Storyline: Ricky Rubio Injury
89 rumors in this storyline
More Rumors in this Storyline
Duane Rankin: “I’m back tonight and I’m happy to be back.” #Suns point guard Ricky Rubio. pic.twitter.com/FVm1raso5k
Kellan Olson: Monty Williams confirms that Ricky Rubio is back in the lineup
Kellan Olson: Ricky Rubio is probable for Monday’s game.
Gerald Bourguet: Monty Williams said Rubio’s knee is pretty swollen. Jevon Carter is starting at the 1
Gerald Bourguet: Ricky Rubio is out tonight with a left knee contusion. Ty Jerome (right ankle sprain) remains out.
Andy Larsen: Ricky Rubio getting shots up after practice in gear, with a sleeve on that left leg. He’s in a warmup shirt, though, not a practice jersey like the other players. He seems to be going relatively hard in this workout. We’ll see.
Andy Larsen: Raul Neto is out tonight, Ricky Rubio and Jae Crowder are available.
Andy Larsen: Favors and Korver remain out for the Jazz vs. Sacramento. Jae Crowder is probable. Ricky Rubio and now Raul Neto (ankle soreness) are both questionable
Eric Walden: Ricky Rubio is OUT tonight vs. the Grizzlies
Tony Jones: Dante Exum and Raul Neto are both OUT tomorrow night against Memphis. Ricky Rubio is DOUBTFUL….looking like point Donovan against the Grizzlies
Eric Walden: Ricky Rubio is AVAILABLE tonight
Tony Jones: Utah Jazz point guard Ricky Rubio will be available tonight
Tony Jones: Rubio will be on a minutes restriction. Quin Snyder did not give a number
“Ricky’s a huge part of what we do—his ability to defend the ball, to make shots, to make clutch shots,” Jazz head coach Quin Snyder said on Sunday. “He’s playing really well. Our team is better when we have him.”
Eric Woodyard: Ricky Rubio practiced today then was reexamined after missing the last 6 games with a mild right hamstring strain. He is questionable for tomorrow. “I feel good. We’ll see how it goes tomorrow morning then we’ll decide but it’s been 2 hard weeks for me to watch,” he said.
Eric Woodyard: Not only did Ricky Rubio return to Jazz practice today, he also provided 10 athletes from the Utah Special Olympics with $200 gift cards at the Adidas store in Park City then shopped with them. “It’s something that makes me feel good,” he said.
Tony Jones: Jae Crowder said it was good to have Ricky Rubio back at practice and running full speed. He said Rubio looked good
Eric Woodyard: Ricky Rubio has returned to practice today at some capacity. Prior to this, he had been doing individual work, but he’s set to be re-evaluated on Tuesday after missing the last 6 games with a mild right hamstring strain.
Marc J. Spears: Jazz say Rubio (mild right hamstring strain), Sefolosha (mild right hamstring strain) and Neto (left groin strain) will be reevaluated in one week. Exum (left ankle sprain) will be reevaluated in two weeks.
Shams Charania: Sources with @Tjonesonthenba: Utah’s Ricky Rubio and Thabo Sefolosha both had clean MRI results today on injured hamstrings — with Rubio expected to miss approximately two weeks and Sefolosha out 10-12 days.
Tony Jones: Utah Jazz point guard Ricky Rubio will have an MRI tomorrow on his hamstring, league sources tell The Athletic. While there is some optimism that his injury isn’t serious, the Jazz are anxious for results and a timeline. Big day tomorrow for Utah
Eric Woodyard: Ricky Rubio and Jae Crowder are available tonight in Toronto.
David Locke: Jae Crowder and Ricky Rubio both listed as probable for the Utah Jazz v. Toronto Raptors. Raptors will be without Kyle Lowry and Jonas V.
Eric Walden: Jazz are starting Dante Exum tonight vs. Knicks in place of injured Ricky Rubio.
Andy Larsen: Ricky Rubio will play, was listed as probable with back spasms.
Jonathan Feigen: Favors to go through warmups to determine whether he will play for Jazz vs. Rockets. Rubio was closer, Snyder said, but ‘still not there.”
Utah point guard Ricky Rubio was upgraded to questionable for Game 4 against the Houston Rockets, and a team source said the Jazz are optimistic Rubio will make his second-round debut Sunday. The source said the team will have a better idea about Rubio’s availability after he gets more treatment Sunday morning.
Eric Woodyard: Quin Snyder says Ricky Rubio is shooting, making progress and his “spirit is back.” He is out again tonight, though. “How much progress is always hard to gauge,” Snyder said.
