Should Cavs fans be concerned about Ricky Rubio’s shooting woes?

Ricky Rubio was one of the reasons for the Cleveland Cavaliers’ resurgence last season. He gave the Cavaliers a heck of a jolt last season prior to him tearing his ACL in late December of 2021, and in his 34 appearances then, had 13.1 points, 6.6 assists and 4.1 rebounds per contest.

Rubio was primarily in a supersub-type role, but his production, defensive prowess and on and off-floor leadership all were crucial for Cleveland. It was sensible for the Cavaliers to have a reunion with Rubio with them signing him to a three-year deal last offseason, even with him still recovering from the aforementioned ACL injury.

Rubio has since returned from what was over a year-long recovery process; he first appeared this season in mid-January in a win at the Portland Trail Blazers. There’s still been some rust for Rubio, and he hasn’t been playing in back-to-back situations yet, which was reportedly expected, and it’s understandable, given the injury, and that being the second tear of that ACL in his left knee. Rubio is in his age-32 season, also.

Thus far, Rubio has played in 16 games this season with the Cavaliers, in which he’s averaged 5.1 points, 3.5 assists and 2.3 rebounds in 16.7 minutes per outing. He hasn’t been able to connect much on the perimeter, as he’s shot only 26.5 percent from three on 3.1 attempts per game, and his effective field goal shooting clip has been 38.1 percent.

With his shot being off to begin his play this season, should Cavs fans be concerned about Rubio?

It’s reasonable for some to be worried about Rubio’s splits to this point in the scoring sense. The Cavs could use more there from him, given how the bench’s scoring has been an issue.

That being said, he’s still been able to impact games for the Cavaliers, and as he regains his footing and rhythm in the closing portion of the regular season, one shouldn’t be too concerned about his offense.

Rubio needs to knock down some open looks to help provide some supplemental shot-making for Cleveland in bench stretches, and hopefully, he can get to some of his one-legged fadeaways that seem to be in-rhythm looks for him. The rim pressure hasn’t been there much, in fairness, and explosiveness has never particularly been a strength of Rubio’s game.

But as he’s gradually gotten more comfortable, his passing has given the team a lift, and when he’s in for stretches, that and his team defensive impact are what can still be crucial for stretches. Rubio’s assist rate has still been 31.2 percent thus far this season, and his turnover rate has been a 9.4 percent, which has placed in the 79th percentile, per Cleaning The Glass.

With Rubio’s playmaking on both ends still affecting games positively for Cleveland, and the key cogs being apparent for the Cavaliers, one shouldn’t be too concerned about his shooting woes.

His defense, leadership and veteran presence still is very meaningful for this Wine and Gold team, and he can take some pressure off of Darius Garland and Donovan Mitchell. And Rubio’s awareness can aid others such as Caris LeVert, Dean Wade and Cedi Osman from a rotational standpoint in lineups with a combination of one or two of those guys in with starters.

Lastly, Rubio’s playoff experiences can help the Cavs in the closing stretch and in the postseason as well, as he keeps getting his footing in-game back.

The sample size has been only 16 games, sure, but his net rating has been a robust plus-6.0, and his assist-to-turnover ratio has started out at 4.31. His 6-foot-9 wingspan plays into him being especially active in passing lanes, and he’s had a defensive rebounding rate of 12.1 percent, which is noteworthy for a guard.

Point being, no, fans shouldn’t be concerned about Rubio’s shot, with his two-way impact in mind. The shot should be there in time in spurts, too, as he works his way back, and with his craftiness, he should find ways to draw more free throw opportunities.