« on: November 22, 2014, 12:10:50 AM »
Assume Smart is the SG, and he does well as a SG, and that becomes his main position.
Do we go after Rivers next year? Ainge has been interested despite Doc gone.
A lottery pick in 2010, Rivers averaged 6.2 points on 37.2 percent shooting as a rookie. The following year brought only marginal improvements to his numbers: 7.7 and 40.5, respectively.
With that data in hand, the Pelicans declined his team option for the 2015-16 season. Rivers boldly declared he was "going to go out there and play and make them pay for it," per Nakia Hogan of The Times-Picayune.
So far, he is living up to those words.
Through 10 games, he has posted career marks in field-goal (50.9) and three-point (38.5) percentages. He has cut down his turnovers lower than they've ever been (1.6 per 36 minutes). His offensive rating (113) and PER (13.2) have never been greater, and his defensive rating (109) has never been lower.
His plus-6.9 on-court net-efficiency rating leads all Pelicans reserves. And his off-court mark of plus-4.8 is lower than anyone not named Jrue Holiday, Tyreke Evans or Anthony Davis.
With good handles and a quick first step, Rivers can penetrate a defense with relative ease. More importantly, he's doing a better job of finishing once he gets there. He has converted 63.6 percent of his attempts within 10 feet of the basket, shots he made at only a 42.5 percent clip the past two seasons.
On the strength of Davis' meteoric rise, the Pelicans are trying to position themselves to make a playoff run. But they don't have a lot of depth, and they don't have any of the most efficient perimeter players (both Evans and Eric Gordon have sub-40 field-goal percentages).
New Orleans needs consistent production out of Rivers—even if it will have to pay for it down the road.
« Last Edit: November 22, 2014, 12:16:28 AM by Monkhouse »
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