Austin Rivers has not been a very valuable player for the Los Angeles Clippers (despite being paid $3.1 million), and he has never been seen as a top defender. Austin, the son of Clippers head coach Doc Rivers, told Sirius XM NBA Radio that he wants to be first or second team all-defense this season.
“My goal is to be first team or second team all-defense this year.” – @AustinRivers25 #Clippers
— SiriusXM NBA Radio (@SiriusXMNBA) November 18, 2015
If Austin said he wanted to reach this goal at some point in his career, then it would be a great goal for him, but it likely won’t happen this season. One, he is averaging less than one steal per game according to ESPN.com, and ESPN’s scouting report on Austin is that he is “not a good defender.” But I’m not going to just say that Austin will never be on the first or second all-defensive team, because some work on the defensive side of the ball, he could be there someday. It just likely won’t be this season. Maybe someday down the line.
Austin has an advantage in improving his defensive game though, as the Clippers starting point guard, Chris Paul, is a master at ripping the ball from his opponents. Paul, who averages 2.3 SPG in his career, and has made both all-defensive teams on multiple occasions, should help Rivers to become a better defender so that the Clippers can rely on him on defense a bit more. With the help of Paul, maybe Austin will be a top defender someday, but for now, he is average at best.
