Utah Jazz: Why Ricky Rubio is such a great fit
After being traded from Minnesota in the offseason, Ricky Rubio has been a perfect fit with the Utah Jazz so far in the 2017-18 NBA season.
On Dec. 26, 2011, a young Spanish point guard named Ricky Rubio made his NBA debut at Target Center in Minneapolis, immediately creating fans in Minnesota and around the league.
Between the flashy passes, the fast-paced tempo he created and the contagious smile, Rubio was quickly becoming one of the faces of the Wolves franchise.
As time went on and Rubio’s game continued to progress, many thought the young, yet veteran point guard was there to stay in Minnesota. But in the summer of 2017, as Rubio prepared to enter his seventh NBA season at 26 years old, everything changed.
A day before free agency opened up, the Spanish point guard had been traded by the Wolves to the Utah Jazz. After spending his first six seasons with one team in Minnesota, Rubio found himself on a new team and in a new city for the first time in his career.
So far in this young NBA season, it’s going as well as both Rubio and the Jazz could have hoped. In fact, Rubio is appearing to be a perfect fit in Utah.
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Through eight games of the 2017-18 season, Rubio is averaging 17.5 points, 6.5 assists, 4.9 rebounds and 2.1 steals per game, leading Utah to a 5-3 record and a spot near the top of the Western Conference standings entering Friday’s action.
The biggest thing Rubio has brought with him from Minnesota to Utah is his defense, being one of the top defensive point guards in the league. For a defensive-minded team such as the Jazz, that’s nothing but a good thing for them.
Rubio has fit right in on what has become one of the top defensive teams in the NBA. Rubio has helped the Jazz rank second in points allowed (94.4 per game) and steals (9.9 per game), while ranking third in both blocks (6.9 per game) and defensive rating (96.3) so far this season.
But Rubio succeeding in Utah hasn’t completely been on the defensive end. He’s actually thriving on the offensive side of the ball, something he’s received heat for not working on so far in his career. Look no further than his season-high 30 points in an overtime win over the Portland Trail Blazers for proof:
Not only is Rubio leading the Jazz in scoring with 17.5 points per game, which is on pace to be a career-high, but he is shooting career-highs in field goal percentage (48.3 percent) and 3-point percentage (37.2 percent) so far in 2017-18.
When Rubio stormed into the league in 2011 with the Wolves, these are the type of performances many envisioned the Spanish point guard bringing to the table in the NBA. For six seasons in Minnesota, he wasn’t able to do that consistently.
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But maybe a change of scenery was all that Rubio needed to take that next step. So far this season, he’s been outstanding and is proving to be a perfect fit in Utah.