Cavs Stock Up, Stock Down heading into the playoffs

Stock Down: Ricky Rubio

Regarding the Cavaliers player whose stock has clearly been trending downward, it’s Ricky Rubio perhaps more than anybody else.

Expectations had to be tempered from fans for Rubio this season, admittedly, given the over year-long injury recovery he had to undergo, and Rubio did not make his debut this season until mid-January versus the Portland Trail Blazers. Since, he’s played in 32 games, in which he’s averaged 5.2 points and 3.4 assists in 16.9 minutes per contest, and has connected on just 26.9 percent of his three-point attempts.

Rubio is still a player who typically makes good decisions in his playmaking minutes for the Cavaliers off the bench for stretches, and his vision will always lead to easy baskets for his teammates. One should never discount his defensive prowess, either.

The problem is, Rubio’s shot has simply been way off this season, and his offensive rating has been 108.8 among Cavs in their last 11 games, in which he’s played in 10. That’s the worst of regular rotational players over that time, and his net rating has been minus-3.4 over then, which has been a team-worst, too.

Rubio can still potentially help the Cavaliers in stretches in the playoffs, with his passing in mind, and he’s such an intelligent player.

But, his especially rough shooting woes have made his minutes difficult to watch in the past few weeks, and concern about his possible playoff outlook is reasonable.