Ricky Rubio, Kelly Oubre Jr. out for Suns’ 1st scrimmage, Ty Jerome starts
Jul 23, 2020, 4:10 PM | Updated: 4:18 pm
Kelly Oubre Jr. #3 of the Phoenix Suns high fives Ricky Rubio #11 and Aron Baynes #46 during the second half of the NBA game against the Utah Jazz at Talking Stick Resort Arena on October 28, 2019 in Phoenix, Arizona. The Jazz defeated the Suns 96-95. (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images)
(Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images)
The Phoenix Suns will be without starting point guard Ricky Rubio and starting small forward Kelly Oubre Jr. on Thursday in their first scrimmage, head coach Monty Williams said pregame.
This is to be expected for Rubio, who just started practicing with the Suns on Tuesday. He had not been in Orlando since Friday after testing positive for coronavirus. He passed the protocol to enter the bubble and rejoined the team after his own quarantine period. Rubio said on Wednesday he hasn’t played basketball for 3-4 months.
Rookie first-round pick Ty Jerome will get his first career start in place of Rubio, while Mikal Bridges is at small forward for Oubre. Devin Booker, Deandre Ayton and Dario Saric fill the three other spots.
In the eight games, Rubio did not start this season, three of those starts went to Tyler Johnson, another three were Elie Okobo and the last two had Jevon Carter get the nod. Johnson was waived in February and Okobo is away from the team due to personal reasons.
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As for Oubre, Williams said after practice on Tuesday that the 24-year-old still hasn’t done much in practice when it comes to contact. Oubre is still rehabbing his way back from meniscus surgery in early March, a rehab process that got impacted by the quarantine.
Oubre certainly looks spry enough in videos from practice. He said on July 14 he feels fine and it’s up to the training staff to decide if he plays. The Athletic’s Shams Charania reported in mid-June that Oubre is expected to miss all of the action in Orlando while the team has yet to rule Oubre out.
Oubre has started in 55 games this season, the third-most on the team behind Rubio (57) and Booker (62).
The team is also without Aron Baynes, who is in Phoenix with the coronavirus, along with Jalen Lecque and the aforementioned Okobo due to personal reasons.
The Suns’ scrimmage is against the Utah Jazz and takes place at 5 p.m. on ESPN 620 AM.
