[TallmanNYCParticipant]

Tough night for Austin Rivers. Shoots 3 for 13 but gets 14 points because of 10 trips to the freebie line.  

[akhan786Participant]

Despite his shot not falling, I’d say Rivers looked pretty promising in the PG role. He said in the post game interview that this was his first time ever playing this kind of role and that he knows he’ll get more comfortable in it.

He played really good defense and made some nifty passes suprisingly and seemed to actually try to buy into the Hornets defensive and offensive scheme. For the most part he tried to pass a lot and get the offense running. He still has a lot of work to do because he really only has two moves: 1. Ugly looking 3 pointer and 2. wild layup or floater.

If you give him 3 years I think he can be a legitimate starting point guard in the league. I say three years because he basically has to change a great deal about his game and really the way he looks to attack on the court. You can tell also that his body needs a lot of work too because he can’t finish through contact so well.

Overall he seemed pretty promising if you look past the box score.

[TripleDoubleScoutParticipant]

I’m one of those that believe he is best suited for the pg role. He needs time to learn the position but he has the size and the ball handling to take on the spot. He also is a better scorer off the dribble instead of spotting up. In addition to these facts he is too small to defend the huge SGs in the league consistently. His passing is also better than most people think

[GoJOSH HUESTISParticipant]

 Since when is 6’5 too small at SG?

[TallmanNYCParticipant]

 I wish I’d caught the game, it would have been fun to see him try to make this transition. I just looked again at the boxscore and the 2 assists to 4 turnovers shows that he wasn’t exactly filling the PG spot very well. 

[JoeWolf1]

 1st professional game for a 19 year old.  I don’t think it means that much, but I do like his aggressiveness and ability to get to the line.  What I pay more attention to in SL games is how guys who shoot a bad percentage, foul a lot or turn the ball over in their first game respond and play throughout the rest of the tournament.

I care more about how they learn and adjust rather than their shot % and To numbers, I expect those to be bad.  

I think Austin will adjust and get better, but since he’s still new to the PG role, I’m not counting on any big time assist numbers.

[TruettParticipant]

1) its summer league… fun to watch, but if it was a real measuring stick against players abilities then Anthony Randolph and Anthony Morrow would be max contracts. 2) Gordon and Vasquez both played point last year for NO, so I do not think they are going to run the most traditional offense. Its gonna be alright if he takes awhile to develop. 3) He is not going to be able to take 1249823 3pt’s in the reg season so his shot selection and (probably) shooting numbers will be different too. 

 

Still has a great handle. I would like to see more drive and kick in his game

[FastAndFuriousParticipant]

His handle and quickness is going to help him out alot.

[UNCbasketballbumParticipant]

akhan, you and I both know Austin is not a PG.

[akhan786Participant]

He’s not a PG right now..that’s why I said give him three years.

[MoneyTeam6Participant]

 Overall  Rivers had a decent game I loved his effort on the defensive end the only thing that concerns me is his decision making in pick n roll situations time after time ke kept coming off the pick with one thing in mind score score score that’s why he only had  2 assist when he maybe could have had 6-7 because he had teamates wide open on the wing and in the corners If Rivers is going to be a good starting PG in the NBA he has to sacrifice his offense and focus more on passing/setting his teamates up 

[B FreeParticipant]

He is Jordan Crawford, they are very similar combo gaurds. We new the 10th pick was too high for him and now its just gonna come with more pressure.

[Shaquille OatmealParticipant]

Austin Rivers is just not a PG!  Maybe he can make drastic improvements and someday become one, but I really don’t see that ever happening.  He’s a scorer who looks for his own shot and has never been conditioned to be a facilitator or primary ball handler.  No one should underestimate how difficult it is to learn the PG position at the NBA level.  Honestly, though, I just think Austin Rivers is no good in the first place.  Even as a two guard, his only really viable skill set is his ability to penetrate.  His shooting form is unbelievably bad!  He basically shoots the ball with two hands.  He has way too much left thumb action going on to ever really be a reliable, consistent outside shooter.  I’m surprised he’s even able to shoot as well as he does now with that form.  Maybe I just dislike Rivers and refuse to recognize his talent and potential, but I’m really not seeing what it is that people love about this guy.

[Memphis MadnessParticipant]

Hopefully the Hornets figure it out, but, to me, their top 7 guys consist of 3 shooting guards (Eric Gordon, Austin Rivers, and Greivous Vazquez), 3 power forwards (Anthony Davis, Ryan Anderson, and Jason Smith), and a tweener forward (Farouq Al-Aminu).

Some depth, talent, and potential there, but no real balance.

I think they will have some good winning streaks, but overall they will have a sluggish season.

I like their coach and thought that he really got them playing hard and playing some solid defense last year, so if that mentality is still there plus you have the two rookies, and Eric Gordon there for a full year I think they will be ok. Out of the playoff hunt but not a bad team either.

I would actually roll the dice and go small: GV at point, Rivers at the 2, EJ at the small forward spot, with Ryan Anderson at the stretch four, and Anthony Davis inside. EJ as a 6’4ish 3 man would be pretty undersized, but GV is about 6’6 so he can run the point and perhaps guard the small forwards with EJ guarding the main guard.

I would also think of using a starting lineup of GV at point, EJ at 2, Ryan Anderson at the 3, Davis at power forward, and Jason Smith in the middle. Then I would use Austin Rivers as the sixth man who could fill in for EJ or GV. I would keep Al-Aminu in the rotation and I would think about using him at the 3 with Anderson at the 4 and Davis at the 5.

It could be a long year though if they can’t figure out how to make it all fit. Those ill-fitting pieces could disturb their chemistry too, which is crucial for a young, defensive-minded team.

[goldie92689Participant]

IMO, free throw attempts are a key indicator of a players effectiveness. A look at at fta leaders for 11-12 is a who’s who of nba all stars.

 

http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/stats/bycategory?cat=Fielding&conference=NBA&year=season_2011&sort=30&qualified=1

[Ghost01Participant]

 Rivers will be FINE… Yall haters just wait for Rivers/Gordon to play together. I would bet on it working. Too much talent this league not to figure out how one of them can dribble the ball up the court.

[IndianaBasketballParticipant]

The question isn’t whether Gordon can play with Rivers. The question is can Rivers play with Gordon?

Gordon has proven he can play with another ball dominant player in Baron Davis. He’s played with other star caliber players in Zach Randolph and Blake Griffin. The thing about Gordon is he’s very good playing without the ball, catching and shooting, etc. And he’s efficient.

The big question is how will Rivers adjust when he’s on the floor with Gordon because he’s not going to be dominating the ball as much. Gordon is the best playmaker on the Hornets right now, so he’ll have the ball majority of the time… Especially to close games.

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