Cleveland Cavaliers guard Donovan Mitchell gave credit where it was due to Cavs guard Ricky Rubio ahead of Game 5 with the New York Knicks on Wednesday.
“I gotta be the guy to continue to use my voice, but listen as well, and not be too naive to listen to what’s going on. Who really helped me with that is Ricky Rubio,” Mitchell said, via Yahoo! Sports Senior NBA reporter Jake Fischer. “It’s great that he’s here, so I can lean on him, for my mental as well, so he can kind of talk about our past experiences and help steady this group.”
Rubio and Mitchell played together on the Utah Jazz during the 2017-18 and 2018-19 seasons after the Spanish guard spent six years in Minnesota.
The 32-year-old guard is averaging 5.2 points, 2.1 rebounds and 3.5 assists per game in 33 games played for the Cavaliers during the 2022-23 season. He has played in limited minutes during Cleveland’s playoff series against New York, most recently earning six minutes off the bench during Game 4 on Sunday. Ricky Rubio grabbed two rebounds and dished two assists, dumping the ball off to Cavs forward Isaac Okoro before finding the 22-year-old forward cutting from the right corner for a contested make at the rim in the second quarter.
Cavs guard Darius Garland had praises of his own following a 114-108 Cavs win over the Charlotte Hornets in March.
“It does a lot for us just having that spark off the bench,” Garland said of Rubio, per Cleveland.com. “We have been missing him and it was great having him back out there just running the show, making really good reads and competing on the defensive end.”
The Cavs will tip off against the Knicks at 7 p.m. EDT on Wednesday in Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse. The game will be broadcasted on NBA TV and Bally Sports Ohio.