Cavs: 3 stars from back-to-back wins over Atlanta and Denver

Cavs’ Second Star: Ricky Rubio

Darius Garland was viewed as a budding star this offseason, one of the league’s prime breakout candidates. He absolutely could still be that guy, but an ankle injury caused him to miss two games, including the win over Atlanta, and limited him offensively against the Nuggets.

Last season that would have likely meant disaster for the Cavs, but this season it simply means more minutes and opportunities for Ricky Rubio. The veteran guard was a low-cost offseason addition and he has stepped up in a major way this season.

His primary role has been directing the offense, and he has done a brilliant job of penetrating the defense and then hitting one of his big men for an open shot. He also pushes ahead of transition, earning easy points for the Cavs. He totaled 16 assists in the two wins and has 36 total in four games, even more impressive given that he came off the bench for two of them. While not every player has appeared in four games, for now Rubio’s assist total is first in the league, and the Cavs are tied for first in team assists.

Rubio hasn’t simply been facilitating, as he has called his own number as well, getting to the rim and finishing with his looping layup to avoid the outstretched arms of defenders. In the Denver game he challenged Nikola Jokic and JaMychal Green inside again and again, and unlike teammate Collin Sexton he avoided blocks by giving his shots enough of a looping approach to get to the glass and drop in. He was even more aggressive against the Hawks, scoring 23 points and going 6-of-8 from inside. Here is a collection of his highlights:

Rubio has chemistry already with Jarrett Allen and can seemingly find him on every drive no matter the number and position of defenders between them. In the Denver game alone he threw three alley oops to Allen, who leads all players in dunks by a mile. Rubio has connected with his teammates, bought into his role, and was a dynamic reason the Cavs have won their last two games.