Cleveland Cavaliers: 2 goals for Ricky Rubio in 2021-22

#1: Average 8.5 assists per-36 minutes for the Cavs as great bench catalyst

I understand that Rubio is hardly a sniper, as he hit only 30.8 percent from three-point range last season with Minnesota, and has been a 32.5 percent three-point shooter through 10 seasons.

He’s not a guy that I’d expect to likely be averaging double digits either, but Rubio is a crafty driver and has some viability with floaters and in pull-ups in pick-and-roll. I could foresee him getting in the realm of 8.0-9.0 points per outing, with how he had 8.6 per contest last year.

In any case, what should be expected from Rubio is that even with him set to come off the bench, barring injury absences, is that he’ll be a highly capable backup primary initiator for Cleveland.

Last season, he did still have 6.4 assists per outing for the Timberwolves, and while I wouldn’t expect that number, he’ll still get cutters and shooters for Cleveland plenty of opportunities when he’s in there.

With that in mind, Rubio would be proving to have a consistent impact if he had in the ball park of 8.5 assists per-36 minutes in 2021-22.

When he was able to go last season, Matthew Dellavedova did provide a spark as a reserve playmaker for the Cavs, as he did the year prior when he had rotational minutes. But Delly was limited to just 13 games last season due to injuries, and Cleveland’s rocky backup point guard outlook didn’t do much for relieving the playmaking burden on Darius Garland.

Rubio has historically been durable though, which is reassuring for that.

So to me, if Rubio were to hit this suggested playmaking mark next season for the Cavaliers, that’d be meaningful in demonstrating that he’s alleviating some of that playmaking burden game-to-game for Garland, and that he’d be a great bench catalyst.

I do believe a playmaker of Rubio’s caliber being in the fold could also enable Garland to shot hunt some more in games, particularly if he really has it rolling from three-point land.

Moving along, we’ll take a look at the second goal for Ricky for next season.