1 stud and 1 dud for the Cavs in their win over the Magic

Cavs dud: Ricky Rubio

It’s hard to find faults in a win but if a player has to be mentioned, it looks to be Ricky Rubio. His five-point performance is tied for the second-fewest points he’s scored in a game this season and though plus-minus should be taken with a grain of salt, his minus-6 was the lowest plus-minus on the team.

Rubio didn’t look like how he’s looked during his career year. As the Cavs have looked for Rubio for an extra scoring punch this season, he just wasn’t able to provide that on Saturday night. He seemed to play timid as the six shots he attempted on Saturday were the lowest amount he’s attempted in a game all season.

With how well he’s played this season, it’s fair to give him a pass for this performance then, which wasn’t even all that bad. Despite the low scoring, Rubio still had eight assists and impacted the game outside of scoring, which is weird to say for Rubio. It could have just been a case of Rubio letting others attack while playing more as a facilitator and it’s expected that he will play better next game.

Considering the injuries and strength of schedule, .500 through 20 games is a great sign for what’s to come in the future. The team plays hard and always fights to the end, buying into the system that head coach J.B. Bickerstaff put in.

As many players have said numerous times, this team has some dogs and should be respected by the rest of the league.