Cavaliers guard Ricky Rubio progressing from torn ACL
CLEVELAND — The Cavs had featured a rather fluid lineup in their first 27 games, with just about every key member to the rotation missing some time at one point or another.
And that isn’t including Ricky Rubio, who has yet to make his season debut. Though that time is inching closer.
Rubio tore the ACL in his left knee last December and has been rehabbing ever since. He was a solid contributor last season, his first with the Cavs, averaging 13.1 points and 6.6 assists in 28.5 minutes per game. Whenever he’s able to re-enter the lineup, he’ll again take over a significant role coming off the bench.
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According to Cavs head coach J.B. Bickerstaff, Rubio returned to practice and was cleared for 5-on-5 work. But as for his full return to games, the Cavs won’t be rushing anything.
“He’s going to start doing more and more, more 5-on-5 and those types of things,” Bickerstaff told reporters this week. “He’s been given the green light to do that. Now it’s the progression that he has to go through to get ready to play in an NBA game. It’s something we won’t rush. But he’s heading in the right direction.”
The Cavs have spent much of the season shuffling the rotation to not only deal with injures as they’ve popped up, but to best take advantage of skillsets. Caris LeVert, for example, was taken out of the starting lineup to allow him to have the ball in his hands more and operate as a 2 as opposed to a 3 when he’s on the floor, which is a more natural fit. The Cavs eventually will have to see how Rubio fits together with Darius Garland, Donovan Mitchell and the team’s other guards.
Bickerstaff noted that Rubio likely won’t see the same volume of minutes he did a year ago.
“Our priority and our goal is to protect him,” Bickerstaff said. “Realistically, do I see him at 30 minutes or 35 minutes like he would get to last year? No. But I do believe in his minutes and in his role that he can be extremely impactful.”
Being physically healthy is only the first step. It’ll take time for Rubio to get back up to speed within the Cavs’ sets.
“You always want to have a plan,” Bickerstaff said. “We know what Ricky did for us last year. We also understand the time that it takes to get re-acclimated with the group and what the minutes look like and how those have to continue to grow. But you think about it. It’s a long way away. We will do all we can to help him. But we’re planning for it for sure.”
While the Cavs want to be cautious with him, Rubio has been finding ways to be active, even challenging teammates 1-on-1.
“[He’s] just trying to get active and competitive,” Garland said. “He’s super competitive, so every chance he gets to get in the gym he sees somebody, he’s gonna ask for like a one-on-one or a shooting competition or something.”
“It’s fun to see. Ricky, just out there being with us, I mean it means a lot. Just having his presence is super cool. Seeing him out there just shooting around and getting a little bit of bump, sweating a little bit, I mean, it gets everybody excited. It’s super cool to see.”
Cavs beat Thunder on Saturday night
The Cavs beat the Oklahoma City Thunder 110-102 Saturday on the second night of a back-to-back. Playing without All-Star guard Donovan Mitchell, the Cavs never trailed, though a temporary icy stretch in the fourth quarter momentarily brought it to a tie until Evan Mobley led a late charge.
Caris LeVert scored a team-high 22 points, one of three Cavs to score at least 21, along with Mobley (21 points, 12 rebounds) and Jarrett Allen (21 points, 11 rebounds). Darius Garland added 13 points and eight assists.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, the third-leading scorer in the NBA at 31.1 points per game entering Saturday night, led Oklahoma City with 23. Aleksej Pokusevski added 16 points and 14 rebounds, and Josh Giddey had 17 points, 13 rebounds and six assists.
Ryan Lewis can be reached at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter at @ByRyanLewis.
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