NBA: How the Austin Rivers trade keeps looking better for the Los Angeles Clippers

Los Angeles Clippers point guard Austin Rivers might have been cast out of New Orleans but he’s found a home in Los Angeles and now he’s flourishing. 

By the rivers of Babylon we sat and wept when we remembered Zion.

There’s so much deep meaning in the words of the sentence above because it reflects on a person thinking about where they came from. The people who were weeping at the rivers of Babylon had to go to a different land and remember the good times in Zion. As they thought about the good, they lamented in the fact that they were in a different situation. 

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Remembering good times in the midst of a bad situation often is what helps people to stay sane, and metaphorically have peace on a boat in the middle of a storm.

One of the players that’s made a new home, and that’s found a new land to play in is the backup point guard for the Los Angeles Clippers, Austin Rivers.

It looks as if because Rivers is playing in a new situation with the Clippers that he’s finally at peace with his NBA career. Because of the trade that sent him to the Clippers, Rivers has looked comfortable and is starting to pay dividends for their team. 

Since joining the Clippers, Rivers’ shooting percentage has increased, his turnovers have decreased, and he’s had multiple double-digit scoring nights.

The sample size may be small, and it may or may not be too early, but the Clippers are 7-3 since bringing Rivers to their team. The question that remains is how does someone become a spark plug for one team and not the other? The answer? A combination of playing time, patience, and development, all of which are being provided by the Clippers organization.

There wasn’t much that Rivers could do during his three-year stint playing for the New Orleans Pelicans. He only played around 22 minutes a night, and still managed to average around seven points per game. For the most part Rivers was forced to sit on the bench because the people he was competing against were great and accomplished NBA players.

Some of these players in their own right were looking for brand new starts in their careers and had accolades such as All-Star, Rookie of the Year and playoff veterans attached to their names. It’s not easy for any 19-year-old player to come into any league and attempt to get minutes over great players such as Eric Gordon, Tyreke Evans, Greivis Vasquez, and Jrue Holiday.

Now that Rivers is apart of the Los Angeles Clippers, it’s looking like the Pelicans made a bad decision to let him go. That same person that the Pelicans selected with the tenth pick in the 2012 NBA Draft, that led Duke in scoring averaging 15.5 points per game as a freshman, and that was eighth in the ACC in scoring looks like he’s ready to flourish in the role of Chris Paul’s understudy.

Soon enough the 22-year-old Rivers is going to have a breakout season and playing with the Clippers is a perfect situation to expedite the process.

The Pelicans might’ve given up on him too early but the Clippers got him right on time. When should we expect to see Rivers become a game changer for the Clippers?

His Fit With the Clippers

Watching Rivers play at Duke was incredible to watch. One of the most special nights that he had as a collegiate athlete occurred when he played against the North Carolina Tar Heels inside of Chapel Hill, and Rivers absolutely cooked North Carolina. Rivers finished with 29 points, and he made the game winning walk off shot for good measure.

Now that he’s playing for the Clippers his role is similar to his college days at Duke.

Rivers is a better player when the basketball is in his hands because not only can he shoot, he can also get to the rim. Rivers isn’t a traditional point guard in the sense of looking to set up his teammates. He’s apart of the new school wave of point guards that scores exceptionally well, and think, pass second.

The Clippers now have another scoring threat to come into the game, whenever they decide to give their starting point guard, Chris Paul a break.

Not only can Rivers score, or led the offense as a point guard though, he can also get utilized as a shooting guard because of his 6’4 200 pound size.

If the Clippers ever decide to have a lineup where the backcourt comprised of Paul and Rivers it would help Paul get a break defensively. For example, if the Clippers played against Russell Westbrook, Derrick Rose and/or John Wall, Rivers could take the assignment since he’s big enough, and quick enough to matchup to them.

When the Clippers play great teams a lot of the time Paul isn’t being guarded by the opponents point guard, he’s being guarded by the opponents best perimeter defender. On the other hand Paul has to chase around lethal point guards on a nightly basis, while having to score, set up his teammates and run the show offensively. Of course a lot of responsibility can get taxing and in a course of a 82 game season it’s better to have more energy when it’s playoff time. 

With Rivers on the roster though he can get utilized to guard these point guards and to give Paul a bit of a break.

His Teachers

A lot of people have taken Chris Paul for granted because we’ve seen him consistently become a triple double threat, and do so much for the Clippers. Paul has helped change the culture for the Clippers organization from their days of being a laughing-stock, to becoming a championship contender.

In the league there might not be a better point guard to learn from and if Rivers wants to become the player that he’s destined to become, he should start taking notes and listening even more.

As a point guard Paul is a great evaluator of talent because one of the best features in his game is knowing the traits of his teammates and seeing what they are, and aren’t good at on the court.

In an interview with Ben Bolch of the Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Clippers head coach Doc Rivers spoke about Paul speaking to his son, Austin and said this: 

"“C.P. grabbed him during this game and said, ‘Hey, listen, you can get to the basket…… We need you to attack’ and he listened.”"

While in an interview with Arash Markazi of ESPNLosAngeles.com, Paul said this:

"“He’s still finding his way but we keep telling him to be aggressive…His energy is something that we need, and it’s great because it’s a change of pace. I’m nowhere near as fast as Austin, so it’s cool when I come out, it changes the game up.”"

In addition, as good as Paul is as a player, there’s a person who’s even more well-versed and intelligent when it comes to teaching point guards, and that’s none other than the Clippers head coach, and Rivers father, Doc Rivers.  

As a player Doc Rivers made the NBA All-Star team in 1988 averaging 14.2 points, 4.6 rebounds, and 9.3 assists while he was playing with Dominique Wilkins and the Atlanta Hawks. In addition, Rivers as a coach has helped guards such as Rajon Rondo, Rod Strickland, Chris Paul, Darrell Armstrong, and Avery Bradley to all become better players.

Moving Forward 

Unlike the opening sentence of the story, if the sentence read….”by the rivers of Los Angeles we wept and remembered Winter Park” then the outlook is completely different. 

Instead of lamenting, and having tears of sadness, a person would be shedding tears of joy. Soon enough if Rivers keeps playing up to his potential, the NBA will start to look similar to his Winter Park days, where he was an absolute machine.

Let’s just say that Rivers career path is going upstream.

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