Timberwolves shut down Ricky Rubio

Ricky Rubio's season is over. 

Thanks to a lingering right ankle injury, the Minnesota Timberwolves point guard will sit out the team's final six games, head coach and president Flip Saunders announced on Saturday. 

Saunders was initially hopeful that Rubio would be able to play again this season, but ultimately decided it wasn't worth the risk. He expects Rubio to be back to full health after a full month of rest. 

It was a frustrating season for the Spaniard, who was limited to just 22 games thanks largely to a separate ankle injury – a severe sprain and bone bruise – suffered back in November. 

Injuries have been a consistent issue for Rubio in his four NBA seasons, but he managed to suit up for all 82 games last season. In his abbreviated 2014-15 campaign, he continued to flash his remarkable vision and genius passing ability and continued to struggle badly with his shot. 

He connected on just 35.6 percent from the field and, perhaps more concerning, 25.5 percent from beyond the arc. That field-goal percentage is more or less in line with his career average, but his 3-point shooting took a substantial dip. 

But without the opportunity to play a sustained run of games, Rubio also didn't have the chance to get into any kind of rhythm, or get comfortable with his slew of new (and very green) teammates. The Wolves went 7-15 in games they played. That isn't great, but when you consider that they're 9-45 without him, you get a sense of how important he is to that team. 

Considering the promise the Wolves' youngsters showed, they could be poised for a pretty substantial leap if they can get something close to a full season out of Rubio in 2015-16.