Cleveland Cavaliers: 2 realistic expectations for Ricky Rubio in 2021-22

#2: Rubio is a solid point-of-attack defender in his minutes for the Cavs

Secondly, given how he has been a quality defender in his career against 1s and 2s, I’d expect Rubio to be a solid point-of-attack defender for the Cavaliers.

In his minutes, feasibly off the bench mostly, the 30-year-old should still provide meaningful ball pressure to eat some opponent clock, and could allow others to be more aggressive in his time on the floor.

Even with him set to be in his 11th season in 2021-22, Rubio is still a very heady defender, and he’s a player that often gets his share of steals (2.2 per-36 lifetime), and the energy he could bring in that way could be outstanding for Cleveland’s bench.

His pressure on the ball makes opposing primary playmakers often less proactive in getting cutters looks, and that can allow bigs on the weak side to be more active with their hedges to shooters, which shouldn’t be discounted in set possessions.

So, while I’d again expect Darius Garland/Collin Sexton (if he sticks around) to get the majority of Cleveland’s backcourt minutes, with Rubio’s defensive abilities/hounding defense, he should make a difference at the point of attack in his time in there.

That’s clearly one of the best attributes of Rubio, and his defensive chops should help Collin Sexton in some spurts with Ricky, along with others, such as perhaps Mobley, Dylan Windler and (if he’s back) Isaiah Hartenstein.

Overall, though, it will be nice for the likes of Garland and Sexton to have some legitimate, game-to-game playmaking help, and it’s an added plus that Rubio is still a solid point-of-attack defender as well.