Cavs: Ricky Rubio has exceeded expectations thus far

Rubio’s defense and leadership has given the Cavs a lift, too

From there, on the other end, the 31-year-old Rubio has been generally doing an admirable job, and his communication has definitely aided Cleveland off-ball, which has helped the team defense, by and large, when he’s been in.

In that realm, his closeouts have typically been sound/timely, and he’s had 1.4 steals, to go with 1.9 deflections per outing through eight games, per NBA.com’s player hustle data.

It’s apparent that the young guards seem to be showing growth off-ball in recent games, too, which assuredly the veteran Rubio has had some to do with, one would think. That’s in-line with him proving to be a crucial leadership presence for the Cavaliers as well, as our own Zachary Shafron hit on, for further context.

His presence on the floor and I’d imagine behind the scenes has been invaluable for the Cavs, and one can see him helping the young guys in-game/on the sideline, which I’m sure has been key for the Wine and Gold.

Moreover, with both ends of the floor in mind, to me, Rubio has exceeded expectations thus far, quite frankly.

And though he is expiring, I do hope that the Cavs retain through the deadline, and if the Cavaliers remain in the hunt throughout the year, maybe the two sides next offseason could work out a reasonable new deal.

We’ll have to see, but so far, it’s been good returns from Rubio.