[mouchy18Participant]

So Rivers measures in taller and bigger in terms of weight then Beal. We already know he is quicker and can create his shot better then Beal.

So what makes Beal a better Prospect?

My money is on Rivers, I would also take Lamb above him

[mouchy18Participant]

In full disclourser, they are virtually the same size

[sammybuckeye13Participant]

Beal is a better shooter, he’s stronger and more athletic, a better rebounder and defender, plays a defined position and knows his role while having demonstrated over the years that he can dominate as a scorer (he came to an ultra crowded FLA backcourt last year and was still 1st Team All-SEC), he doesn’t need to dominate or even control the ball to be effective on offense. Rivers has more swag I guess and often looks really good when he’s creating his own shots but Beal gets much more efficient results and still has huge upside.

[WizardofOzParticipant]

The measurements that came in prove that Beal isn’t undersized, and he plays bigger than his size. He’s a great rebounder and often played PF at UF.

[fliptonnParticipant]

I’m very high on Rivers and think he will be a superstar some day. But I do understand the argument for Beal. He is probably a better shooter right now (more range) and though they may weigh the same, Beal has a better NBA frame for finishing and guarding. He’s also a better rebounder and defender. He’s also more mature as a basketball player, probably a better teammate. Beal is much less of a risk than Rivers and will likely be a very good player. Rivers is very hit or miss which scares a lot of gm’s.

[mouchy18Participant]

Beal has solid intangibles but nothing that stands out as great..He is a good shooter not a great shooter. I lile rivers because he has a variety of shots as well as the ability to create in mutiple ways. Their is not a 2 guard in the league that will be able to keep rivers in front of them, we can’t say Beal has a trait thats dominate like that. The better defender can not be defined because neither proved in college to be great defenders, they both compete though

 

[CAROLINA BLUE NICKParticipant]

Being that i’m from North Carolina, I didn’t get to see Beal as much as I did Rivers. But going off highlights I saw on youtube, Beal is a better rebounder, he is stronger, and a better catch and shoot player. He doesn’t always need the ball in his hands to still be effective. Which is where the Ray Allen/Eric Gordon comparisons come from. I personally like Rivers more than Beal just because the NBA is more of an ISO game, which Rivers thrives at. Plus Rivers is more athletic than people give him credit for.  I don’t get why people say Beal is such a great shooter too when Rivers shot a higher 3 point percentage than him. Actually there shooting percentages are almost identical except for Rivers horrible free throw percentage.

Bradley Beals Stat line

PPG: 14.8      FG%: 44.5%   3PTFG%: 33.9%     FT%: 76.9%      APG: 2.2    RPG: 6.7   BPG: 0.8  SPG:1.4

Austin Rivers Stat line

PPG: 15.5      FG%:43.3%       3PTFG%: 36.5%   FT%: 65.8%(Damn) APG: 2.1   RPG:3.4   BPG:0  SPG:1

[mosdefParticipant]

Ive always liked Rivers more then Beal cuz Rivers can combo up. Defense is alot to do with desire nad Rivers has to want to play defense. He has decent size and the quickness to play good defense. I think Rivers has a better chance to be a AllStar then Beal. Im not knocking Beal. He is good but like another poster posted, his shot is good not great. I dont consider him in the Ray Allen class from his college days. He isnt even Eric Gordon cuz EG could handle more at Indiana. He is good but I think Rivers is better

[mouchy18Participant]

Beal rebounded better because he played the 3…They started 4 guards at times someone had to rebound..I doubt that translates in the NBA when he will ne on the perimeter

[Andrew1984Participant]

Sammybuckeye,

Is Beal a better shooter than Rivers? They’re both great shooters. Who’s a better shooter, Reggie Miller or Larry Bird? Tim Legler or Steve Kerr? Steve Nash or Mark Price? Who’s a better rebounder, Dwight Howard or Kevin Love? When you have two guys who absolutely excel at one specific skill, it’s kind of hard to say that one is better than the other.

You’re right, Beal is stronger, more efficient, a better rebounder, and probably a better defender. But Rivers is a better ball-handler and has more of an “attack mode” gear than Beal. Rivers is more aggressive, and correspondingly, more mistake-prone, but I also think his basketball pedigree will serve him well.

In the end, Beal will get drafted before Rivers, but it’s definitely close and they’re both going to be really, really good NBA players for 10-12 years.

[mosdefParticipant]

Though I like Rivers better then Beal, rebounding usually translates to the NBA. Mitch Richmond and Jerry Stackhouse played a role similar to Beal and they were decent rebounders for the SG

[mouchy18Participant]

@ Mos Def, Thats true if your 6’6 with a 40 inch vert…Stack never averaged 5 or more rebounds per & richmond spent much of his career under 4 bounds per

[The8thDeadlySinParticipant]

IDK how many of you pay close attention but Beal and Rivers have very different shots.

I dont feel like looking for videos on it but 1 of the more popular shots for Rivers is his shot against UNC to win.. Find that on Youtube and watch his left hand on the release. His left thumb pushes the ball out of his right hand. That will cause inconsistancy on his shot and he will be more of a streaky shooter than Beal.

Meanwhile, Beal’s left hand stays straight and is not involved in anything but guiding the ball.  From the hips up, Beal has picture perfect form.  This will cause him to be more of a consistant shooter than Rivers. 

This is not to say that Rivers wont score more but Beal will be more of a consistant shooter if Rivers doesnt fix this problem.