Adrian Wojnarowski: Tough blow for Utah: Jazz guard Ricky Rubio could miss 10 days with left hamstring injury, league sources tell ESPN. His return could be sooner, based upon progression in rehabilitation.
Kyle Goon: The team confirms what @Tony Jones reported earlier: Ricky Rubio is OUT for Game 1 against Houston.
Tony Jones: Utah Jazz point guard Ricky Rubio will undergo an MRI in the morning to determine the severity of his left hamstring injury, league sources tell The Salt Lake Tribune
Tony Jones: Jazz G Ricky Rubio intends to try to and play vs the LA Lakers, league sources tell The Salt Lake Tribune. He is battling hamstring soreness
Ryan McDonald: Jazz injury report: Jae Crowder and Raul Neto are available for tomorrow, Ricky Rubio is questionable
Eric Woodyard: Ricky Rubio is questionable tomorrow at Minnesota with left hamstring soreness. He missed last night’s game vs. Memphis.
Andy Larsen: Ricky Rubio out with hamstring trouble, Royce O’Neale will start.
David Stockton, 25, is expected to join the Jazz today, sources said. The Jazz were seeking another guard because of the potential of starter Ricky Rubio missing Saturday’s game against Sacramento after two cheap shots by the Phoenix Suns in Thursday night’s Jazz victory, sources said.
Andy Larsen: Quin Snyder on Ricky Rubio’s practice today: “He looked good.” Said they’re still monitoring the movement in his hip. My POV: that he practiced fully the day before the game is a great sign.
Kyle Goon: Ricky Rubio is OUT
David Locke: Ricky Rubio is out tonight for the Utah Jazz
Rubio played only four minutes in the second half of a 106-94 win over the Hornets, during which he scored six points and had seven assists. He’s not expected to miss much time with what the team has described as a left hip injury. As of early Saturday afternoon, the team had not provided an official update to his status.
Shams Charania: Sources: The Utah Jazz plan to sign guard Naz Mitrou-Long on a 10-day contract. Long rejoins Jazz from G League’s Salt Lake City, after guard Ricky Rubio suffered injury in win last night.
Josh Robbins: Ricky Rubio (right Achilles soreness) will play and will start tonight, the Jazz said.
Tony Jones: Expect Rubio to play around 25 minutes tonight
Tony Jones: Donovan Mitchell will make his first start at point guard tonight in place of Ricky Rubio, sources tell The Salt Lake Tribune
Jerry Zgoda: From shootaround: Ricky participated fully today, both he and Thibs expect him to play tonight vs Clippers
Jerry Zgoda: Wolves officially list Rubio as available to play on today’s injury report
“We’ll see how he feels tomorrow,” Wolves coach Tom Thibodeau said. “He moved great (today). . . He practiced very well.” Thibodeau said the biggest thing the Wolves missed with Rubio out was his ability to organize the team. “The way he can push the ball, his decision making, team defense . . . He brings a lot of energy,” Thibodeau said.
Minnesota Timberwolves point guard Ricky Rubio returned to practice on Friday after missing the last five games with a sprained right elbow. Coach Tom Thibodeau says Rubio looked sharp in practice. If he feels good when he wakes up on Saturday, he could play in the game that night against the Los Angeles Clippers.
The Minnesota Timberwolves today announced that Ricky Rubio underwent an evaluation this evening by team orthopedic surgeon Diane Dahm of Mayo Clinic which confirmed the initial diagnosis of a sprained right elbow. Rubio will be listed as out indefinitely and his status will be updated as appropriate. Rubio suffered the injury at the 6:28 mark of the fourth quarter of Minnesota’s 106-103 loss at Sacramento on Saturday.
Ricky Rubio did not practice on Monday because of a sprained right elbow and was scheduled to meet with a doctor later in the day to try to determine the extent of his injury. Rubio was injured in the second half of Saturday night’s loss to the Sacramento Kings, and coach Tom Thibodeau said Monday that they would have to wait for the doctor to evaluate an MRI exam before they knew more about a timeline for his recovery.
Timberwolves PR: #Twolves head coach Tom Thibodeau tells the media after the gm that Ricky Rubio suffered a sprained right elbow. He will be evaluated tmrw.
December 8, 2019 | 10:59 am UTC Update

