re: Austin Rivers: Looking back on the draft

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I liked the pick then and still do

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Not to derail the thread with taboo Monty love, but one of the ways Monty made Austin earn his playing time this year was on the defensive end of the floor. Monty has at least instilled in Austin the confidence that he is at worst an above average defender and at best a defensive specialist on this team.

I've said it before, but how many young guards take playing defense as seriously as Rivers does? I hope that's something he never loses, because that is a unique characteristic that sets him apart from the modern young guard.

The kid has so many intangibles that you just can't teach. Just to provide examples that can't be misconstrued:

- Competitiveness (slumped over at midcourt after Conley hits the game winner over Aminu when Aminu switched)
- Toughness (getting in a thug like Reggie Evans face after elbowing AD)
- Durability (how has he not missed time this year after he hits the deck on virtually every drive?)
- Work ethic (there's many stories out there from Monty having to drag him out of the gym to him getting impatient and threatening to find a gym in Boston during a flight delay)

He's still being molded. He's still young. There's no reason to lose faith in the kid until he appears that he isn't improving, which has not been the case this season.