And this is where I think we're disagreeing. Maybe you aren't being as negative as I'm picking up, but I don't see this as anything close to Marcus Thornton.

Marcus Thornton was

1) Local
2) Was unique on the roster in his skillset as a competent wing scorer and was something that had been on most fans wish lists for years.
3) Was a scorer in a league where fans value offense more than defense.
4) There were enough holes on the roster that the argument wasn't just that he should get more minutes, but that he should be starting.
5) The media cared about Marcus Thornton getting minutes.

Rivers is at best 4th on the guard depth chart, not 2nd. The things he is best at currently are defense and ball protection. I will give him play creation too, but 2 of the 3 things he currently does well don't get most fans excited.

quote:
people just want them some more AR.

Do most people want Rivers more than Roberts? I think they do. Are they willing to "get ugly" over who gets the 5th guard minutes? I think you may have taken a concept most could agree on, Rivers should get more time, and Alejandroed it with over the top inflammatory rhetoric. That may not have been the direction you were trying to go, but I think that's what happened here.

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Posted by ShamelessPel

Metairie

Member since Apr 2013

12723 posts

Posted on 11/21/13 at 12:00 pm to TigerinATL

quote:
TigerinATL

See, where we differ is you are thinking about this logically from the viewpoint of someone who follows the Pelicans almost religiously, as most of us do on this board.

From an emotional standpoint, Rivers brings a spark and energy to the court in a very similar, yet different way than Marcus. People want to see guys that are going to maul the attacker on fast breaks. People want to see ball movement and our best players taking shots. Roberts overdribbles...alot. He is a poor defender and just takes general flow/excitement out of the game. Rivers is constantly hustling and consistently trying to find our best 2 players on the court (Davis/Anderson).

It's just a very different energy and it's palpable. It's the same lift Marcus used to give by coming into the game and energizing the crowd by playing hard.

Rivers got stuck on an island twice on fast breaks last night: 1st: a block/almost steal 2nd: meet the offensive player at the rim and maul them, making Jefferson go to the line without any shot at an and 1. There's not another guard on our team that makes those 2 plays in that fashion.

Burke made Roberts look BAD last night. Rivers vs. Burke in the 2nd half was basketball entertainment. Burke actually had to work for his shots, and it's nice to see at least 1 of our guards playing the bulldog defense we thought we'd see from almost all of our guards. You don't even have to know anything about basketball to see he's playing hard. That's part of his endearment to the fans.

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