When the Los Angeles Clippers acquired Austin Rivers in a three-team deal, many viewed the move as shallow because his father Doc Rivers happens to be the coach and the general manager of the team.
Personally, I wasn’t stunned by the move because of the family ties, but also because the Clippers have lacked that extra scoring punch that they have been able to generate in recent years.
Right now, the Clippers have the fifth-best offense in the NBA, but they have lacked that true back-up point guard who’s able to run the show while Chris Paul takes a breather. Jordan Farmar struggled in that role, which left Jamal Crawford to take over as a true combo guard and try to play multiple roles on the floor.
Crawford isn’t a younger player, meaning his role and minutes have to be managed with the postseason in mind, just like Paul.
I wouldn’t call taking a gamble on Rivers a bad idea necessarily, but it’s one that daddy Rivers should’ve thought out more carefully, even if all he really gave up was Reggie Bullock and a second round draft choice.
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Rivers played a lot of point guard for the New Orleans Pelicans, but couldn’t quite get a grasp on things in his first two seasons in the league. For his career, he’s averaging 6.9 points and 2.3 assists per game on 38.7 percent shooting. To put things in perspective, Rivers hasn’t been the player that he was expected to be when he was selected 10th overall in the 2012 NBA draft.
Much like Crawford, Rivers has always had a great handle of the basketball, but where he struggles is in his decision making. More times than not, Rivers will dribble the ball too much and end up in a bad spot on the floor where he is usually surrounded by multiple defenders and forced to take a bad shot or make a bad pass out of traffic.
One would think Rivers would begin to figure out how to get out of these situations more often, but he has not in what is going on his third year playing professional basketball.
Another thing that has set Rivers back greatly is his free-throw shooting. Rivers is shooting a career 63.0 percent from the charity stripe, which is a horrible number for a guard. Yes, Rivers has been able to draw contact on many different occasions, but not being able to convert on those opportunities has really hurt his offensive game, and has left his team rethinking putting him into the game.
Defensively, Rivers has been atrocious. Whether its guarding his man one-on-one or trying to help his teammate out, the game seems like it has looked too fast for him to understand. Rivers consistently gets caught staring blankly into space while his man gets around him for an easy score, or he will get caught on a pick that he should’ve seen from a mile away. This kind of lackadaisical defense will get anyone put on the bench in a minute, and this has no doubt contributed to Rivers’ lack of playing time.
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So far for the Clippers, Rivers has averaged 0.5 points per game, and has only managed two assists to one turnover in over 30 minutes of playing time. His impact hasn’t been felt one bit, and this is likely to continue, no matter how much his dad wants him to succeed.
When Rivers is at his best, he can be a scoring machine capable of putting up points in bunches, similar to Crawford, and he can handle the ball and make plays for others in the right situations. Rivers showcased these skills and more during his time in high school and at Duke, leaving many to think he could come into the NBA and be a star for whatever team drafted him.
Right now, Rivers looks like he is on his way to being a bust, something that Doc shouldn’t want to be associated with, even if he is his son. Does an inefficient player really deserve to be taking away minutes from the other productive guards on the team? Some of the guys may need a rest every now and then, but Rivers hasn’t earned the right to be on the court taking away valuable minutes from real veteran talents.
Doc is going to have to find a way to seriously motivate his son to play better basketball. Defense would be a great way to start, as that is how a lot of players earn spots in the rotation these days. Giving the effort to play hard on that end of the floor is a way Rivers can show his dad that he means business and deserves a second chance. After that, I’m sure the two of them can help develop Rivers’ offensive game to resemble what it was in his younger days.
Even though the move may be a huge gamble, in the end Rivers is still a very young player with a lot to learn. He could be huge for the Clippers down the road, and with little cap room to play around with, he could be the player they have been missing all along at a discounted price.
Don’t give up on Austin Rivers just yet. He may surprise us all one of these days.
*Statistics courtesy of Basketball-Reference.