The Knicks did some due diligence on Jackson’s Warriors tenure prior to hiring Fizdale. It’s unclear how far along Jackson got in the process with New York. But the idea that they chose Fizdale over Jackson, an ex-Knick who would have been mostly embraced by the fan base, is telling. According to sources, there are members of the organization who remain wary of hiring Jackson.
Gibson heard the reasons for Fizdale’s firing from management but said it was confidential. Asked if he agreed, Gibson waffled. “I’m gonna say I don’t know how to answer that, because I felt like I was learning so much him as a coach,’’ Gibson said. “But other than a coach being a good guy off the court, just teaching us values, teaching us different things. Hats off to Coach Fiz.”

As Love went through his customary stretching routine prior to the game, cleveland.com spoke with him about a lack of touches recently, pointing out that they’ve declined significantly since a terrific few early weeks. It was about trying to get a better explanation and deciphering whether opponents have sent more defenders in his direction. Leading into Saturday’s matchup, everyone in the organization admitted he needed to become the focal point again. Beilein said when Love touches the ball, “good things happen.”
Three winters ago, Doc Rivers was ready to be done. He was throwing up constantly. His energy evaporated. Pounds dropped off his body. Rivers needed to get IVs before he coached the Clippers. He no longer looked like the tough-as-hell guard who made a name for himself on defense. He looked frail. And tired. And miserable. “It was awful,” he said. “That was a tough stretch. I almost thought about quitting because I had no energy. … And I thought it definitely affected my day-to-day ability to coach — and to live. You’re always tired. This job is tiring. And then you’re sick on top of it. I didn’t do any favors for myself.”
Prisoners of a lifestyle that tempts coaches with a constant barrage of food and adrenaline, little sleep and an overflow of stress, the NBA’s coaches battle wellness problems that they all easily could succumb to. “By the end of the season, if you were 6 feet tall when it started, now you’re 5-foot-2,” Washington coach Scott Brooks said. “It just wears you down and you just have to somehow focus on yourself and your health.”
Rivers no longer drinks after games. Portland coach Terry Stotts will go home and watch a show like “Madam Secretary” with his wife. Brooks’ training staff told him to quit eating a giant bowl of cereal before his late-night film sessions. “The biggest challenge is to take care of yourself physically,” Brooks said. “Like everything else, you have so many things on your plate and you forget about yourself.”
According to NBA insiders, there is a belief that coaches who are in shape are much easier to hire and more credible in a room full of athletically gifted players in peak physical condition. To be considered for jobs, coaches often are advised to lose weight and buy nicer clothes because appearances matter. And some believe any hint of an issue with mental wellness would torpedo a prospective coach’s candidacy.
Paschall recently joined radio play-by-play announcer Tim Roye on his “Beyond the Arc” podcast and discussed what it was like moving to the Bay Area after growing up in New York. “One thing I definitely like about it is the weather, it’s not too cold,” he said. “I’ve realized everybody is a lot nicer out here. Everybody says hello, I remember in my apartment building, people were just like, ‘How was your day?’ I’m like, ‘Whoa.’ This is weird for me, especially from the East Coast because everybody is so uptight, but it’s something that’s really cool.”
December 8, 2019 | 2:55 am UTC Update

Will the Knicks have a shot at landing Ujiri? That’s unclear. But once the Knicks started struggling last month, multiple Madison Square Garden people in positions of influence have been ‘obsessed’ with – and ‘enamored’ by – the Raptors executive, per SNY sources. In order to land Ujiri, it will probably take significant money and full autonomy. Whether Knicks owner James Dolan will grant that kind of autonomy remains to be seen.

