Russell Westbrook is going to get the better of Ricky Rubio in Game 6, but not for a good reason.
Rubio, who has been battling a sore hamstring through much of the series, aggravated it early and went to the locker room. He was ruled out for the rest of the game.
Ricky Rubio (left hamstring) will not return.
— Utah Jazz (@utahjazz) April 28, 2018
This will mean more Dante Exum and Alec Burks for Utah.
This is a blow to a Utah offense that struggles to create good offense (something that has been a particular problem in the early stages of Game 6). Rubio has averaged 16.8 points and 8.6 assists per game, and while he hasn’t been efficient (true shooting percentage of 47.7) he has scored enough to keep the OKC defense honest and open things up. He outplayed Westbrook, leading to Westbrook saying he would shut Rubio down (then played out of control trying to do so the next game).
Without Rubio, the Thunder defenders can focus more on stopping Donovan Mitchell.
