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Making the Transition: Rivers Off-the-Ball
The Early Returns Coming into the league, Austin Rivers was (justifiably) pigeon-holed as a ball-dominant, “get to the rack” kind of guard who would struggle with his perimeter shooting early in his career. Instead, he has produced a statistical shooting line which almost speaks to the inverse: a higher three point percentage (37%) than total […]
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Making the Transition: Is Austin Rivers Really the Worst?
(By Michael McNamara and Jason Calmes) Just yesterday, ESPN Insider ran a story that set out to answer one simple question- Is Austin Rivers Having the Worst Season Ever? For those without Insider access or who simply lack the desire to read another anti-Rivers column, the author (Kevin Pelton) uses a player metric that he […]
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The Return (?) of Eric Gordon: A Rivers-Centric Lineup Part 2
The general assumption leading up to the start of the regular season was that Austin Rivers would come off of the bench and back up both guard spots throughout the year. But Eric Gordon’s recurring knee troubles forced the rookie into a starting role, and while his on-the-job training didn’t start out particularly well (his […]
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A Rivers-Centric Lineup
What would a starting lineup created solely to augment Austin Rivers’ skillset look like? Let’s take a look. (Warning: this is only a hypothetical starting 5 meant to emphasize Rivers and who he best complements and is in no way intended to be utilized as an actual NBA lineup with the intention of winning basketball […]
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Making the Transition: The Curious Case of Brian Roberts
With Greivis Vasquez firmly entrenched as the team’s starting point guard, Austin Rivers was, seemingly by necessity, slotted into the starting “2” role as a fill-in for the injured Eric Gordon. Management’s discussion of the Rivers pick and his role has consistently included talk of grooming him as a point guard, or at least towards […]
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Making the Transition: Nice Guys Finish Last
Austin Rivers is a ball-hog. He only looks to get his own. He has a propensity for tunnel vision. He ices out teammates and chooses to dribble the air out of the ball. These were the largely justifiable criticisms levied against the 10th overall pick this past June. Despite being Duke’s primary ball-handler, Rivers managed […]
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Making the Transition: Slow Down to Speed Up?
Austin Rivers is not an exceptional athlete by NBA standards, and his development with the New Orleans Hornets may accelerate once he embraces that fact.
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Making the Transition: Dare to Compare to Tony Parker
Hornets fans want a star from their “other” rookie first round selection, but Austin Rivers is struggling . . . does this mean he will not be a star?
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Making the Transition: Austin Rivers’ NBA Debut
Austin Rivers made his NBA debut last night. How did it compare to expectations?
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Making the Transition: Austin Rivers
In a recurring piece throughout this season, Austin Rivers’ performance will be tracked to see how the young man adapts to the rigors of the NBA game.