Austin Rivers was the story of the night on Friday, scoring 15 of his 25 points in the third quarter to fuel a run that essentially sealed the victory for the Los Angeles Clippers over the Houston Rockets. The coach's son stopped being a joke for one game by driving to the rim for layups while Houston's defenders watched, shocked that he was actually finishing plays that at other times have ended in disaster. It was the highest point on an up-and-down career.
Austin Rivers plays the game of his life at the perfect time for the Clippers
Austin Rivers alternates terrible performances with good ones and that makes him the Clippers’ wildcard.
Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports
Rivers is defined by his last name and the disappointment he has been relative to expectations. Lottery picks are supposed to be pieces teams can build upon and Rivers looks like a career backup at this point. He’s a combo guard who doesn’t have the vision to be a point guard or the typical build to be a shooting guard. He’ll be counted on to sop up minutes and provide some scoring off the bench. Yet Rivers is showing that he also belongs to a more exclusive type of sub: the one who can heat up in big moments and win games for his team.
The unifying theme on Rivers’ fascinating postseason run has been that it’s impossible to know what version you are going to get. He might be terrible. For the majority of a game he might be decent and then at the worst possible time he might commit an embarrassing turnover.
He’s had plenty of moments like that one but he has also had a positive impact on some of the Clippers’ biggest wins.
While the 25-point game is undoubtedly the best of the playoffs for Rivers, he's had two other good performances. Against the San Antonio Spurs in the first round, with the Clippers down 1-2 and in a must-win game in San Antonio, Rivers went 7-of-8 from the field for 16 points. The Clippers' bench held its own against the Spurs and Rivers was instrumental in holding off runs in the second and third quarters. Los Angeles won the game, tied the series and outlasted San Antonio to get to the second round.
Unfortunately that epic series took its toll. Chris Paul suffered a hamstring strain in Game 7 that kept him out of the first two games of the Western semifinals. It was hard to imagine the exhausted Clippers going into Houston without their best player and prevailing. Rivers scored 17 points in Game 1 (including four three-pointers), dished out three assists and logged four steals. He did most of his damage in the second half to help his team complete an unlikely comeback win that allowed them to steal homecourt advantage.
In between those performances, Rivers was mediocre at best and invisible at worst. He’s just not the kind of player who contributes consistently, at least not at this point in his career. Yet there’s still a place in the league for wildcards, guys that on any given night can provide an unexpected boost to their teams and power them through tough situations.
What unites those players is the ability to make bad shots and the confidence to take them. Risky decisions don’t scare them because they have supreme confidence on their skills. If Rivers is not lacking in something it’s in confidence.
Sometimes the results of that confidence are hilariously bad and sometimes, with the right breaks, lead to wins. Rivers' teammate and ultimate wildcard Jamal Crawford has made a career of it, while guys like Lou Williams, Gary Neal, Patty Mills, Aaron Brooks and many others will always have a job as long as they can explode a couple of times each playoffs.
Not long ago it was hard to imagine a place in the league for Rivers. He was never going to be a starting guard on a good team and he lacked the poise to lead a bench. He seems to have found an identity this postseason as one of those guards who might kill you one game and save you the next, the Irrational Confidence Guys.
We’ll go back to laughing at Rivers when he misses shots and commits turnovers again, probably as soon as next game. We’ll scoff at the nepotism that got him to the Clippers. And then out of nowhere he will have a 17-points-in-eight-shots performance and help his team get a win. Just like the defense, we’ll never see him coming.
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