Real Cool Austin Rivers Highlight Reel

[MonsterMash]

As usual, your contrarian view is unfounded. I'm saying give the kid a chance because he is so young and has a lot of room to grow, while he is saying Rivers had a bad rookie year, so all he can ever be is a journeyman. I'm not playing this game with you though. You argue for the sake of arguing, and I'm not in the mood.

Yeah, throwing a 19 year old to the curb because "you're a ballplayer" no matter what age is ignoring a lot of evidence to the contrary. There's another thread with people trumpeting Avery Bradley as if he's the best thing since sliced bread, and he posted like a 2.4 PER as a 19 YO rookie.

[PELICANSFAN]

It's really an easy concept, and I've explained it multiple times, so this is the last because I know your M.O.

Demps and Monty both said Rivers would be a project when we drafted him. They told fans like you and UptownFuz to shut your mouths for a few years while he develops and to stop crying about how bad he would be at the beginning because it would take time to develop him. Still, you people are complaining relentlessly about how bad he did his rookie year, and how he didn't perform statistically, yet you continue to ignore the steps he took prior to his hand injury. It is what it is. You enjoy it, so go and have fun. Like I said, I'm not playing your game. I said what I have to say, and I'm standing by it.

Honestly, did you expect him to be as bad as he was though? He almost looked like he had never played a high level of competition before. He will improve. He appears dedicated to getting better. However, I just question whether he will ever be a solid starting PG or whether we should allow him to be a combo guard off the bench. I guess we will see, as Monty seems married to him at the PG. I just hope he truly thinks the kid can be an NBA PG and is not letting his personal feelings cloud his decisions.

[Pelicans78]

Honestly, I expected him to be pretty bad coming in just by looking at his advanced statistics in his one season at Duke. He wasn't that efficiently his one year at Duke plus came with flaws especially perimeter shooting and not finishing in the paint. Those things got exposed at the professional. Basically he's a project until proven otherwise.

[MonsterMash]

Honestly, I expected him to be pretty bad coming in just by looking at his advanced statistics in his one season at Duke. He wasn't that efficiently his one year at Duke plus came with flaws especially perimeter shooting and not finishing in the paint. Those things got exposed at the professional. Basically he's a project until proven otherwise.

This, as well. As much as I disagree with dismissing the player's potential based on one year, I also don't think he showed nearly enough to plan anything of note around him. You keep him here and see what you have, but I'm not passing up any potential upgrades based on the idea that the light suddenly clicks on.

[Pelicans78]

This, as well. As much as I disagree with dismissing the player's potential based on one year, I also don't think he showed nearly enough to plan anything of note around him. You keep him here and see what you have, but I'm not passing up any potential upgrades based on the idea that the light suddenly clicks on.

Me neither. Assuming Rivers is the future of anything right now would be a mistake. I'm all for lettign him get playing time to develop, but its not like he was a Anthony Davis type who proved to be a starter and long-term option right away. Rivers has alot of work ahead of him. He has a good head on his shoulders so he will improve. Question is how much.

[nolaslim213]

Honestly, did you expect him to be as bad as he was though? He almost looked like he had never played a high level of competition before. He will improve. He appears dedicated to getting better. However, I just question whether he will ever be a solid starting PG or whether we should allow him to be a combo guard off the bench. I guess we will see, as Monty seems married to him at the PG. I just hope he truly thinks the kid can be an NBA PG and is not letting his personal feelings cloud his decisions.

Honestly? I didn't expect him to be as bad as he was during the first half of the season. After the break when he started playing better, that's about what I expected out of him, but his defensive progress was WAY past what I expected. Moreover, I knew his basketball I.Q. was high, but I didn't know it was this high. He does all the little things you need him to do. For example, he boxes out all the time, which is rare for a PG, let alone a rookie. He created so many rebounding opportunities for others just by putting a body on the other team. Even more than that, he picks things up very quickly, and that's encouraging.

I see him a a big piece moving forward, and the way Monty brought him up at the lottery last night when asked about lucking into Anthony Davis with the #1, and he responded by adding Rivers in there at #10. I'm higher on him than most, but that's probably because I'm not looking at his production, rather, I'm judging him based on tools and growth. He showed a lot last season if you approach it like that, which is why Monty is so excited about him moving forward. No doubt he has the work ethic to do what needs to be done to clean up his game and progress.

[cgrand]

"Real Cool Austin Rivers Highlight Reel"

i would be willing to wager that this is the first time ever those six words have been strung together, in that order
other, more aggressive wagerers than i might wager that it will be the last...

[Coughka]

I wonder if Rivers' injuries this year are what hindered his vertical athleticism.

