You don't know how many times I've made the BRoy comparison for Rivers. Roy was obviously stronger and more efficient. But Rivers is only 1 year removed from HS-- he can develop into a more efficient player.
I'm warming to Rivers. Not a fan of his dad, but Austin has a good pedigree, he's tough, heady, and a solid slasher. From the video I've seen on him, his game may very well translate to the NBA. Put another ball handler at SG, and you may very put together a different, but solid backcourt (potentially).
Roy was also a legitimate 6'6" with a great handle. Rivers will be lucky to measure at 6'2". Beal is probably the closest thing to BRoy in this draft, and he'll likely measure 2" shorter than Brandon at the pre-draft camp.
Looking at his advanced stats he looks 'meh' Though, Roy wasn't that impressive either during his freshman/soph. years.
he reminds me of of a shorter olden polynice with better handles and jumpshot, and worse at rebounding and defense
Some other stuff about Rivers I was looking into the other day: DX has Rivers measured at 6'5 in shoes, 203 lbs, 6'7 wingspan. They have Beal as 6'3.5 in shoes, 196 lbs, 6'7 wingspan. Rivers shot 43.3% FGs, Beal shot 44.5% FGs. Rivers shot 36.5% from 3, Beal shot 33.9% from 3. Rivers got 5.4 FTA/game, Beal got 4.7 FTA/game Both had roughly 1:1 ast/TO ratios. Obviously I'm not the first one to wonder why the hell people like Beal so much, but look at how similar these guys are in so many respects. Beal does look like he'll hold up to an NBA pounding much better, and hes got some more explosiveness though hes certainly no Eric Gordon/Monta Ellis as far as athleticism. He had better defensive statistics and probably will be the better defensive player. Rivers' inability to play D could mean he'll never be a starter on a good team. But in the end Beal looks like an undersized SG who can't create his own offense. Is his shot really good enough to where you can use him like a Rip Hamilton/Reggie Miller? Those guys were tall too. Rivers looks like he can penetrate on anyone. Hes not an explosive athlete but hes just got that uncanny ability to get into the lane completely under control like a smaller BRoy or a bigger Tony Parker. Apparently hes quite selfish and it shows in how few assists he gets despite getting into the lane so much. Hes probably not the 6'5 DX lists him at (though fellow Dukie JJ Redick surprised everyone when he measured 6'5...) so perhaps hes knocked for not being big enough start as a SG due to defensive deficiencies and too selfish to play the point. In truth it looks like Rivers doesn't do anything well besides score and handle the ball. That is a big deal. That said, you have to wonder if he went to the right situation if a coach could get him to drive and dish, or could focus on converting him to PG a la Deron Williams coming out of college. I see the flaws that make people rank him so low. But hes got a very valuable skill in being able to get to the rim at will and create offense. I'm interested as a W's fan because we currently have one ball handler in Steph Curry and its questionable whether he can even create offense for himself. I think the heavy focus on Harden/Ginobili as supersubs in these playoffs may help him out. Hes a cocky kid so maybe he wouldn't like a team drafting him with plans to not use him as a starter, but there seems to be a trend where teams are starting journeymen defensive players at SG and bringing flawed but explosive scorers off the bench for heavy minutes; Harden, Ginobili, OJ Mayo, Jason Terry, etc.
Looking back at some old mock drafts....... didn't realize how short Derrick Rose and Russell Westbrook are!
Very important dates for 2012 draftniks. Set your DVRs if you're at work. http://tvbythenumbers.zap2it.com/20...evise-2012-nba-draft-combine-june-7-8/136454/
That's true; they seem to have some good sources. But I would be surprised if Blazers take either Sullinger or Marshall, unless another team wants them to. Of course i never would have expected them to take Nolan Smith or Victor Claver, so i probably don't know them very well.
