demps and monty huge mistake

[Caffeinedisastr]

I'm not talking about dunking, it's about exploding to the rim, maybe it's speed IDK all I know is some guards have it others don't. Quickness doesn't work that close to the basket against bigs who have the length to recover. I mean Dragic is a similar player to Rivers in a vacuum, but he's a much better player because he has IT. I really don't think it's something Rivers can develop. Lamb ends up the better player... I mean TJones should have been the pick in hindsight. The idea that Rivers just needs something to click to unlock this "potential" is something people need to get over. If he were a 2nd round pick, he probably would have been cut already. I see signs of improvement, but I see nothing that says upside.

Dunking is a pretty good representation of exploding to the rim, representing speed & leaping ability.

I guess you were talking about blowing by a defender, i.e. speed after the first step.
Kid has no problems blowing by his defender because of his quickness/dribbling/first step. He can get to the rim but has issues making the shot once he does.

This is an example of him being cautious about contact/possible injury issues. In high school he would blow by the defender and just dunk over whomever. But we're dealing with the big boys now. I still think he had injury issues the first year.

As we have seen in the past, the front office is not very forthcoming about injuries.

[rames2great]

Wasn't there also a thing where Marbury thought he was as good or better than Garnett and took off to make his own way?

Ok sub Marbury leaving. For gordon being injured both players were unavailable they traded furture picks signed stop gap players in effort to keep garnett happy resulting in garnett leaving because wolves couldnt bring in right talent and traded picks to draft talent

[RaisingTheBar]

Besides Evans and maybe Holiday, Rivers has the best handles on the team. Getting to the rim has NEVER been a problem for him. It's just finishing at or around the rim. If Rivers can develop a floater or a mid range, he'll be a very nice, above average NBA PG (backup). He wouldn't even have to develop a 3pt shot, even though he has already shown he can hit from that range. Combined with his defense, I'd say that is about as good as we could have hoped for. This isn't the NFL with 7 rounds, 10th overall doesn't really mean he needs to be an all start to be successful.

[1ShotSniper]

Well said. But this is Rivers last chance to prove he's legit and a good fit for this team. He was very hyped up and I honestly think he needed two more years in college to mature. If he could improve his free throw shooting significantly then I think he'd score 12 ppg. He knows how to draw fouls. He was always used to being The Guy on previous teams so he's not used to playing team ball. That is a big problem. Gordon is similar but not as bad IMO. If Rivers just improves shooting just a little AND significant improves FT shooting he will be a much bigger help to this team. He is capable of being an impact. I really believe this. I'd love for him to replace Gordon but he has a lot to improve on. He has recently gotten a lot stronger and put on muscle. I bet he'll silence critics.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I think one of his biggest problems was also that he was getting pushed around and still is as you mentioned.

[nola007]

For someone dependent upon getting to the rim, he doesn't finish well AT ALL and cannot shoot free throws. To me he doesn't look like an nba player. Doesn't have an nba game or an nba body. Another Duke player who can't cut it with the big boys!

Besides Evans and maybe Holiday, Rivers has the best handles on the team. Getting to the rim has NEVER been a problem for him. It's just finishing at or around the rim. If Rivers can develop a floater or a mid range, he'll be a very nice, above average NBA PG (backup). He wouldn't even have to develop a 3pt shot, even though he has already shown he can hit from that range. Combined with his defense, I'd say that is about as good as we could have hoped for. This isn't the NFL with 7 rounds, 10th overall doesn't really mean he needs to be an all start to be successful.

[nola007]

This is a man:

And this is a boy:

[djpaul89]

Not being Lance Stephenson or Dwyane Wade = fail.

Got it. I heart your logic.

[rames2great]

First...Martching Eric Gordon was a huge mistake and how they've handled Rivers is not one. Next, Austin Rivers got way too many minutes in his rookie season. He was not ready for the minutes at all, but you definitely can't say he hasn't gotten enough. Also, if he was going to be any of those players you named, he's already had more than enough chance to develop into one of those players in the future. I really don't think his confidence is low at all, I actually feel the exact opposite. A lot of times he tries to do too much because he thinks he's better than he is at this point.

