Four years after Ricky Rubio played his last playoffs with the Utah Jazz, the Spaniard will do it again, but this time as a player for the Cavaliers. After the victory against the Rockets of Usman Garuba (108-91), the Cleveland franchise mathematically secured its presence in the playoffs.
The last time the Cavs were present in the title fight was in the series against the Warriors in 2018, where the Cleveland team, led by LeBron James, lost the Finals. This will be the first time since 1998 that the ensemble led by J.B. Bickerstaff play a playoffs without ‘The King James’ in their ranks.
The Cavaliers easily beat the Rockets, last in the West, with a triple double of 24 points and 14 rebounds by Jarrett Allen, and 22 points by Donovan Mitchell. On behalf of the Houston team, Usman Garuba starred in a very complete performance scoring two points, five rebounds, three assists and a steal in just 15 minutes.
The player from El Masnou (Barcelona) contributed two points, one rebound and two assists for the Cavs in 15 minutes. Ricky Rubio came to the Cavaliers in the summer of 2021 from the Minnesota Timberwolves. On October 23, in the third game of the season, Ricky reached 7,000 points in his NBA career against the Atlanta Hawks.
On December 28, he tore his ACL in his knee against the New Orleans Pelicans, missing the entire season. During his injury he was traded to the Indiana Pacers where he never made his debut, and on July 1, 2022 he signed a three-year contract with the Cavaliers. He returned from injury on January 12 against the Portland Trail Blazers and scored nine points.
The Spaniard will play his third playoffs after those of 2018 and 2019 with Uah Jazz. This time he will do it with the Cleveland Cavaliers who are fourth in the East with a mathematical chance of taking third place from the Sixers.