At the time, the belief was that Lakers general manager Rob Pelinka negotiated Howard’s contract to be non-guaranteed so that the team could ties with him if he didn’t buy into his role, but apparently that wasn’t the case. During an appearance on ESPN’s “The Jump,” senior writer Ramona Shelburne said that it was Howard and his agent that suggested that his contract be non-guaranteed (emphasis mine): “I think with Dwight, it also goes back to why the Lakers signed that contract with him that way in the first place. Dwight asked for that. That was his idea. That wasn’t the Lakers saying ‘oh this is the only way we’ll do it.’ This was Dwight and his agent saying ‘yes, we’ll do non-guaranteed just to show you how committed we are to being this kind of player.’”
Royce Young: After serving a one-game suspension from the Thunder for a locker room altercation, Deonte Burton has been assigned to the G-League.
Jim Eichenhofer: Alvin Gentry on #Pelicans: “Zion is not coming in as the cavalry. We’ve got to play good basketball, regardless of what he comes in and does when he’s ready to play. It’s unacceptable the way we are playing right now.”

Dave McMenamin: Avery Bradley has been cleared for full contact after having the hairline fracture in his right leg re-evaluated today. He is out tomorrow vs. MIN and is considered day to day after that, per the Lakers.
Candace Buckner: #Wizards injury report is out and Isaiah Thomas will miss his third consecutive game with a left calf strain
Dane Moore: Jeff Teague and Andrew Wiggins are both questionable to play tomorrow against the Lakers. The injuries just don’t stop.
December 8, 2019 | 12:26 am UTC Update

Justin Kubatko: The @Dallas Mavericks recorded their third 40-point win of the season this afternoon, tying the NBA record for most such wins in a single season. They share the record with seven other teams.

Jason Jones: Bagley said he’s getting closer to playing, but won’t rush back if his body isn’t right. The broken in his thumb is healed, now he’s focused on regaining full strength in his hand.
Malika Andrews: Knicks interim coach Mike Miller said that he has “no sense of time” over the past 24 hours — he was alerted to the coaching change Friday afternoon but couldn’t offer specifics. Miller said he has spoke to Fizdale since he was fired.
Malika Andrews: Dennis Smith Jr. said the firing “caught everybody by surprise.” He said that the front office came and informed the players of the decision to make a coaching change.

Ian Begley: Taj Gibson said he and some other players heard from Steve Mills and Scott Perry after David Fizdale was fired. He says he also had a chance to say goodbye to Fizdale before Fizdale left the facility yesterday. Fizdale got emotional during the conversation. Taj: “Guys loved him.”
Chris Iseman: Taj Gibson was still at the facility when David Fizdale was fired. Had a chance to give him a hug and say goodbye. Said Fizdale teared up a bit.
Allan Houston, the Knicks former assistant general manager and now the GM of the Westchester Knicks, pushed hard to have Mike Miller considered to be the interim coach following David Fizdale’s firing. Houston has been with Miller since he was hired five seasons ago to coach the G-League team when Phil Jackson was president. Miller successfully ran the triangle for Jackson, then adapted when Jackson was let go.
Stefan Bondy: Never seen this before. The Knicks front office is not talking about the coaching change. Instead they threw out Mike Miller to answer questions. It was as awkward as you’d expect.
December 7, 2019 | 10:52 pm UTC Update

According to various reports, players like Dennis Schroeder, DeMar DeRozan and Kevin Love could be made available via trade by their respective teams. The Knicks, per a source, are keeping their ‘eye on a lot of players’ as we enter trade season.