[mosdefParticipant]

Im not denying that Beal has better form and more consistent. Rivers does need to work on his form. There are ALOT of time were his shooting elbo flails out wide. The thing is, he can work on that. He will never be Reggi Miller but it can be worked on. I just like Rivers more then Beal cuz Rivers is an elite at getting to the rim with his handle and speed. Add that he is 6’5” and I see All Star

[Andrew1984Participant]

8,

Mechanically, I agree with you, Rivers’ off hand is probably too involved in his shot and Beal’s form is a bit more textbook. But at this level and with the numbers they’re putting up, I really don’t think that matters.

Odd that I’m mentioning him again in the same thread, but Reggie Miller’s form wasn’t textbook and he’s one of the greatest shooters ever. Dell Curry stood kinda sideways. Dirk Nowitzki’s shot is a little odd. Matt Bonner looks like he’s playing pop-a-shot, but is in the 40s career from 3.

Also, players who like to shoot off the dribble like Rivers usually have a slightly less "proper" looking shot because of the transfer of the ball from the bounce to shooting motion. Beal’s attempts come more from catch-and-shoot, which makes it a little easier to demonstrate standard mechanics.

I don’t think Rivers will be an inconsistent shooter. I think he’ll be consistently streaky. There’s a difference. That’s kind of the way I was in high school (a long time ago.) I could miss five straight threes, but a quarter later I could make five in a row, and at the end of the day, my percentages were always good.

[The8thDeadlySinParticipant]

I get that.. LoL.. I never said that either was better. I was just pointing out how their form differs. 

I think Rivers is going to be more electric than Beal simply because that is his personality.  He will probably get more headlines too because the NBA loves a story.. Rivers has an NBA dad and does flashy things like give himself nicknames.

I like them both and I am starting to think that Rivers is on the same level as Beal and Lamb..

[The8thDeadlySinParticipant]

Difference.. Ray Allen is super consistant and Reggie Miller was streaky.. Both were great but Allen hits shots at a super high rate because of great form.  Miller hit so many because he was a very emotional player in an NBA that catered more to emotion.  When Miller was excited, he always shot better.. Allen, on the other hand, probalby shoots worse when he is excited because it affects his form..

1 is not better or worse than the other, just different. Regardless, both of these young men are going to be playing basketball at the highest level and having an impact.

[joecheck88Participant]

 I think it’s fair to call Beal a better shooter, defender, and stronger but I don’t think it’s fair to call him more athletic than Rivers. I honestly think Rivers has a Monte Ellis type game. Now whether he can translate that into a monte Ellis role or Lou Williams role remains to be seen. I think with Beal you are going to get what you get. I don’t think he will be significantly better stay wise throughout his career. I think he will be a 14 to 19 ppg guy with 5 boards and good defense. While Inthink Rivers has 25ppg potential. 

[joecheck88Participant]

Is saying what I was trying to. Haha. Rivers has the ability to be a dynamite scorer. I’m just not sure he will. Beal is a safer pick IMO but Rivers has a higher ceiling imo

[bjcart53Participant]

 I can’t even compare the two. From what I see beal is way better than rivers. We will not be mentioning them in the same breath before long. Their two head to head televised matchups beal dominated rivers in high school. Beal rebounds better, shoots better, defends better, stronger, more athletic(some ppl will disagree because austin rivers dunk contest, but athleticism is judged by how you do on the court during a game in my book). I don’t think they are close. Just my humble opinion.

[IndianaBasketballParticipant]

I think both players have good measurements. Rivers measured taller, but I think Beal wins here… Mainly because his wingspan and standing reach are longer.

Beal plays a lot bigger than he is and that’ll help in the NBA.

I still like Beal as the better prospect. I think Rivers has a superstar type of isolation mentality, but I don’t think he’s good enough to be that type of player in the NBA. And when he finds that out, what will he fall back on? Beal on the other hand has the game to fit on any NBA team and understands how to play team ball, etc.

[WizardofOzParticipant]

And Rivers long neck protudes his height a bit. Beal has a short neck, so Beal has the upperhand there,

[IndianaBasketballParticipant]

I think it was said above, but it’s also crazy how they’re both bascially the same weight, but have two completely different builds/frames.

Beal’s frame is bigger.

[IndianaBasketballParticipant]

They’re different types of athletes.

Rivers has that quick first step, but seems to struggle finishing at the rim. Beal on the other hand isn’t as quick off of the dribble, but I think he’s a stronger athlete and takes contact better around the rim.

[mouchy18Participant]

When you say undersized shooter with limited ball handling skills, that’s the description of an nba back up…not saying beal will be that but he is not Eric Gordon who is bigger 220 & can handle nor is he ray Allen a big pure shooter who could handle. 

Speed & creativity kills, Monte Ellis, J.Crawford, & A.I have proved that at the 2 guard position

[akhan786Participant]

They’re two completely different players with two different playing styles.

Beal, you could pop him into ANY team in the league and he’ll be successful either as a secondary scoring option or a  6th man because I just can’t see him being a bad shooter in the league with a shooting form like that. He also brings intangible in rebounding defense and can give a couple of highlight reel dunks.

Rivers, I believe will have a rough beginning to the NBA. As he is built now, he has to be the primary scoring option for him to be successful. He needs to have a role similar to Russel Westbrook and not many teams want that kind of guard on their team (dominates the ball, sometimes take bad shots, but can still light it up) The only difference is Rivers is no where near as athletic as Westbrook and that is why I think for the first couple years he is going to struggle until he fundamentally changes the way he plays basketball. He needs to turn into Stephen Curry because he is on par athletically and size wise with Curry.

Rivers could surprise me, but imo he’ll struggle trying to find a role in the NBA because not many teams want an undersized 2 guard that isn’t athletic, that shoots a lot, that is a ball stopper, and isn’t very good at defense as the star for their team.

He could get lucky and get picked by Portland tho…it’d be interesting to see the pick and roll combo of him and Lamarcus Aldridge…

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