Rubio remains away from the Cavaliers to focus on his mental health, Evan Dammarell of Locked on Cavs reports.
Rubio was excused from the Cavaliers' media day Monday. There is no timetable for a return, but president of basketball operations Koby Altman said that retirement is not currently on the table.
Rubio announced Saturday that he has "decided to stop my professional activity to take care of my mental health," ESPN.com reports.
Rubio's decision will almost certainly rule him out for the FIBA World Cup, but it is unclear if he will also miss the 2023-24 NBA season. If the veteran ends up sitting out this season, the Cavaliers will be thin at point guard behind Darius Garland, with Craig Porter and Ty Jerome being the likely candidates to receive backup minutes. At 32 years old, Rubio hasn't officially said he's retiring, but it's possible that his professional career is over.
Rubio is expected to receive playing time in Game 3 versus the Knicks on Friday, Chris Fedor of The Cleveland Plain Dealer reports.
Rubio played just six minutes in Game 1 and received no playing time in Game 2. However, the Cavaliers reportedly want to lean on the veteran guard's experience in a hostile crowd at Madison Square Garden on Friday.
Cavaliers' Ricky Rubio: Coming off bench for Game 1
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Rubio won't start in Saturday's Eastern Conference First Round against the Knicks.
Rubio drew a pair of starts to close the regular season with the Cavs opting to rest their starters ahead of the playoffs but will rejoin the reserves for the team's playoff opener. Rubio should assume backup point guard duties behind Darius Garland on Saturday.
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Cavaliers' Ricky Rubio: Gets start at point guard
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Rubio will start Thursday's game against the Magic, Chris Fedor of The Cleveland Plain Dealer reports.
With Cleveland resting its entire starting lineup, Rubio gets the nod at point guard and will be joined by Cedi Osman, Dean Wade, Lamar Stevens and Robin Lopez in the first five Thursday. This will be the veteran's first start of the season, but when he's played at least 20 minutes (11 games), he's averaged 7.0 points, 4.4 assists and 2.5 rebounds during those contests.
Cavaliers' Ricky Rubio: Limited playing time in win
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Rubio closed Tuesday's 117-113 win over the Magic with three points (1-6 FG, 1-3 3Pt), one rebound, two assists and one block over 11 minutes.
Rubio continues to play very few minutes, logging under 15 minutes for a third straight game. He remains well outside the top 250 for the season, and despite the upside in assists and steals, he doesn't even fit the bill as a streaming candidate outside of the deepest formats.
Rubio posted two points (0-4 FG, 0-2 3Pt, 2-2 FT), one rebound, two assists and one steal across 16 minutes during Sunday's 108-91 victory over the Rockets.
Rubio ended his night with very little in terms of tangible numbers, a trend that is becoming all too familiar. While he is still viewed as a possible streaming consideration for anyone in need of assists and steals, his numbers over the past month tell another story. During that time, he's averaging 3.1 assists and 0.7 steals, certainly enough to warrant attention outside of the deepest formats.
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Cavaliers' Ricky Rubio: Productive off bench
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Rubio recorded eight points (3-4 FG, 2-3 FT), three rebounds and five assists over 21 minutes during Friday's 117-94 win over Washington.
Rubio was coming off a maintenance day, but he saw his usual minutes Friday night. With about a month left in the season, there has been no indication that the Cavaliers will tweak his load management plan. He's still been a serviceable fantasy player when active as a playmaking specialist.
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Cavaliers' Ricky Rubio: Available, unlikely to play
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Rubio (knee) is listed as available for Wednesday's game versus the 76ers but is unlikely to play.
Despite initially being listed as out, Rubio will be available only in an emergency scenario Wednesday, Spencer Davies of BasketballNews.com reports. The veteran point guard is averaging 7.4 points, 3.4 assists and 2.2 rebounds in 19.2 minutes across his last five games.
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Cavaliers' Ricky Rubio: Won't play against Phialdeplhia
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Rubio is out for Wednesday's game versus the 76ers due to left knee injury management.
Rubio posted 11 points (5-11 FG), five rebounds and four assists in 21 minutes during Tuesday's win over the Hornets, but he continues to sit out one half of Cleveland's back-to-back sets to manage his surgically repaired knee. Fantasy managers should expect him back in the lineup for Friday's matchup with Washington. Raul Neto will likely take over backup point guard duties in Rubio's absence.
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Cavaliers' Ricky Rubio: Pops for 11 points in win
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Rubio notched 11 points (4-7 FG, 0-1 3Pt, 3-3 FT), three rebounds and one assist across 20 minutes during Sunday's 114-108 win over the Hornets.
Rubio logged 20 minutes Sunday, the third straight game in which he has reached that plateau. While his 11 points were unexpected, he was not able to deliver across his usual categories, notching one assist and zero steals. At this point, Rubio should be viewed as nothing more than a streaming consideration, even in deeper formats.