Also... It's not where it's we're*... How do you know where we are yet? We weren't healthy at all this past year and out core is very young. You have no idea where our ceiling is and I like our chances with AD.

If Anthony Davis becomes a top 1-3 player in the league the talent we have right now will be more than enough. We aren't losing AD, not for a long time anyway. He'll no doubt accept his extension and if you read MM's article, will have a chance to get new players to surround AD if that doesn't work out. BTW if you think Austin Rivers is so good, then he'll show it and whatever you think the organization has done to him, won't matter if he's that type of player.

Yes we're*... young. But how much better will reke and jrue get to me they have almost reach full potential will anderson get better. Who on roster can u pair with davis and say that can get it done for us

Are we better in the next few years than clippers spurs, okc. Portland, huston,

To me theyre only three ways to win championship
You draft ur core(okc spurs) u sign superstars(Miami lakers or u trade for superstars(boston lakers gasol trade
We have to go all in on the players we draft because to m. thats our best chance to get ring

matching gordon was a good decision if they thought they could get him healthy we needed his perimeter skills but someone in medical made a mistake with diagnoses of gordan knee so i agree with u in hindsight

[nola007]

No having their athleticism, not having their strength, not having their determination. Sit on the floor for a game, watch him. He looks totally out of place on an nba floor. He looks lost. It's like a fish out of water.

Not being Lance Stephenson or Dwyane Wade = fail.

Got it. I heart your logic.

[Kibner]

You are really going at Rivers like Lance goes after his girlfriend.

[NOLa.]

Or Lebrons ear

[Kibner]

Or Lebrons ear

Nah, that is just a gentle expression of his love.


If we are talking ears, think more Tyson and Holyfield.

[Pelifan]

Rivers has a good crossover and that's really about it. he beats his defenders to a spot but he doesn't blow by them, that's ok if he's getting his shot over a small defender but you cant do that to bigs. You guys are saying he gets to the RIM, that's wrong, he gets to the PAINT. It's the same thing Russ said about after you beat your defender in the NBA your in the midrange area, and then you have to beat the help defender as well (usually a big). Austin doesn't explode by these guys, just watch his highlights, they are all floater over point guards. Tyreke has a little bit of a similar problem, but he's so strong that he actually can finish over guys even though he can't really blow by them (if he had any kind of jumper, the players would have to play him differently and this wouldn't be an issue, because he is explosive, defenders just give him a ton of space.)

[nola007]

Spot on analysis!

Rivers has a good crossover and that's really about it. he beats his defenders to a spot but he doesn't blow by them, that's ok if he's getting his shot over a small defender but you cant do that to bigs. You guys are saying he gets to the RIM, that's wrong, he gets to the PAINT. It's the same thing Russ said about after you beat your defender in the NBA your in the midrange area, and then you have to beat the help defender as well (usually a big). Austin doesn't explode by these guys, just watch his highlights, they are all floater over point guards. Tyreke has a little bit of a similar problem, but he's so strong that he actually can finish over guys even though he can't really blow by them (if he had any kind of jumper, the players would have to play him differently and this wouldn't be an issue, because he is explosive, defenders just give him a ton of space.)

[RaisingTheBar]

For someone dependent upon getting to the rim, he doesn't finish well AT ALL and cannot shoot free throws. To me he doesn't look like an nba player. Doesn't have an nba game or an nba body. Another Duke player who can't cut it with the big boys!

Last year he shot 53.6% from within 3 feet of the rim, don't think that exactly fits the term "doesn't finish well AT ALL"

He improved his FT shooting from 55% to 64% from his rookie to soph year, that's quite an improvement. As long as he can pick it up this year above 70% that's fine and we can't ask much more of that. BTW if Rivers "can't shoot" free throws I can't wait to see your reactions to Asik at the line.

[nola007]

And the NBA 3 foot average is what 66%, that means he's poor! 64%FT for a shooting guard, again very poor!

