Ricky Rubio
Talk about deja vu.
Rubio’s first several months in a Jazz uniform last season were not good. Things got so bad, in fact, that people openly pined for George Hill, who was injury-plagued in his lone season with Utah and in the midst of his own strange campaign. Then the Spanish Samurai went crazy down the stretch.
Instead of picking up where he left off, though, Rubio reverted to a pretty rough state to start the ’18-19 slate, mirroring his inauspicious beginnings. For the season, he’s under 38 percent from the floor and 33 percent from 3-point range. He’s also been turnover prone at times and mediocre defensively on occasion.
Once again, people are talking.
However, we may be transitioning into a turnaround on the Rubio front. Over his last seven games, he’s averaging 16 points, five assists and four boards per game. Along the way, he’s been a 47-percent shooter from the field and 3-point range.
Now, he just needs to get consistent — those numbers are buoyed by a handful of big games that were largely sandwiched by pretty meager efforts. If he can get to the point where he can string solid efforts together with regularity, the Jazz may actually have something.
First quarter grade: C-, but we’re trending in the right direction.