Austin Rivers' stats from Summer League

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FT% 77.9

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My only issue is that his jumper still needs a lot of work to be considered "average".

He can get to the rim with the best of them, but obviously it won't be as easy against real NBA players and not Summer Leaguers.

i think his shot definitely needs some work but wow the progress he is making is just great

not expecting him to average 15/5/5 this year but he is leaps and bounds better than last year and that something to to!

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My only issue is that his jumper still needs a lot of work to be considered "average".

He can get to the rim with the best of them, but obviously it won't be as easy against real NBA players and not Summer Leaguers.

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Over 75% of his shots in these summer league games were at the basket or the floaters off of the dribble drive. He really needs to develop a consistent pull up shot. He still has the tendency to go full force to the basket even if the defender sags off and it gets him in trouble more often than not.

I wished he had the vision to make that dump off pass when he's in trouble in the paint. We don't often see him dump off a pass to the backside or the wing once he's under the basket.

These things need to be added to his game as he can not afford to barrel into defenders night in and night out and not expect to get injured. He also won't get calls night in and night out either.

But it's good to see his confidence back and good to see him being decisive with the ball. He kind of lost his way last season and looked tentative on the court.

damn darius miller shot 39.1% from 3 land? not bad sir

And he will continue to improve. At the end of the season, we all agreed that finishing at the cup and FTs need to be top priority. If he can just do those two things this year, it's significant value added.

As he develops, a 3 game and a decent pull up is sure to follow. Say what you want about the kid, but there aren't too many out there that appear to work as hard as he does. He is determined.

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My only issue is that his jumper still needs a lot of work to be considered "average".

He can get to the rim with the best of them, but obviously it won't be as easy against real NBA players and not Summer Leaguers.

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He was able to get to the rim vs Iman Shumpert. Shumpert is a real NBA player. And as quick as he looks at times, I'm hard pressed to imagine him suddenly being stymied.

Another thing that really needs to be trumpeted is how good a defender he's becoming.

I feel confident that the jumper will come with time. It appears that he is a hard worker so I'm sure he has been working on it. Several players struggle with their jumpers early on but improve with time and reps.

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The reports of Austin’s work ethic were not overblown, and you are starting to see now what happens when Rivers figures out what he needs to work on in order to succeed. He is relentless in his pursuit, and he has a clear plan of attack for how he is going to get better. He cited his left hand and his balance as two things he has been working on so far. Next step is the mid-range game, and I am sure that once he feels comfortable with that, he will move on to something else. Starts to get you excited about where he could be this time next year. And the year after that. And the year after that…

...I will have a full recap of Summer League this weekend, but one of the things that sticks out as I leave Vegas is that there is just such a positive vibe around this team, and all the players seem thrilled about everything that went down this offseason. Enthusiasm within an organization is one thing that can’t be measured with fancy WARP statistics or financial calculations, but it is something that is real nonetheless. Al-Farouq Aminu and Eric Gordon have acknowledged that perhaps they weren’t thrilled with being traded here initially, but now they are both all in, and they can’t wait to start the season. Anthony Davis lights up every time you ask him about the talent he now has surrounding him. Austin Rivers saw the new additions as reasons to work just that much harder. Coach Gates says the coaching staff can’t wait to work with the new talent on the roster. And on and on.

There is an energy that you can feel around this team, as the guys seem anxious to get the stink of these last two seasons off of them. It’s a whole new era, not just because of the rebrand or the acquisitions, but because of the culture shift, the heightened expectations, and the contagious enthusiasm. It is something that we are all going to be lucky to be a part of, and quite frankly, all of you who have stuck with this team through the last few years deserve it. There is a whole new energy surrounding this team. Wait until you enter that arena for your first Pelicans game. Trust me, you will feel it too.

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LINK /

There's more specifics about Rivers, Miller and Withey at the link, but I'd rather focus on the general excitement angle. I think someone posted a picture of Morrow in Vegas yesterday. Vasquez and maybe Smith are the only guys I recall that didn't have to be there visiting Vegas last year. This year you've had Anderson, All In Eric, Aminu, and Morrow, and AD has been an assistant coach. And I have a feeling Smith and Holiday would have visited too if they hadn't just gotten married. This team is ready to put in the work required to make some noise.

Thing is, at Rivers' age and experience level he's going to continue to get better with his work ethic. I'm optimistic.