He finished the 2022-23 season for the Cleveland Cavaliers. And it ended for Ricky Rubio, of course. The Spanish point guard suffered, like his team, in a first-round tie against the New York Knicks in which the Cavs were favorites but they fell apart like a sugar cube. Ricky (32 years old) did not play in the fifth and final game of a series in which he did not participate in the second game either. In the other three, he averaged less than six minutes without scoring and with just three assists for five turnovers.
A bitter end in a fight and return course for the man from El Masnou, who seriously injured his left knee on December 28, 2021. In excellent timing, she was shining like veteran factor in some Cavaliers that were one of the big news last season. Injured, he was traded to the Pacers, where he exhausted his contract without playing and signed as a free agent, in the summer, again with the Cavs: three years, $18 million.
The Cavs counted on Ricky’s work on the track and in the locker room, and he had recovered his enthusiasm in an NBA that had left him bruised after a trance of transfers and movements that did not help him, neither in sports nor in business. staff. On January 12 he returned after his recovery process, but in the season he has not been close to the last level that he had been seen before the mishap: just over 17 minutes per night on the track with 5.2 points and 3.2 assists. And poor shooting percentages.
Now Ricky faces a summer that may be important to try to recover a better version next year… without forgetting the World Cup, in which Spain defends the title and the MVP of 2019: It will be played from August 25 to September 10 in the Philippines, Japan and Indonesia. In principle, the Selection has Ricky, who was missing due to that knee injury in the last Eurobasket. And he believes that he and Lorenzo Brown can form one of the best point guard pairings in the championship. But in his season finale interview in Cleveland, he did not want to commit and preferred to go more calmly: “The season just ended, I need to take my time. I think going to the World Cup would help me get my rhythm back but I have to meet with my personal team to see what is best for my recovery. I have to gain strength in the lower body and see what is best for me. Of course, I always prefer to compete, and the World Cup is a special event. But I’ll take my time to decide.”