Justin Kubatko: The @Dallas Mavericks Luka Doncic produced 26p/6r/9a today, tying Michael Jordan’s mark for most consecutive games with at least 20p/5r/5a since the ABA-NBA merger: 18 – Jordan, 1988-89. 18 – Doncic, 2019-20*. 17 – Russell Westbrook, 2014-15. 16 – Westbrook, 2017-18 * active streak
Oleh Kosel: Alvin Gentry just now: “I didn’t think we competed. When they got separation, I didn’t think we competed. I think that’s the worst thing in the world to do, you know…It’s a terrible game. It’s a poorly played game, poorly coached game. All of us have to take responsibility.”

Brad Townsend: Porzingis: “Can’t stop Bobi. Once he gets the ball in the paint, you really can’t do much about it.”

There has certainly been a key dose of the latter, including Jimmy Butler’s desire to join the Heat even with Miami lacking any cap space (the Heat set the groundwork for that with its exemplary culture), and Dallas — in late June — bypassing a trade for Goran Dragic after the Dragic camp had been told he would probably need to be traded to accommodate the Butler transaction from a cap standpoint. “We’re all glad that deal didn’t happen,” one Heat official conceded privately, even more so because the inability to deal Dragic led to the jettisoning of Hassan Whiteside (a player the coaching staff didn’t want) to Portland.
The Heat studied him when he played at Oakland University, but he became a strong consideration in July 2018, when team officials were impressed by the diversity of his offensive game — and all-around skill set — while watching Nunn play for Golden State against Sacramento during NBA summer league. Nunn had already committed to the Warriors’ summer program by that point, and the Heat didn’t have a roster spot anyway, but from that point on, the Heat’s scouting staff decided to monitor him in the G-League, where he would average 19.3 points for Santa Cruz. What particularly stuck was the ease to his offensive game, the ability to score in multiple ways, and his willingness to defend.

The California Air Resources Board has granted fast-track approval to a proposed $1.2 billion Los Angeles Clippers arena in Inglewood that should allow the project to be finished in time for a 2024 basketball season. After nearly a year of back-and-forth negotiations, CARB determined last week that the project will not result in a net increase in greenhouse gases and, thus, qualifies for special protections from environmental lawsuits that could otherwise stall construction for years.
“CARB staff conducted an evaluation of the GHG emission estimates and reduction measures submitted by the applicant, and confirmed that the applicant’s methodology, calculations and documentation are adequate,” wrote Richard Corey, CARB’s executive director, in a letter to the governor’s Office of Planning and Research. Assembly Bill 987, a law passed specifically to move the Clippers project forward, required the Inglewood Basketball and Entertainment Center to be net neutral and reduce 50 percent of its greenhouse gas emissions through local measures.

Salvador Amezcua, 32, is better known as “Kickstradomis,” among the top shoe artists in the game. Give him a pair of kicks, and in due time, you’ll get back an original piece of work, not unlike the kid who started making up his own comic books when he was four, growing up in L.A. A savvy disrupter, Kickstradomis’ creations are a staple throughout the NBA and NFL, and are now reaching into the music and film worlds as well. Among his more well-known clients are Dallas Mavericks sensation Luka Doncic, the Lakers’ Anthony Davis, Timberwolves All-Star Karl-Anthony Towns and Andrew Wiggins, Utah’s Donovan Mitchell, WNBA 2018 league and Finals MVP Breanna Stewart and L.A. Rams star defensive tackle Aaron Donald. He does all the work by hand, and the backlog is weeks long. Using movie characters, cartoons, any and everything that comes to mind, he can put them on a pair of shoes.

“Now, for 2020, everything’s going to shift a little differently,” he says. “I have to be more exclusive with the people I want to work with. I really choose to work with the guys who’ve been loyal to me, and we have mutual (desires), kind of both want the same things. There’s a few of these guys that really want to see me grow and they’ve helped me in different ways. Those are definitely the ones that I stick to. Luka’s one of them. Donovan Mitchell. KAT. Those are some of my closer guys. But then there’s the new young guys, the new generation.”
December 7, 2019 | 9:04 pm UTC Update

Influential voices in the NBA have strongly advised Ujiri not to take the job, if it’s ever offered, sources say. But those same sources say Ujiri might do it anyway, if the money is right, if he’s granted the necessary autonomy and if Dolan funds Giants of Africa as generously as the Raptors ownership group has. Ujiri’s contract is believed to run through 2021 but with an out clause under certain circumstances. He turned down a lucrative extension last summer, sources said, leaving the impression that he wants to keep his options open.
The Knicks have hired and fired five lead basketball executives since 2004, including legendary NBA figures from Isiah Thomas to Donnie Walsh to Phil Jackson. All departed under clouds of various shapes, sizes and despairing shades of gray. Maybe it will be different for the next guy. Maybe the Knicks get lucky and lure a gifted executive like Toronto’s Masai Ujiri to fix this mess. Some NBA sources believe it’s possible.

