Despite struggling to find his shot at the onset of the regular season, Austin Rivers has recently managed to recapture it at the ideal time for the Houston Rockets.
Prior to the beginning of the new year, Houston Rockets guard Austin Rivers appeared to be on the verge of producing one of the worst shooting campaigns from long range in his seven-year career.
The former lottery pick — who re-signed with Clutch City last summer in free agency — shot just 32 percent from 3-point range through the first three months of the season for Houston.
In conjunction with shooting a career-low 27.4 percent from beyond the arc through 15 games in November, as the former Duke standout displayed little to any self-assurance in his jump shot to kick off the 2019-20 campaign.
Now, Rivers is working beyond the clock to try to make up for his sluggish start, as the man who provided the Rockets with an instant spark off the bench last season is showing signs of returning to normal form.
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Rivers — who missed several games due to nursing a sprained right thumb in mid-January — has managed to supply Houston’s bench with a major boost in his return to the rotation, averaging 11 points per game on an improved 42.8 percent shooting clip from downtown in his last 17 outings.
"“You know the key to anything is just going out there and do what you do,” Rivers said in a recent interview with Salman Ali of SportsMap Houston when asked about his NBA journey and how he has overcome his recent slump.“Don’t worry about all this extra noise and outside pressure. At the end of the day, I had never felt pressure. Even playing for my dad…nobody’s expectations were higher than my own. You can’t let go of that confidence because everyone else is going to let go for you. Especially if you don’t play well at first, everybody is going to count you out.”"
Although it remains to be seen exactly how many minutes Rivers will garner in the Rockets rotation down the stretch, no one can deny that the veteran wing has found his rhythm at the perfect time in H-Town.
Since his return from injury, Rivers has exhibited tremendous confidence as a perimeter shooter alongside Russell Westbrook in Houston’s second unit, knocking down at least two triples or more in six of his last 10 contests.
All the while generating additional offense off the dribble in the process, as the 6’3″, 200-pound product has played a significant part in helping the Rockets put together a winning streak over the last few weeks.
"“My role is to be a great role player,” Rivers said to reporters when talking about his current job task in Houston.“Offensive attacker, best defensive perimeter player, high energy, and help this team try to win a championship…I’ll never count myself out. Why not? I know how good I am. I put in the work just like the rest of these dudes.”"
Rivers and the Houston Rockets will seek to capture their seventh consecutive victory as they get ready to take on RJ Barrett and the New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden on Monday.