Russ wasn't always this damn explosive, especially in high school i've played with & against this dude at Rowley park in Gardena, CA. Coming out of Leuzinger he had played point but going to UCLA he played behind Josh Shipp at the two b/c they had Darren Collison (who wasn't coming off the court & he played full court press all damn game lol) With Daren there & Jru Holiday coming in Russ left & it wasn't until he got to the league I saw him blow up physically. His second year in the league was nothing compared to previous years I had ever seen him play. Now I say all this to say that yes we could groom Rivers to be a Westbrook type of player b/c explosiveness isn't God given talent. But diligent work at your body & craft. As well as the dribbling, the court vision just takes game experience, e.g. is Chauncey Billups. & for those who say Austin Rivers isn't as explosive go watch the tape http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uIBZgyspCdI
I think the general opinion is that Rivers is most similar to OJ Mayo. He has no where the explosive finishing ablitiy of JR Smith or Westbrook. I think he has better handles than both. I always saw Rivers as a Steph Curry type NBA player with less of a Basketball IQ of course, And more streaky jumper. Rivers can learn to be a point guard if he lets himself be one.
Rivers basketball IQ is very high actually. And even if he does become Mayo that isn't really a bad thing.
Well, it seems stupid now given how Westbrook has developed into a star. Remember, Westbrook only averaged 9 minutes a game as a freshman. If he came out as a one and done, people would be talking about how he was a big recruit that went to UCLA and disappointed because he wasn't big enough to be a shooting guard and didn't have the skills to play point. He was also a tweener at 175. Westbrook stayed another year, worked his ass off in the gym, and was projected as a top 10 draft prospect. Him being picked forth makes sense now, but back then Rose, Mayo, Gordon, and Bayless were all guards that rated higher than him. Looking at that draft, so many projected late round gems (Dragic, Ibaka, Pekovic). Both Westbrook and Rivers have identical wingspans at 6'7. Rivers is an inch taller at 6'4 and tens pounds bigger at 205. Rivers actually has a higher no step vertical and max vertical. Yeah it may be silly to compare them because their games are vastly different, but as athletes, they are similarly built players that were good a scoring in college but didn't demonstrate great point skills. Westbrook took an extra year in college and his game grew. Perhaps Rivers should have done the same and stayed at Duke. I will say it does seem that Rivers has that "it" factor. He has always been the man and is comfortable with it. At 14 or 16, he could end up being a very good piece for us.
I watched all but 1 of Austin's Duke games, and I love him as a player. In fact, I'd be ecstatic if Houston were to draft him. But playing the 1 I do not see him doing. I think he's too selfish of a player to be a true point guard. Can you teach him otherwise? Sure, but he would be 75-80% of the true player he can be @ the 2. I'd rather have all 100%. He doesn't have the court vision that great point guards have, and his lateral quickness, on the defensive end, always seemed to be lacking. He'll be exploited defensively at the two, but even more so @ the 1. Imagine the mind of Kobe Bryant in a point guard...do you really want that? Also, didn't Memphis attempt this with OJ, and fail? Of course, I'm terrible when it comes to analyzing the true talent of college players, so I could be completely off base, but I would think, since Duke had not 1 decent PG, Coach K would have stuck him there if he saw PG-like potential.
When it was reported that a lottery team had promised to draft Duke shooting guard Austin Rivers, many suspected that it came from New Orleans with its No. 10 pick. His father, Celtics coach Doc Rivers, and Hornets coach Monty Williams are close friends, and Austin is just the sort of young, confident talent that New Orleans could use during its rebuilding process. But a source with knowledge of the situation insisted that the Hornets have not promised Rivers. SI.com So he has a lottery promise, but it's looking to be from outside the top 10. We presume Waiters is promised to Phoenix, could this be a promise from the Rockets? hmm....
