Editorial: Many Utah Jazz fans (myself included) owe Ricky Rubio an apology

Despite a slow start to the 2017-18 season, Ricky Rubio has turned things around in a big way and has been sensational for the Utah Jazz.

The 2017-18 Utah Jazz season has been one of the most exciting in recent memory. Of course, it started out somewhat discouraging as two-thirds of the way through the month of January the Jazz found themselves nine games below .500 and playoff contention seemed like little more than a pipe dream.

But we all know how well they’ve turned it around since then, and I would go as far as to argue that the early season discouragement has been a major factor in making this season so memorable. Since their previous woes, the Jazz have given us plenty to cheer about including Donovan Mitchell‘s rise to fame, Rudy Gobert‘s dramatic return which has sparked the Jazz to win 26 of their last 31 contests, the exciting addition of Jae Crowder and so much, much more.

And while all the good has made it easy to forget the bad, there’s no denying that the Jazz did indeed go through an extremely tough stint to start out the year. So bad, in fact, that it caused some fans to get frustrated (including myself) while driving still others to call for the Jazz to tank (definitely NOT myself included).

During that discouraging time while the Jazz were struggling to find their footing, dealing with injuries once again and playing horribly, especially on the road where they posted just a 5-19 record, it was easy for fans to look for a scapegoat on whom to cast the blame for Utah’s struggles. In said situation, several fans (sadly, yes, including myself this time) pointed their fingers at Utah Jazz starting point guard Ricky Rubio.

When the Jazz traded for Rubio this past offseason, it was met with a lot of cautious optimism. Sure, he wasn’t known as a shooter, but as a passer extraordinaire with great familiarity at successfully running an offense, many believed that he could thrive in Quin Snyder’s system and in Utah’s development program.

Unfortunately, there were some bumps along the way for Rubio. And while I sincerely regret casting even an ounce of blame on him earlier in the season knowing what I know now, you could certainly argue that it was justified.

From the start of the season up to that fateful game against the Atlanta Hawks on January 22nd in which Utah lost and fell to 19-28, Ricky Rubio was second to last on the team in net rating at -5.1. His lack of chemistry with his fellow big men, especially Rudy Gobert when healthy, was evident and the Jazz seemed to suffer on both ends of the floor when Rubio was in action.

Between a crowded offense that didn’t seem to have the space to function with Rubio on the court, especially when Gobert and Derrick Favors were in action with him as well, and defensive struggles that saw many quick point guards leave Rubio in the dust, it appeared to be a bad initial fit for the Jazz.

During that same span, the three-man lineup of Rubio, Favors and Gobert had an astoundingly bad net rating of -16. Additionally, Rubio was shooting just 38.4 percent from the field and 29.2 percent from deep while notching a career-low 4.8 assists as well as 2.8 turnovers per contest.

The Rubio experiment looked so bad at some points that many Jazz fans were even clamoring for the Jazz to look to trade him and move on from him mere months into his tenure in Utah.

In hindsight, those calls were absolutely ludicrous.

If there was an award for the player who undergoes the biggest turnaround in the course of a single season (not from one to the next as is the case with the Most Improved Player award), Rubio would certainly be the frontrunner for such a recognition. Since Utah’s incredible span that’s seen them win 26 of 31 contests, not only have the Jazz turned things around in a big way, but Ricky Rubio himself has looked like an entirely different player.

Take all those stats I mentioned before and observe them from the game following the loss to the Hawks onward and it’s hard to believe how different they look. All of a sudden, Rubio is averaging 16.6 points on 45.6 percent shooting from the field and an electrifying 44.6 percent from deep.

His assist numbers are still low compared to the rest of his career at 6.5, but that’s an improvement from the early part of the season and rather than being the sole Jazzman to rack up dimes, he’s playing extremely well within the system. His turnovers have also dropped slightly to 2.6 per contest. And perhaps most importantly, he’s now putting up the best, I repeat, the best net rating of any player on the Jazz of 16.5.

I don’t know exactly what kind of switch flipped in Rubio, but I like it. I like it a lot.

He’s suddenly become a major impact player for the Jazz on both ends of the floor, an excellent floor general and even a dangerous shooter. Since January 23rd, he’s certainly gone as far as to exceed the cautious expectations placed on him coming into this season.

Utah’s last two games have been perfect examples of how deadly he’s been of late. In the bout against Minnesota, he went for 23 points on 9-of-14 from the field and 5-of-6 from deep. In the following contest against the Los Angeles Lakers, he put up 31 points on 10-of-16 from the field and 4-of-7 from deep. Those aren’t the norm, by any means, but they certain exemplify how important Rubio can be when the Jazz need him to step up.

https://twitter.com/utahjazz/status/981381379962290176

I was as hard as anybody on Ricky Rubio earlier in the season and expressed my frustration via multiple outlets. However, I’ve also been quick and eager to take back those criticisms and simply pay respect to a player that’s been sensational for the Jazz in the second half of the season.

Rubio certainly deserves an apology from several members of Jazz Nation, including myself. Sure, it took him some time to assimilate to a new team and new system, but he’s overcome that and looks the best he has his entire career.

So, from the bottom of my heart, Ricky, I’m sorry for ever doubting you and I couldn’t be happier to have you on this squad. I was wrong to lose faith in you prematurely and can’t wait to see you in your first career playoff appearance.

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And I’m sure several other Jazz fans can relate and feel the same way. After a slow start, Rubio has proved himself ten times over and certainly deserves nothing but praise and respect.

He’ll be instrumental in the final four games of Utah’s playoff push and it will be an absolute blast to see how he continues to help his Jazz team close out the year.