end of season for Ricky Rubio, rupture of cruciate ligaments for the Spaniard and cut of dreams for fans of the Cavs

The worst news fell, this Wednesday, in the aftermath of defeat in New Orleans. After seeing Ricky Rubio fall to the ground and leave his family in the second half of the meeting, we were awaiting all the results of the MRIs carried out on the Spaniard and the sad diagnosis fell: end of the season for the Double-R, if you have handkerchiefs to give, it’s for the fans of the Cavs today…

It was too good to be true.

Too beautiful, too fluid, too well thought out and articulated for everything to run smoothly. A transfer carried out in the most total discretion, bye-bye Taurean Prince direction Minnesota, a fluid integration on the bench, and an impeccable record at the top of the Eastern Conference. Ricky Rubio was one of the big reasons for the Cavs’ start to the season splendid, among the youngsters of Ohio. Certainly, Evan Mobley’s sparkling boot was a real eye-catcher. And certainly, the progress of Darius Garland and Jarrett Allen made a lot of people coo. There was also Kevin Love who found his potato, and JB Bickerstaff who made the right decisions. Yes, so far, there were many things to applaud the first two months of competition in Cleveland. However, Rubio’s calming and serene presence off the bench was like a backbone in this happy launch. In the race for the 6th man of the year, clearly dominated by Tyler Herro, the Spaniard was in the retro but not that far. And at the same time, how could it be otherwise? 13.1 points (best career average matched), 4.1 rebounds and 6.6 assists every night, it’s happiness to lead the troops without betting everything on Garland. And then, we’re talking about Ricky here, so a player whose importance and production goes well beyond the scope of the stats sheet. These are the well-managed money-times, these are the advice to appease the troops, the forced passages caused at the right time. Yes, even with the injury of Collin Sexton, the Cavs unrolled and in particular because the back-court of Cleveland could count on its veteran.

But veteran there will be more this season.

It was in the fourth quarter of this game finally lost in New Orleans that the Cleveland campaign changed. On a fairly lambda penetration, Ricky plants his foot in the ground but the movement of his knee is disturbing. Immediately on the ground, the bearded man makes a terrible wave of the hand as if to ask the medical staff to come quickly. Kevin Love, his longtime Minnesota teammate, stands by his side and asks him how he feels. And immediately, on Rubio’s face, we see that he knows. The face is contorted, he waves his hand that it’s dead, and the Spaniard will need Love and Okoro to leave the field, not being able to put the slightest weight on his leg. While Garrett Temple and Herb Jones help the Pelicans finish the game, the Cavs and their fans are snorkeling. Fuck the meeting, what we want is an MRI as soon as possible and the results in stride. In order to know, right away, if the worst must be considered.

Ricky Rubio cannot put the slightest weight on his knee and made a terrible gesture to his staff, indicating that it was dead… pic.twitter.com/OAyDqxSMpF

– TrashTalk (@TrashTalk_fr) December 29, 2021

Cavaliers guard Ricky Rubio has suffered a season-ending ACL tear to his left knee, sources tell ESPN.

– Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) December 29, 2021

And under the blows of 11:30 p.m., the blow falls, Adrian Wojnarowski reports. The ESPN guru drops the seven letters that have made more than one basketball fan cry in his life: torn ACL. Cruciate ligament rupture, season over for Rubio, draw the curtains and send the credits. The worst news possible, in a season yet so promising, and with such bright prospects. You’re going to tell me, take it easy, it’s a backup that gets hurt, everything is fine. Yes but no. For all of the above reasons, Ricky was and is too important to the success of these Cavs, who already had to do without Sexton in the back lines. How to replace the expertise of the Spaniard, his wisdom and his know-how? They are not many in the League to be able to bring what it brings, out of the bench, and to be recoverable in the space of a few weeks. Because yes, there is the urgency which makes this dramatic news for Koby Altman and the Cavs. We are talking about a Cleveland team which before the start of the season announced its intention to titillate the Playoffs, and which has not planned to change its objective. Only, we will have to do with two big pillars less, and adjust on the fly will not be easy for Bickerstaff and his team. Some options to consider in the lead? Certainly, Altman will have to pick up his phone several times in the coming days and not to wish a happy new year, but rather to find which position 1 could immediately integrate his group and blow Garland until the Playoffs. Again, it will be very tense as the satisfying players available in this position are not running the streets.

But then for Rubio… how to put it. Ricky is a free agent this summer, and we were just wondering if he was not going to extend in Ohio by finding a perfect place in an ambitious project. It was hoped that its impact would be visible and celebrated until the end of April, not until Christmas. This type of injury can be overcome in the space of a few months, Rubio will have the opportunity to show that the challenge does not scare him, even if it is the same knee he had already injured there. 10 years, with the Wolves. What is hard is that by injuring himself in this way, the Spaniard must draw a line on this season, and already know that his next season will start sluggishly. How to show up in perfect health in 9 months? And in which team? Managing contract negotiations while creaking its paws next July, we have known better. And for a player who has made us so excited on the pitch, who has helped more than one project in recent years, seeing him fall like this is something deeply terrible. All we hope is that Ricky comes back to the ground in a few months, and that he once again splashes the NBA and other floors with his vista ball in hand.

Let’s go home, it’s starting to rain. Fans of the Cavs will have the benchmark, unfortunately. Ricky Rubio’s season is over, what about Cleveland and its great ambitions? We were hoping for a December 31 beast for the people of Ohio, but unfortunately we will have to be content with a few tears and many questions about 2022. Fuck.

Source : ESPN