Cavs’ Rubio set to likely return at Blazers, which would be welcome sight

Good news for the Cleveland Cavaliers came this week as the team is preparing to get their guard, Ricky Rubio, back on the floor after a year’s layoff while recovering from an ACL injury. All signs point to his return Thursday when the Cavs get set to take on the Portland Trail Blazers out in the Pacific Northwest. The Cavs lost a heartbreaker on Tuesday night to the Utah Jazz 116-114. A return of Rubio will be a welcomed sight.

Ruby had suffered an injury back right after Christmas a year ago after he helped the Cavaliers get off to a good start. He was then traded to the Indiana Pacers at the trade deadline after the injury, and then signed back with the Cavaliers this past offseason as a free agent. His likely return is great news for the Cavs, who have struggled with a few injuries to their players; the news was first reported by Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN.

Rubio’s return on Thursday for the Cavs at the Blazers would be a welcome sight.

Rubio‘s return would come at a good time as both Darius Garland and Donovan Mitchell could use a bit more rest as we hit the grind of the season. Rubio is currently listed as questionable, but barring a setback, he should reportedly be in action.

Rubio was a big part of the team success early on last season and helped a younger Garland learn the ropes of the point guard position from a veteran’s perspective. Plus, Rubio made a difference for Mitchell when the two were teammates on the Jazz before. Now with Mitchell as the other primary guard on the team, Rubio could have a role that could really give the Cavs an extra player and give extra breathers to both Garland and Mitchell at times and help preserve their talents moving through the rest of the season.

Getting the veteran guard back will certainly help the Cavaliers moving forward. Rubio was averaging over 13 points and almost seven assists last year in his 34 games he played for the team.

He had had a little bit of a downturn to his career prior to coming to Cleveland a year ago, but with his signing and getting to play with his former Minnesota Timberwolves teammate, Kevin Love again, is all very good for a Cavs team looking to make the postseason this year.

When Rubio went down a year ago with the injury, Cleveland was able to remain afloat for a couple months but then crashed and burned as the pressure of the competition in the league caught up to a very young and inexperienced Wine and Gold squad. Injuries to others didn’t help, either.

Now the team will have a player in Rubio that can help manage the team on the floor and Cleveland will be able to take advantage of those opportunities especially when the Cavs and opponents put out their second units. A little Rubio and Love reconnection could really help Love, who has been struggling this season.