Rowan Kavner
CLEVELAND – Austin Rivers heard the naysayers, at least at first.
The smack talk, denigration and doubters Rivers couldn’t avoid when he first went to play for his father with the Clippers have subsided quickly given the way he’s been playing, and now he doesn’t hear any of it.
“When it first happened, of course (I heard it),” Rivers recalled. “People were like, ‘Why is he doing this? It’s not going to work. He’s just going there because whatever or whatever.’ It was a lot of negative. It was probably 70 percent negative and 30 percent positive.”
Those numbers are a thing of the past.
“It’s crazy how much changes in two weeks,” Rivers said.
Rivers knew the scenario he was getting into when he was traded to the Clippers from every aspect. He was moving to the best team he’d ever played for, featuring a number of veterans and cemented starting guard spots.
His minutes would be down as he attempted to get integrated to the team, and that’s something he accepted from the start. In fact, he said he was never worried about his minutes when the trade was made, nor did he feel pressure with the new group.
“I’ve never been a part of something like this,” Rivers said. “When there are five seconds left in the game, Chris Paul has the ball. What pressure is on me? If we lose, is the headline, ‘Austin Rivers loses the game?’ There’s no pressure on me. None. I can just go play.”
Rivers continuously references the ability to play freely with his new group. Whether or not that’s the reason for his strong play of late, he’s fitting in as well as anyone could have hoped, bringing defense and an attacking mindset off the bench.
“This is the happiest I’ve probably been in my life,” Rivers said. “I’m dead serious. I haven’t been this happy since I was in high school. It feels great just to play free and not worry about a mistake or a missed shot.”
The former New Orleans guard had never averaged fewer than 19.4 minutes per game before his move to the Clippers, but he’s taking advantage of each of the 16.8 minutes per game given to him with his new team. He’s not asked to light up the scoreboard, just to play his role, and he appreciates not having to worry about getting yanked immediately if a shot doesn’t fall.
As his level of comfort has increased, it’s shown in his shooting numbers, defensive play and care with the ball. His field goal percentage (41.1) is the highest it’s ever been, albeit only 10 games into his new tenure, and it’s only gotten better as he’s gotten more time in a Clippers’ jersey.
Since an 0-for-7 start in his first two games while he got his feet wet, Rivers has shot nearly 47 percent in his past eight games. That’s included double-digit scoring outputs in three of his past four games and a 50 percent shooting mark or better in three of his past four games, despite playing no more than 22 minutes in any of those four games.
Rivers, who averages 1.1 turnovers per game for his career, has just one turnover in his last six games. His field goal percentage, 3-pointers made, turnover total and defensive rating per 100 possessions are all the best they’ve ever been. His 17 points per 100 possessions trail only his 2013-14 total of 20.6.
“I knew I’d fit in this offense,” Rivers said. “I knew I’d fit in here. I didn’t know it would come this quick, but it came this quick. I thought it would take a while. I had a couple of games, and ‘bam,’ I got right into it.”
Rivers feels like he’s in the right place, where, in his words, he sees teammates playing for one another. He said he fit right in with Jamal Crawford, who added the same note when it came to the Clippers’ bench.
“It’s just about whatever we need that night,” Crawford said. “Some nights it may be Austin stepping up, it could be Spencer (Hawes), it could be both. It’s just about playing for each other.”
Now, Rivers said it’s just a matter of repeating those performances. He said if he misses a couple shots, he’s not going to get mad at himself; he’ll keep shooting and stay 100 percent confident.
That’s been his mindset since he was a kid, when he was told he wouldn’t be as good as his father or his older brother. He doesn’t take it personally when he hears, as he put it, “outrageous negative stuff.”
Not that he has to deal with much of that “outrageous negative stuff” anymore.
“It’s all positive now,” Rivers said. “My dad always says, ‘Never get too high or too low.’ Now, I want them to say even more. I’m going to keep playing…I play for my team anyway.”
