I was already on board with the Austin Rivers signing, but I had no idea he was this good defensively. The defense on Kyrie and Tatum at the end of the game was game changing.. Like I said before: Rivers is in that same lane as a Bayless or Augustine.. super sub real NBA Players with play making ability Rockets never seem to get that would help the Rockets. Harden has been carrying fringe talent to the WCF for years..
Starting to get the signing. We definitely needed a shot of energy at a time rivers needed another chance. Could turnout to be a coup of a pickup. His energy off the bench is a good sign. Like having bev back but bigger and better attacking the drive. Hes looking perfect for our system. Hoping it continues...
Chris Paul should buy Austin Rivers a car, or donate some of his paycheck for Rivers helping the Rockets keep their head above water while his hamstrings heal.
This boy has some dog in his blood. I love the energy our 2nd unit are bringing us since we signed him. The +/- of today's game also tells the same story.
Can’t stress enough how crucial that is. The only guys who will get PT in the playoffs are those who can withstand an iso. Last year we didn’t have enough of them. CP’s hamstring paid the price, and Ryno’s fill-in minutes finished us off. Having an extra guy who can defend isos and also spell CP or Harden is a bonus.
He's going to allow CP3 to cut his minutes back to around 30 minutes per game when he returns. His defense has been impressive.
I just don’t understand how 152 people could not like the Rivers signing. Thank goodness the Wiz let him go so soon. It’s was like a gift from the basketball Gods. Right when CP goes out and fans want to tank, this guy literally falls right in our lap. So nice to have another capable rotation piece that can play both ends.
Austin Rivers might just be a halfway decent role player and not a particularly likable one, but at least he is an actual human being. Not like those randomly created NBA2K characters "Gary Clark," "James Ennis," and especially "Vince Edwards." None of them even existed before this summer.
I still don't like him on a personal level, but holy crap he looks good right now. Harden allows players to have so much extra energy and easy shots, yet not everybody takes advantage of that. Also his ballhandling weakness is mitigated in this role. If he keeps hitting his 3s he's gonna end up being a sensational pickup. With him and House we may have added viable playoff rotation players for nothing.
I wouldn't call Austin a weak ball handler, he's actually very solid, he just has some random clumsy plays that are few and far between the make it seem otherwise. He's solid though, just not a good playmaker, but passable enough as a bench combo guard.