Sources say Dolan is indeed enamored of Toronto’s Masai Ujiri, who has twice fleeced the Knicks in trades (again, see Anthony, Carmelo and Bargnani, Andrea) and who last June presided over the first championship in Raptors history.

The Portland Trail Blazers have completed the two-way transfer of forward Jaylen Hoard from the Texas Legends of the NBA G League to Portland, it was announced today by president of basketball operations Neil Olshey.

Tim MacMahon: Luka Doncic has at least 20 points, 5 rebounds and 5 assists for the 18th straight game. That ties Michael Jordan for the longest such streak in NBA history.

Pelicans vice president of basketball operations David Griffin went on the Pelicans in-game broadcast recently to talk about the return of Williamson and the team. There he said Williamson is progressing and added the obvious — that there will be some load management of Williamson upon his return. As there should be. “Yes, he very likely will not be asked to take the pounding of back-to-backs initially,” Griffin said on the team’s television broadcast. “There will be a sort of ramp-up for him to getting back to where you would call him full strength, but he’s certainly going to be playing, and we’re trying to win basketball games. And quite frankly, we’ve done a horrible job of that.”

They were not ha-ha-funny laughs. And they were not playful guffaws. Their laughs were more incredulous, those types of chuckles that come with a shake of the head and take the place of the words “can you believe this?” “We’ve been getting hit from every angle possible,” Kent Bazemore said. “Preseason on the road, 13 of the first 18 on the road, injuries. … I mean, it’s been a whirlwind.”
Even though he stands to gain from Hood’s injury — Hezonja will likely be one of the small forwards coach Terry Stotts turns to — Hezonja was consumed with the circumstances of Friday’s events. “I don’t even want to make a comment, that’s how bad I feel,” Hezonja said. “I mean, that’s Hoodie. From Day 1, he and I really bonded. You just don’t have teammates like that. He’s like a really outstanding person, so this really hurts me.”

Isaiah Thomas has missed the Wizards’ last two games with a left calf strain and it sounds like he will be out at least a little while longer. The Wizards guard caught up with NBC Sports Washington at his holiday toy giveaway at the Boys and Girls Club in Northwest D.C. on Saturday and gave an update on how he’s feeling. “I’m good,” he said. “I think I will be out a few more games and then be able to come back.”
December 7, 2019 | 7:25 pm UTC Update

With Knicks president Steve Mills on shaky ground until the club shows progress, owner James Dolan could make another run at Raptors president Masai Ujiri. According to a source, if Mills is fired after the season, Dolan likely would renew his quest for Ujiri, who built the Raptors 2019 title team. “Why wouldn’t he — he’s the best GM in the league,’’ one NBA source said.
Ian Begley: Keith Bogans, who worked as an assistant with the Westchester Knicks, will join Mike Miller’s staff as an assistant, the Knicks say.

Ryan Wolstat: Gasol on Embiid and the Sixers: “To me, if he gets in rhythm, you’re in trouble Because once he starts hitting his jump shot, things change for him and for his team. It gives them a lot of confidence, it gives him confidence, which fuels the whole thing.”
December 7, 2019 | 5:30 pm UTC Update

The Knicks held a players-only meeting to rally support for their coach. But there was one problem: Fizdale was fired just hours later. Sources confirmed that Marcus Morris, who has been Fizdale’s top supporter in the locker room, led the session prior to Friday’s practice. It came on the heels of the Knicks getting blown out by the Nuggets on Thursday at the Garden.