Last year he shot 53.6% from within 3 feet of the rim, don't think that exactly fits the term "doesn't finish well AT ALL"

He improved his FT shooting from 55% to 64% from his rookie to soph year, that's quite an improvement. As long as he can pick it up this year above 70% that's fine and we can't ask much more of that. BTW if Rivers "can't shoot" free throws I can't wait to see your reactions to Asik at the line.

[nola007]

For the Rivers defenders, go to a game. Get a floor seat and watch. Come back on here and then tell he looks like he belongs out on the floor. You can get this vantage point from television. You just can't. He looks like he belongs in high school, not even college.

Last year he shot 53.6% from within 3 feet of the rim, don't think that exactly fits the term "doesn't finish well AT ALL"

He improved his FT shooting from 55% to 64% from his rookie to soph year, that's quite an improvement. As long as he can pick it up this year above 70% that's fine and we can't ask much more of that. BTW if Rivers "can't shoot" free throws I can't wait to see your reactions to Asik at the line.

[Caffeinedisastr]

Last year he shot 53.6% from within 3 feet of the rim, don't think that exactly fits the term "doesn't finish well AT ALL"

He improved his FT shooting from 55% to 64% from his rookie to soph year, that's quite an improvement. As long as he can pick it up this year above 70% that's fine and we can't ask much more of that. BTW if Rivers "can't shoot" free throws I can't wait to see your reactions to Asik at the line.

[RaisingTheBar]

And the NBA 3 foot average is what 66%, that means he's poor! 64%FT for a shooting guard, again very poor!

His percentages are below average, but what you are blind to is the improvement. If he has the same level of jump all of his numbers will be satisfactory to people like you.

[nola007]

Or if his name wasn't Rivers he would have been a 2nd round pick and he would be cut already.

I'm not talking about dunking, it's about exploding to the rim, maybe it's speed IDK all I know is some guards have it others don't. Quickness doesn't work that close to the basket against bigs who have the length to recover. I mean Dragic is a similar player to Rivers in a vacuum, but he's a much better player because he has IT. I really don't think it's something Rivers can develop. Lamb ends up the better player... I mean TJones should have been the pick in hindsight. The idea that Rivers just needs something to click to unlock this "potential" is something people need to get over. If he were a 2nd round pick, he probably would have been cut already. I see signs of improvement, but I see nothing that says upside.

[RaisingTheBar]

For the Rivers defenders, go to a game. Get a floor seat and watch. Come back on here and then tell he looks like he belongs out on the floor. You can get this vantage point from television. You just can't. He looks like he belongs in high school, not even college.

I've gone to many games but sorry I'm not a baller like you, can't sit on the floor. I think watching the games is good enough. I'm not a Rivers hater or a defender, I've bashed him just as much as anyone and I've praised him when I think he's earned it. I just try to be realistic and when it comes to recognizing improvement and potential and I don't think you are.

I also think it's wrong to discount his defense. You're saying he doesn't belong on an NBA floor defensively? This is the guy that gave Kobe fits as a rookie. We will just have to agree to disagree but I'm optimistic about Rivers.

[Caffeinedisastr]

Or if his name wasn't Rivers he would have been a 2nd round pick and he would be cut already.

The only way he wouldn't have gone first round is if he wasn't so good in college?
(makes absolutely no sense)

Why didn't Orlando Woolridge's kid get drafted again??? After all, it's in a name.

[UptownFuz504]

This is the guy that gave Kobe fits as a rookie.

RTB, you're a good, informed poster but this statement is pure hyperbole. Nobody believes this statement other than Pels/Rivers fans. This is a reach.

[Pelifan]

RTB, you're a good, informed poster but this statement is pure hyperbole. Nobody believes this statement other than Pels/Rivers fans. This is a reach.

but.. but.. he's the Voice of Reason

[WhoDatPelican]

http://www.bourbonstreetshots.com/20...rivers-better/

Many critics think that Rivers is a bad defender. Notable NBA tweeters even say that any defensive improvement is only one that is minor from horrific to bad. This is wholly incorrect and ignores where he is good defensively.

Rivers does an excellent job of defending the pick and roll ball handler. He fights through screens and can be very good at anticipating where his man is going with the ball. This is important in the NBA because the majority of offensive sets start or finish with a pick-and-roll.