I personally believe Austin putting up such a great +/- is exactly how it is supposed to work for the way the team is built....To answer your question as to why...here are a few things... 1) 48 minutes of HOF point guard play. That chart a few pages back shows the top 4 four man rotations ALWAYS include James or CP. 2) Sometimes a bench players +/- can actually be better than starters....because they take back the game from the other bench....just a product of a great team....also mix in point #1 vs other team's bench players. 3) Rivers is a great solid vet....especially off the bench. 4) The Jazz in 2 games have been terrible...outscored by more than 50 points in 2 games! Speaking of Morey's Algorithms and such, many teams value Rivers, this wasn't just Morey. What was Morey was knowing every position every other team in the league is in and knowing a player(s) like Rivers (and Farid) will become available. What also worked out is that we had time due to injuries and that these players WANTEFD to come here.
Yeah, what the @count_dough-ku said. And, keep in mind that these guys accept buyouts. I'm not sure, but I suspect they are asked to accept a buyout, but wait for the perfect opportunity to arise. Chris Paul going down is a perfect opportunity, and Rivers jumped on it. Players have a very big say on When/Where a buyout occurs. And despite Rivers recouping the money he forfeited, point is that players have Real control of their destiny in buy-out situations. imo, Buyouts are equivalent to No-Trade Clauses. Likewise, Faried accepted the buyout when the opportunity arose of Capela going down. We look at it as GMs just needing to make a call (and the player will concede the $), but I'm sure Faried got very excited at the idea that for 10-15 games he'd be a Starter once again with the Spotlight...and pull his own trigger on the Buyout.
Good points, agree on all of them. I re-watched Game 2 yesterday. Rivers came in right after Harden got elbowed in the neck in the 1st, and Harden was pretty pissed and just went off the rest of that quarter. Rivers of course was solid, but that was just convenient timing for him there. Also, a lot of those wide open 3s they bricked happend with Rivers on the court, but he was often taking care of business on the other side of the court. Definitely think his numbers are more about fortunate timing w/ the Jazz being ice cold, even when open, and Harden having a short but blazing stretch of basketball at the end of the first. At the very least though, Rivers has been our voodoo doll, where everything goes to **** when he steps on the court for the Jazz. Some of that is to his credit, some of it truly is coincidence which happens in 2-game samples
Also keep in mind that House and Rivers have played 33 minutes together. They have logged 87 total. So for 75% of their minutes on the court (2 x 33 / 87), they would have identical +/-....math dictates that. And true enough, House had a +21 in Game 1, and Rivers had a +23. I expect House and Rivers to simply track together. Hopefully, because that would mean MDA isn't needing to make any big adjustments to his rotation. In Game 1 and 2, they checked into 1st Q at same time -- for EGo and Paul. In the 3rd Q, they do the very same thing... Game 1, identical 3Q check in to 1Q, Game 2, EGo stayed 2 minutes longer than Paul, so House came in slightly earlier. In 2Q, MDA appears to stagger Rivers/House a little Rivers got his +/- separation from House in a 2nd Q spurt when Paul sat while rest of starters were in, and Rivers benefitted from quick 1 minute 11-2 run. I think the rest of the Game 2 separation was just 4th Q garbage time shenanigans.
That 2nd unit is on fire - bench is not just deeper but so much more productive. Opposing 2nd units (especially Utah's) not as talented as Houston's. Rivers does so much better with Harden than with Paul. Interesting.
I'll admit that I've been down on Rivers when I watch the games. Offensively, he has good basketball IQ, makes good decisions on court and hustles... I just wish his shots would go in the hoop. ... But stats indicate that he's provided a big contribution to the team, and he plays great defense.
2/3 from the free throw line in this years playoffs. 67% Playable at that rate. Will be tested vs teams with greater offenses though.......with Hack-a-Rivers tactic. If he can maintain 50% or better, gets us at that 1.00 point-per-100 possessions level.
Nepotism almost assuredly helped Rivers stay in the league. Any normal player without his connections would have been clinging to the fringes of the league after the way he performed his first 3 seasons. He not only remained in a rotation, he got a big extension. There's no telling where his career is without the lifeline his dad gave him. That aside, he did take advantage of it and turned himself into a quality NBA player. His ability to stick with players should be invaluable in a series with GS.
