Houston Rockets: Austin Rivers is quickly becoming a great fit

The Houston Rockets newest acquisition in Austin Rivers is quickly becoming a terrific fit for the team. How did he do in his debut? Let’s take a look.

The Houston Rockets needed to do something. The bleeding was prevalent and Chris Paul‘s latest injury sending him to the shelf through at least early 2019 has warranted the team to make a move that would help the team in a desperate time of need.

Although we’ve question many times this season, we all wondered when this team, despite the underachieving that occurred early this season, would turn a corner and start their ascent back into the standings.

Through the first two months of the season, there have been times that Houston Rockets fans have been hoodwinked but with this team winning seven of their last eight games, the team serious about making something of this season sans Chris Paul.

The team needed a spark and they feel that that man is Austin Rivers, a former Los Angeles Clippers emotional foe, who has joined forces with the Houston Rockets to help mitigate their precipitous fall in the win-loss column.

Rivers was acquired after being traded from the Washington Wizards to the Phoenix Suns, opening the path for the team to sign him after he cleared waivers.

ESPN’s Bobby Marks reports that he’ll earn between $914 to $931K this season as he’ll be getting paid between the Suns and the Houston Rockets, of which $650K will be paid by the Suns.

Regardless of how he got here, we could certainly use his quick regard for offense, decent defense and just a talent that can nail threes and bring the ball up the court. James Harden has enough on his plate and Rivers can take some of the pressure off Harden’s hands.

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Rivers had a solid performance against the Oklahoma City Thunder on a elongated stage this past Christmas Day, hitting a clutch three down the stretch and playing hard-nose defense on Russell Westbrook when it counted.

His defensive all-around could use some work but the fact that he was able to lock down one of league’s premier players is definitely something to note.

Rivers chipped in 10 points, two rebounds and one assist while shooting 3-for-6 from the field and 2-for-3 from behind-the-arc. He has a plus/minus 6 for the game.

Will Rivers be enough to get this team on the right track? Likely not but he’s definitely the spark the team needs to start making something of this season.

Paul and Rivers have made peace from their past battles with each other and both are just concentrated on the task at hand — winning basketball games.

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That’s a hell of a combination and I can’t wait to see more out of Rivers starting with tonight’s 7 p.m. tip against the Boston Celtics at Toyota Center.

Let’s hope for the best but we’ll see.

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