Tricky Ricky PTSD
To start out last season, Ricky Rubio was downright awful for the Utah Jazz. There’s really no other way to put it. Fortunately, he turned things around in a big way and ultimately became a key contributor to the Jazz squad.
Hopes were high that his slow start was due largely to the fact that he was playing on a new team with a new coach, teammates and system that was hard for him to adapt to. Many believed that by not having that to deal with anymore, Rubio would be able to start this new season off with a bang and be fully assimilated with his Jazz squad.
Perhaps he’ll showcase that soon and at an earlier point than last year, but thus far, his play has given me PTSD with memories of a season ago. Both in preseason and in Wednesday’s regular season opener, Rubio looked downright awful.
He took ill-advised shots and failed to convert on any of them, finishing with one point thanks to a made technical free throw and went 0-of-4 from the field. Rubio also turned the ball over twice in his brief 21-minute outing while logging the team’s lowest plus/minus of minus-16. If this trend continues, then all I can say is Rubio may want to consider changing his offseason regimen, because apparently starts to the year aren’t his thing.
He has plenty of time to bounce back and prove that the way he ended last season as a prolific offensive point guard was no fluke. However, early indications are that Ricky may very well struggle to get in sync on this Jazz team yet again.