Cavs: Ricky Rubio’s Olympic play gives him momentum heading into ’22

I was a big fan of the Cleveland Cavaliers acquiring Ricky Rubio via trade a few hours before the 2021 NBA Draft, when they selected Evan Mobley #3 overall.

Rubio is not a player that I’d expect to push Darius Garland as Cleveland’s starting point guard, with how Garland had quite the bounce-back season in 2020-21, but Rubio should be a bench stabilizer that is more than capable of starting if need be. That’s if Garland misses games at times because of injury, for instance.

In Rubio, the Cavaliers should have an outstanding mentor for the promising Garland, as KJG’s Matthew Fagan expressed. Even still, having an established veteran like Rubio should take some playmaking burden off Garland, at least for stretches, and the two could play together here and there for spurts in games.

Nonetheless, while I wouldn’t consider Rubio to be a regular starter for Cleveland, with how he’s a career 32.5 percent three-point shooter and hasn’t been a floor spacer at the NBA level, he still should get his share of playing time.

And based on his play in the Summer Olympics in Tokyo, though he has played 10 seasons in the NBA, and bounced around in recent ones, it is apparent that he still should have plenty left in the tank and should be an impact contributor. Rubio was named to the FIBA All-Star Five of the Men’s Olympic Basketball tourney, with Patty Mills, Luka Doncic, Kevin Durant and Rudy Gobert rounding out the rest of that group.

Here was more on the rationale for Rubio, per the FIBA.basketball release.

"“Rubio had 20, 26, 18 and 38 points over his four games, with his 38-point explosion setting the new single-game record for Spain at the Olympics. Since all of those 38 came against the USA, it also marks the most points scored by a player versus the United States since they started playing with professional athletes in 1992. Rubio’s tournament averages were 25.5 poitns and 6.0 assists per game.”"

Rubio’s Olympic play should give him some momentum going into next season for the Cavs.

Rubio was sharp in Tokyo for Spain, and that game he had against the US squad was truly something else. Kevin Durant and the Americans would get the job done, eliminating Spain in the quarterfinals, but Rubio’s performance in that one was nothing short of spectacular.

What he showcased in the tournament itself in the aforementioned four games shouldn’t be discounted either, and his playmaking chops were on display, too.

So to me, with how impressive his run in the Summer Olympics was, that should give the veteran lead guard some momentum heading into training camp/next season. Rubio looked to be especially sharp, and as a Cavs fan, that was very encouraging for his outlook.

Now one has to read into it with a grain of salt, and this wasn’t close to Spain’s best squad regarding relatively recent Olympic runs. That said, Rubio’s play was definitely something for him to build on looking at next season, and it was nice to see him being assertive on the Olympic stage.

Granted, as we alluded to, with what Garland showed last season, when he had 17.4 points per game, hit 39.5 percent of his threes and demonstrated notable playmaking growth, Rubio is still clearly going to be a bench contributor mostly.

For the to-be 31-year-old (in October), that’s quite alright, however, as even with Rubio’s shooting limitations from the outside, he still will provide rock solid playmaking in stretches off the bench, to go with quality defense. And with Cleveland’s backup point guard situation last season, I’ll gladly take that.

He could again fill in as a spot starter if needed too, for what it’s worth; I just wouldn’t expect Rubio to overtake Garland, who played very well last season and is one of Cleveland’s core players from here. I would still think that Rubio should still get his share of minutes though, and at times, could play with Garland here and there.

But circling back, it was awesome to see Ricky do well in the Olympics, as that should give him some momentum leading into next season, when I still do believe he could be a key bench contributor. Other Cavs such as Collin Sexton, Dean Wade and Evan Mobley could mesh really well with Rubio when he’s in there.