In the high school videos you see him dunking, and with ferocity. I don't think he had a single dunk this year.

[GESWhoseBack]

I wonder if Rivers' injuries this year are what hindered his vertical athleticism.

In the high school videos you see him dunking, and with ferocity. I don't think he had a single dunk this year.

I was thinking this too. I don't believe he dunked either even on fast breaks. Maybe next year we will see the real Austin.

[HornetGuru]

Yeah, throwing a 19 year old to the curb because "you're a ballplayer" no matter what age is ignoring a lot of evidence to the contrary. There's another thread with people trumpeting Avery Bradley as if he's the best thing since sliced bread, and he posted like a 2.4 PER as a 19 YO rookie.

good point, bradley was terrible as a rookie, and he was 20 his rookie year. in 3 years rivers will be one of our best players, all we need is a dang SF!

[Austin Rivers]

http://www.pelicansreport.com/showth...ix-as-a-Hornet

[Basketball Nate]

rivers final 16 games, 49% from the field, 43% from 3. I say he gonna be fine.

Based on 16 games you truly believe he can do that for 82 games year to year going forward without wearing down and getting hurt?

[Eman5805]

Based on 16 games you truly believe he can do that for 82 games year to year going forward without wearing down and getting hurt?

The idea is that people can get better after their rookie year, otherwise, what's the point? I mean, how is it anymore accurate to say he'll break down and get hurt than saying he won't?

[Kumar]

Based on 16 games you truly believe he can do that for 82 games year to year going forward without wearing down and getting hurt?

Well those 16 games accounted for over 26% of his NBA CAREER..

[Basketball Nate]

The idea is that people can get better after their rookie year, otherwise, what's the point? I mean, how is it anymore accurate to say he'll break down and get hurt than saying he won't?

I wish I can cuss on this board without getting banned but the extreme homerism defense of a sub-par player by a vocal few on this board infuriates me to the point where I wanna get violent.

[Kumar]

I wish I can cuss on this board without getting banned but the extreme homerism defense of a sub-par player by a vocal few on this board infuriates me to the point where I wanna get violent.

Pretty sure everyone acknowledges he was sub par. However, I don't think it is unreasonable to say he has tools and has shown the flashes to get better. I highly doubt anyone defends him if he stinks up another season. Its just that a lot of people feel its is too early to dismiss the possibility of improvement.

[Basketball Nate]

Facts have proven so far in his NBA career that Austin Rivers is a sub-par player. He can't score in the paint, can't shoot from mid-range, can't shoot free throws, and can barely shoot from three point range. Out of those 16 games these homers like to tout around so much on this board it shows that Austin only scored in double figures TWICE, took more than 10 shot attempts ONCE, combined for a grand total of THREE steals, and never went over double digit assists.

I don't understand what's so special about someone who was known to be scorer their entire career leading up to NBA to now being so damn afraid to shoot the ball more than 10 times in a game? Now all of a sudden some people on here believe he's the savior to the point guard position because Monty Williams went out of his way to acknowledge him to the media at the lottery selection event and that's the reason this team won't take Trey Burke?

[bradael]

Because he wasn't asked to be the go to scorer. FG% is much more important than PPG. Brandon Jennings supposedly had a great rookie season because he scored more than 15 ppg, but his FG% was even worse than Austin Rivers.

Rivers still has a long ways to go and no one is disputing that, but you can see his talent in handling the ball and getting around defenders. His problem is shooting from the line and finishing in traffic. But he showed great improvement in the last part of his season at least in terms of finishing in traffic.

I don't think anyone here expects Rivers to be a 20ppg player, even those who are the highest on him. But it's really not out of the question to expect 15 ppg & 5 asts when he nears his prime. That's really all we need out of him so long as we have Davis, Anderson, and Gordon.

Most players aren't studs their rookie season anymore. No one was surprised at Lillard winning ROY... he was by far the oldest of the group. Tony Parker is who many like to compare Austin to... and well guess what... Tony scored 9.2 ppg his rookie season in 29.4 minutes per game. Not much better per minute ratio than Austin.

I also think some people are spoiled by what Chris Paul did here... or even what he did as a rookie. Sorry, that just doesn't happen often. Most players take a year or two to develop into legitimate starters.

[Basketball Nate]

Because he wasn't asked to be the go to scorer. FG% is much more important than PPG. Brandon Jennings supposedly had a great rookie season because he scored more than 15 ppg, but his FG% was even worse than Austin Rivers.

Rivers still has a long ways to go and no one is disputing that, but you can see his talent in handling the ball and getting around defenders. His problem is shooting from the line and finishing in traffic. But he showed great improvement in the last part of his season at least in terms of finishing in traffic.

