Being the son of a former NBA player has its advantages, but it certainly has its drawbacks.
One of those is the constant comparisons. It could be physique, style of play or toughness. Regardless, until the son has proven himself, to scouts he's not Stephen Curry, he's "Dell Curry Jr."; he's not Austin Daye, he's "Darren Daye Jr."; he's not Al Horford, he's "Tito Horford Jr." And if you're already a junior like Mike Dunleavy Jr.? Well, you get another "Jr." tacked on for good measure.
It might sound belittling, but scouts use it as a rite of passage for young players. Thus, it's a sign of respect earned when you force NBA talent evaluators to remember your name instead of your father's. So when "Dell Curry Jr." dropped 44 points on NC State and 29 on Duke as a freshman at Davidson, scouts finally knew who Stephen Curry was.
For New Orleans Hornets rookie Austin Rivers, however, the case is a little different. Because of his high school stardom, everyone knows him and his pedigree. And while he might be the son of championship-winning coach/former standout NBA player Glenn "Doc" Rivers, Austin's game bears little resemblance to that of his father's, let alone any former point guard. Doc is one of the most respected coaching minds in the sport, so it is surprising his son would exhibit few of the team-oriented characteristics of Doc's coaching philosophy.
As such, I would never call Austin "Doc Rivers Jr.," because he has so little in common with Doc, who coaches the Boston Celtics. Doc was a point guard; Austin is a combo guard, which is NBA parlance for a guy who tries to play point but likes to shoot way too much. This is because Austin represents one of the toughest types of players to deal with: the egocentrist. This is not necessarily the pure negative you might assume. In fact, much of that label is based on how hard Rivers works. But it hurts his game.
Rivers shows minimal game management skills and does not make plays for his teammates. As a result, he is struggling, and there are doubts among evaluators as to whether he will be a productive player, let alone excel in the league. Let's break down why Rivers' pedigree might speak more than his current skills and performance.
Strengths and weaknesses
Strengths:
His father combined a great first step and finishing ability with excellent game management and the ability to make plays for others. Austin knows how to score, but so far does not possess those two team-building skills, or at least has not exhibited them.
Austin Rivers has an explosive first step that allows him to get into the paint and to the front of the rim almost at will. He seeks contact going to the rim and will finish through with strength and/or get to the free throw line (college FTA rate: 0.458). He possesses a nice touch on high, off-the-glass shots around the rim, though he's not an above-the-rim athlete. But his ability to accelerate from standing-still position and change direction compensate for this. He does an incredible job of creating momentum toward the basket by backing up and building a head of steam.
Rivers likes to go right, but has a great right-to-left crossover; however, he still wants to get back to his right hand to finish, so he'll either put up a runner/floater or try to underhand scoop on the left side. He's not afraid of "the moment," and his dribble penetration skills and "tough shot"-making ability allow him to isolate and get a shot or get to the free throw line.
Weaknesses:
Rivers is extremely ball-dominant and struggles when he doesn't have the ball in his hands. He is not a good spot-up shooter at all. In fact, according to Synergy, he shot markedly worse in unguarded catch-and-shoot situations (eFG%: 36.2) than when guarded (eFG%: 62.9). For someone whom people project as a point guard, he is allergic to passing.
Rivers will crash his way into the paint through two or three defenders and still not give up the ball, which often leads to contested shots in the paint, offensive fouls, or both. When he does pass, it's to someone in his direct line of sight, such as to the strong corner or to the opposite wing (if he's driving in that direction). Even out of a pick-and-roll, his main options seem to be all about getting his shot off, and rarely making the play for the screener.
Defensively, Rivers chronically underachieves for a player with his physical gifts. He does a poor job of staying in front of opposing ball handlers and prevents dribble-drive penetration. He "dies on the pick," which means a general lack of desire to fight over the screen when defending the pick-and-roll. Most of this can be attributed to a lack of interest in playing the defensive end of the ball. When he's engaged defensively, all of those physical tools come into play. However, this happens far too sporadically.
The egocentrist explained
The hallmark of today's generation of young NBA players, from Kobe Bryant to Coby Karl, is they know how to play the game "the right way." But in Rivers, the egocentrism manifests itself in his seemingly selfish play. Sure, it would be easy to explain away Rivers' passing (or lack thereof) by saying he has tunnel vision, that he doesn't see the court and has his mind on getting shots (a la Nick Young).
But that's not the case here (although he does exhibit less-than-average vision for a point guard). For Rivers, he simply doesn't trust his teammates. And in the NBA, that is not acceptable.
The egocentrist is the player who works extremely hard, watches his diet, is focused on his craft, watches film, doesn't carouse or imbibe -- all great traits, except for one difference: This person has an attitude that gives him license to do whatever he wants to do on the court. This is roughly translated to "I don't have to pass the ball to anyone who doesn't work as hard as I do."
It's hard to convince the egocentrist that while his personal pursuit of excellence is commendable, being a basketball player means interacting with teammates in a way that does not alienate them.
In his book, "Dream Team," Jack McCallum quotes coach Don Nelson talking about Clyde Drexler, another egocentrist player:
"
He chips away at what an organization is trying to do...he is the worst of all kinds because he comes off as polite. He is religious, devoted to family. Yet in the context of a team, he is destructive.
"
-- Don Nelson, on Clyde Drexler
"He chips away at what an organization is trying to do...he is the worst of all kinds because he comes off as polite. He is religious, devoted to family. Yet in the context of a team, he is destructive."
The same applies, more or less, to Rivers. And his makeup is doubly concerning if he is to play point guard, a position that can be defined as "keeping your teammates happy." To his credit, he seems to be making an effort early in his NBA career to get teammates involved. But his lack of comfort in sharing the ball manifests itself in poor timing (sending the ball too early or too late) and poor delivery (inaccuracy of pass placement).
The fact is, he's not used to passing, and as such, he's not good at passing. How long before he reverts to his collegiate ways, when there were many possessions where he was the only one to touch the ball, dribbling from one side of the court to the other before settling for a shot?
Rivers has the skills to score, which will keep him in the league, but his rapport and lack of trust in teammates could wear out any team for which he plays if it's not corrected. And teams desperate for the scoring Rivers could provide usually will be at the bottom of the standings. Bottom line: Doc was a good NBA player who played for some very good teams. Austin has the potential to be a better scorer who will play for some very bad teams.
Ultimately, that's what frustrates observers the most about Austin Rivers -- the expectation that he should know better. The main thing he should have picked up from Doc was that winning trumps all, and that everything he does on the court should be to that end. Instead, he seems destined to be one of those individual talents who achieves success in the stat sheets and bank accounts, but not the win column. However, as a 20-year-old, there's still a lot of time for him to learn that father indeed knows best, and perhaps he'll play more like Doc Rivers Jr. instead of the current Austin Rivers.
Amin Elhassan worked in the Phoenix Suns' front office from 2006 to 2012, serving as a video coordinator, college scout and assistant director of basketball operations. He holds an MBA from Arizona State University. You can follow him on Twitter @AminESPN.