Los Angeles Clippers: 5 Overreactions To Avoid
5. “Austin Rivers Is Worthless”
When teams lose, it’s easy to point fingers. Behind Doc Rivers’ back, most of the fingers would be pointing at his son Austin Rivers. In a move that made nepotism jokes all too easy,
Doc
the Clippers decided to bring in young Austin as the team’s backup point guard. For the most part, it went about as well as could be expected.
But for those slamming Rivers, keep in mind that it was not his decision to make Austin Rivers this team’s bench relief. It was not his fault Lob City’s bench was so crummy it actually had to rely on Austin “Stop The Bleeding” Rivers to log significant minutes. But most of all, if you still think Austin Rivers is worthless, you didn’t paying attention to the playoffs.
On the one hand, you can only put so much stock in the small sample size of 14 playoff games. But it’s also unfair to ignore that Rivers made strides in his first postseason appearance, averaging 11.3 points per game on 45.5 percent shooting (39.3 percent from three-point range) in Los Angeles’ series against the Rockets.
Rivers will never be a star, but he’s the reason LAC won Game 3 in a rout (25 points, 10-of-13 shooting). He was a major reason the Clippers won a crucial Game 4 on the road against the San Antonio Spurs as well (16 points, 7-of-8 shooting). He’s not the answer to Lob City’s lack of depth, but he’s not the root of the problem either.
If you’re looking for the culprit on that front, look no further than general manager Doc Rivers. With his son being a free agent this summer, I cringe to think about what kind of contract Austin will end up with, even if the Clips have severely limited cap room.
On a manageable deal, it might be easier to focus on the fact that Austin has played the best basketball of his career under his father. He may have disappeared in the final three losses of the series, but with limited cap room this team can’t exactly overhaul the bench this summer.
If and when Doc re-signs his 22-year-old son to an inflated deal, all the ire will be directed at Austin. But just remember that as entertaining as the nepotism jokes are, Austin Rivers really might not be that terrible playing for his father…on the right contract, of course.
Next: No. 4