Initially, Rubio could struggle as he still has to earn a starting spot while adjusting to the NBA game. You would think Rubio would have posted better numbers, being that he was a starter and four-year veteran of the league, even if he did begin professional play at young age of 16. 

The good thing is Rubio has already began to get acquainted with his new teammates, as they had a work out on Saturday.

One thing is for certain: Irving and Rubio will get the chance to play with minimal pressure since Cleveland and Minnesota are two of the NBA's worst franchises. It will be at least two years to evaluate if the points guards are booms or busts.

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