Rubio is not the answer at starting point guard
Stop me if you’ve heard this one before. During the first half of last season, Jazz fans were calling for Ricky Rubio‘s head. His dismal shooting and poor defense had fans as angry as could be and cursing the day the team traded for him. Then, all of a sudden, a switch flipped and suddenly Rubio was everything fans wanted and more. Climaxing with an epic first-round playoff performance against the Oklahoma City Thunder, Tricky Ricky was nothing short of spectacular.
Therefore, there were high hopes that such a trend would continue in his second year as a Jazzman. After all, he would be accustomed to his teammates, the coaching staff and the system, and he’d have a full offseason to further adapt to the Jazz rather than playing in overseas competition.
Unfortunately, none of that has seemed to help whatsoever as Rubio is officially back to his early 2017-18 ways. He’s down in several stat categories including points (12.7), field goal percentage (39.1), 3-point percentage (32.9), free throw percentage (84 percent) and rebounds (3.7). His assists are up this season (6.4), which is nice, but his turnovers are as well (3.1), which isn’t so nice, especially considering it’s his worst mark since his rookie season.
To top it all off, his net rating thus far is only nearly half as much as it was last year.
In short, Rubio just hasn’t been up to par so far this year and has definitely under-performed based on the end-of-year expectations he carried over with him from last season. Could he still turn things around and have a great conclusion to the year? Sure he could! And for his and the Jazz’s sake, I certainly hope he does!
But even if he does, it’s still quite clear – Ricky Rubio is not the answer for the Jazz at point guard for the long haul, and perhaps not even this season if his dismal play continues. With seven and a half NBA seasons now under his belt, we largely know what he is in terms of a shooter (or non-shooter I should say) and a defender, and it’s quite clear that he just isn’t going to hack it as Utah’s starting point guard if they hope to one day reach their championship aspirations.
Rubio’s lack of shooting has made spacing and offense difficult for the Jazz, and his high turnover rate and unreliable defense are in no way making up for it. In the loaded Western Conference, he’s turned into too great of a weakness when stacked up against the amazing starting point guards he’s facing night in and night out. Even if he does turn things around, a starting point guard that only performs for half of the season simply won’t cut it.
I love Rubio’s hustle, energy and involvement in the community. By all rights, he seems like an awesome guy and teammate. Unfortunately, if the Jazz want to ascend to higher ranks, he simply can’t continue to be their answer at the starting point guard spot.