I don't think anyone here expects Rivers to be a 20ppg player, even those who are the highest on him. But it's really not out of the question to expect 15 ppg & 5 asts when he nears his prime. That's really all we need out of him so long as we have Davis, Anderson, and Gordon.

Most players aren't studs their rookie season anymore. No one was surprised at Lillard winning ROY... he was by far the oldest of the group. Tony Parker is who many like to compare Austin to... and well guess what... Tony scored 9.2 ppg his rookie season in 29.4 minutes per game. Not much better per minute ratio than Austin.

I also think some people are spoiled by what Chris Paul did here... or even what he did as a rookie. Sorry, that just doesn't happen often. Most players take a year or two to develop into legitimate starters.

Bull****!

He can't score at the NBA level like he did in college and high school and that's the reason why people on here keep trying to make excuses for him and label him as a point guard when he's not a point guard.

[Pelicans_fan_504]

We are not labeling him as a PG the team has, plus this discussion is not something to get so over worked out about like you are. Just take a chill pill

[jgman]

People on here are posting highlight reels of historically (one of) the worst rookie season ever trying to convince themselves that this "project" will produce something great(like jamal crawford and tony parker) regardless of all the evidence to the contrary (seriously, multiple videos of rivers making wide open shots because he hardly made anything contested). People on here think the College POY is passable for us in the draft because we have one of the worst rookies in nba history: "Frankly, there is no track record of Rivers playing an efficient brand of basketball against high-level competition" (Chad Ford). People on here think that Rivers could be our scoring punch, starting or off the bench, PG or SG, regardless of his inability to score efficiently, contributing to his having one of the worst rookie seasons in nba history.

Everyone thinks he'll get better including me, but can we stop comparing him to all-star level talent and acting like his rookie season didn't even happen and be a little more realistic, please, I mean so many people call him a great defender and I have heard no other example than he stayed infront of Kobe well for a couple minutes. His basketball IQ is so high that he takes really bad shots all the time and picks up things really quickly, for example the drop in efficiency and production through his first 3 and 1/2 months in the league.

I'm not trying to say he sucks and will always suck but people are so unrealistic and contradictory in their comparisons and expectations it is incredible

[da ThRONe]

People on here are posting highlight reels of historically (one of) the worst rookie season ever trying to convince themselves that this "project" will produce something great(like jamal crawford and tony parker) regardless of all the evidence to the contrary (seriously, multiple videos of rivers making wide open shots because he hardly made anything contested). People on here think the College POY is passable for us in the draft because we have one of the worst rookies in nba history: "Frankly, there is no track record of Rivers playing an efficient brand of basketball against high-level competition" (Chad Ford). People on here think that Rivers could be our scoring punch, starting or off the bench, PG or SG, regardless of his inability to score efficiently, contributing to his having one of the worst rookie seasons in nba history.

Everyone thinks he'll get better including me, but can we stop comparing him to all-star level talent and acting like his rookie season didn't even happen and be a little more realistic, please, I mean so many people call him a great defender and I have heard no other example than he stayed infront of Kobe well for a couple minutes. His basketball IQ is so high that he takes really bad shots all the time and picks up things really quickly, for example the drop in efficiency and production through his first 3 and 1/2 months in the league.

I'm not trying to say he sucks and will always suck but people are so unrealistic and contradictory in their comparisons and expectations it is incredible

While I agree with pretty much all of this I'll vouch for Rivers defense. It wasn't just Kobe he played tough defense in several games before the injury. I would goes as far as to say he was at one point was our best perimeter defender(which on this team isn't saying much).

[GESWhoseBack]

While I agree with pretty much all of this I'll vouch for Rivers defense. It wasn't just Kobe he played tough defense in several games before the injury. I would goes as far as to say he was at one point Rivers was our best perimeter defender(which isn't on this team isn't saying much).

I will also add he was never one to take bad shots. Actually passed up way to many good shots! And you can't have a drop in efficiency when you just starting. He started off inefficient and by the time the season was over he was getting better. And he can be compared to all-star level talent if said talent had similar stats in their rookie season it shows that progress can be made.

[nolaslim213]

I wish I can cuss on this board without getting banned but the extreme homerism defense of a sub-par player by a vocal few on this board infuriates me to the point where I wanna get violent.

[Silverfoxx]

Bull****!

He can't score at the NBA level like he did in college and high school and that's the reason why people on here keep trying to make excuses for him and label him as a point guard when he's not a point guard.

U sir.........is mad.


Austin Rivers will be a top 5 PG and and future All-Star


DEAL WITH IT.