Utah Jazz Best/Worst Case Series: Will the real Ricky Rubio please stand up?

Ricky Rubio of the Utah Jazz had perhaps the best season of his career last year, but can he recreate that magic in 2018-19?

No player on the Utah Jazz roster had more of a roller coaster season than Ricky Rubio. The performances during the first half of the season compared to the second half tell a completely different story.

If you were to have a casual fan just watch the first half of the season, he would think that Rubio was one of the worst starting point guards in the league. His play was inconsistent, his decision making was spotty and his shooting was at times cringe-worthy.

Ask that same fan to watch just the second half of the season, and he would see a top-10 point guard in the league.

When you look at the season as a whole, it still averages out to the best season of Rubio’s career, especially on the offensive side of the ball. While in Minnesota, his career high in points was just 11.1 points per game. His best shooting performances were 40 percent from the field, 34 percent from three, and an effective field goal percentage of nearly 45 percent.

Last year with the Utah Jazz, Rubio was able to top every single one of those numbers. He averaged 13 points per game, and shot 43 percent overall, 35 percent from three, and had an effective field goal percentage of 47.6 percent.

The best and worst case scenarios for Ricky Rubio really do lie within the tale of two halves that were last season.

Worst Case Scenario

The worst case scenario for Rubio is that the first half of the season was the “real” Ricky Rubio. If that were to be the case, the Jazz could be in some real trouble. I wrote the following in the season in review piece for Rubio:

"Rubio started off his career with the Jazz on a high note. Over his first eight games with the team, he averaged 17.5 points, 6.5 assists, five rebounds, two steals and shot 37 percent from the 3-point line. Those are mind-boggling, All-Star level stats.His next eight games though? Nine points, four assists, 2.8 rebounds, 1.4 steals and he shot a putrid 2-for-29 from three, good for seven percent."

There was a real argument over the first half of the season that the Jazz would have been better off trading Rubio. He was not playing well for himself. He was not making his teammates better. He was not helping the Jazz win games.

The low point of the Jazz season was a loss to the Atlanta Hawks on January 23rd, which put the Jazz nine games under .500.

You can absolutely point to the absence of Rudy Gobert to explain those struggles, but Rubio is next in line to take the blame. Up until that point, he averaged only 11 points, and was only shooting 29 percent from three.

Those are the worst case scenario numbers for the Utah Jazz.

Best Case Scenario

Ricky Rubio’s performance from January 24th on is what we are hoping for in the best case scenario.

Can he carry on his ability to effectively run the offense, to make shots and get to the rim, and can he continue to be a pest on defense? Only time will tell, but if he can, the Jazz could be in store for a special season.

Let’s take a look back and start with that January 24th game against the Detroit Pistons. The Jazz were nine games below .500, and were coming off a loss to the Hawks, who were one of the worst teams in the league. The season was close to slipping away from them, and some fans were even heavily promoting a #TankNote slogan.

Just when the Jazz were desperate for a win, Rubio stepped up in a big way. He may have finished the game with just 11 points, but he was the emotional leader, and willed the team to a win in overtime. Even leaving the game to get stitches and then coming back late to help seal the victory.

From that game on, Rubio averaged an incredible 16 points, 6.0 assists, 5.3 rebounds and also shot 44 percent from three. If the Jazz can get that player for all of next season, they can absolutely be the second best team in the West.

The most underrated part of Rubio’s game is simply his will to win. He plays with a chip on his shoulder and helps to raise the competitive level of the entire team. We’ll hope for the best case scenario here, but regardless, I have gained an entirely new level of respect for Rubio as a competitor and a person.

Whether he plays to the worst or best case scenario, he is going to be good for the culture of the team, and even better for the communities of Utah.