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Austin Rivers - what am I missing here?

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204531.1
Date: 12/13/2011 1:28:58 PM
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293293
The title of the thread kind of says it all. I'm a big Duke fan and I watch all the games, so I've seen the kid play.... and I just do not understand all the hype. Every post-game article talks about Rivers leading the team to victory, when really I suspect that a +/- stat would show the team is better without him on the floor. For a normal freshman, this wouldn't be a huge deal, but with all the attention he's getting and with the fact that he's probably one and done, I'm finding it extra frustrating.

So come on, NBA fans, tell me why a guy with really only one go to move is going to be a lottery pick in this year's draft.

(As an example of how BB has warped my mind, I find myself watching Rivers play and thinking that he has really high DR but low IS.)

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204531.2 in reply to 204531.1
Date: 12/13/2011 10:40:47 PM
Overall Posts Rated:
7979
It could be when he's on, the opponent's best players are on the floor, and when he went to the bench, the team plays against the opponent's bench? Well I don't watch college basketball much post Michael Redd/Scoonie Penn final four run more than a decade ago, but at least it could be a reason why. If not, I don't know.

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204531.3 in reply to 204531.1
Date: 12/14/2011 6:34:59 AM
Overall Posts Rated:
192192
I haven't seen any Duke games but this sounds a lot like Barnes at this point last season

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204531.4 in reply to 204531.3
Date: 12/14/2011 10:50:53 AM
Overall Posts Rated:
293293
Yeah, that's definitely a good point.

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204531.5 in reply to 204531.1
Date: 12/20/2011 1:26:12 PM
Overall Posts Rated:
103103
I suspect it has alot to do with his dad, the hype that is. I have watched a couple of duke games this season and I havent seen anything special from Doc Rivers' son. Lottery pick? hmmmm

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204531.6 in reply to 204531.5
Date: 12/20/2011 1:36:12 PM
Overall Posts Rated:
293293
Oh good, glad to hear I'm not alone in this. Listening to all the commentators praise him, I was seriously thinking he must have some amazing facet to his game that I just wasn't seeing. Mock draft boards still have Rivers up as a late lottery pick, though not the top 5 pick they were projecting for him before the season started.

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204531.7 in reply to 204531.6
Date: 2/18/2012 11:19:15 AM
Overall Posts Rated:
103103
I have watched him play in a few games since this conversation and I must admit that I underestimated him. I still think he is being overhyped because of who his father is, just considerably less so now. Pretty dam good, I hate to admit.

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204531.9 in reply to 204531.8
Date: 2/20/2012 10:10:46 AM
Overall Posts Rated:
293293
The issue I have with him as a player is that he tends to be a ballhog and he doesn't make great decisions, so generally the team plays better when he's not on the floor. Most of the time, if he has the ball, you know exactly what he's going to do because he's only got one move. The problem with that one move is that he's great at getting to the basket and not so great at finishing. The other big problem is his defense, and his general attitude on defense. He may score a lot of points, but the guy he's guarding tends to score a lot of points too. This is probably all stuff that can be fixed with time, but it doesn't look like it's going to happen this season, so it's going to be up to whichever NBA team gets him to do that.

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204531.10 in reply to 204531.9
Date: 2/20/2012 10:21:47 AM
Overall Posts Rated:
959959
but sometimes the defense get better with the different role in the team, especially star players are often advised not to play with full intensivity there to have the breath to carry the offense and they had to be more cautious to avoind foul trouble.

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204531.11 in reply to 204531.10
Date: 2/20/2012 10:30:06 AM
Overall Posts Rated:
293293
That may be true in many places, but it's definitely not the case at Duke. If he's not getting back on defense, it's not because Coach K told him not to worry about it.