It was a homecoming of sorts Monday afternoon between the Cavs and Pelicans as it was Ricky Rubio’s first game in front of the Cleveland fans since tearing his ACL last season before he was traded and subsequently returned to the Cavaliers this offseason. For New Orleans, Canton native CJ McCollum and Bath native Larry Nance Jr. returned to Northeast Ohio. The Wine and Gold, however, struggled early against short-handed New Orleans before winning 113-103. The tide however started to turn in the Cavs’ favor once a substitution was made.
Rubio checked into a game in Cleveland for the first time in more than a year and although the 12th year pro only registered 2 points and 1 rebound in 17 minutes of action, his impact was still felt.
“He just brings the group together, he keeps everybody calm, he understands the togetherness that's needed when times are most difficult,” said JB Bickerstaff on his veteran guard’s role. “I think everybody needs that and they believe in him and his ability to do that.”
Bickerstaff wasn’t the only one on the Wine and Gold bench who looked to Ricky for leadership as Darius Garland had his best game this month finishing with 30 points and 11 assists. DG however credits his mentor for keeping him on track tonight.
“Ricky he's a wizard with the ball in his hand, he just reads the game at a really high level, he's been playing for a long time so he knows how to get different mismatches and get different people involved,” said Garland. “Just playing chess with defenders so when I'm off the ball I just try to create for others as well but he does it a high level and he's really good at it.”
Garland though did plenty on his own to lead the Cavaliers to their 11th win after being down more than 10 points this season and did so without Donovan Mitchell as the MVP candidate only played 22 minutes with a groin injury. Bickerstaff and All-Star big man Jarrett Allen have seen the young point guard continue to grow after last season.
“He understands the game within the game and he understands when his time is, when it's time to call his number, when it's time to get other guys involved, and he's dissecting the game in front of him more instead of going out and letting his talent take over,” said Bickerstaff. “He's being cerebral and he's thinking the game at a higher level this year. It's one of those things you know you can't force someone to learn it either, they have to take the time, they have to study it, and then they have to be able to apply it and I think what you're seeing is Darius' ability to apply it.”
“A lot more confident in his role telling us where to be, making sure his bigs are in the right spot so they can help him out, he's facilitating the offense, timeouts he's talking, obviously he's an amazing player on the court but off the court it's a lot more things that have elevated,” said Allen.
Allen was no slouch himself joining Garland with a double-double of 24 points and 11 rebounds while Evan Mobley tallied 19 points and 8 boards in the paint too. The combo inside helped the offense open up in the 2nd half after struggling to start the game.
“They kept the ball in their spots, their teammates did a great job of finding them when they were open, reading the defense and understanding how the defense was playing,” said Bickerstaff of Allen and Mobley’s play inside. “Our guys made the right reads and then they were aggressive, and this is what they're capable of when they get to their spots, they're both hard to deal with.”
Now the Cavaliers sit at 28-17 on the season, an Eastern Conference-best 19-4 at home and the craziest part is the pieces are still trying to fit together correctly and make their first deep run in the playoffs since 2018. Garland however is continuing to get more comfortable with helping lead them back to that level.
“It's really tough to be honest with you because we have so much talent but when we need some big buckets I know how to be a little bit more aggressive so I'm looking at my shot then,” said Garland. “Early in the game I'd like to get my teammates involved a lot more so they can get their confidence going, so they can have that confidence going to the second-half and to the 4th. We need that in crunch time so I mean second-half is really my time. Everything else opens up if I start making a couple shots, I have confidence in my teammates, so it makes it a lot easier.”
The Cavaliers will have a tough test on the road Wednesday as they travel to Memphis and take on Ja Morant and the Southwest Division-leading Grizzlies.
Tipoff is at 8 pm.