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Atlanta Hawks: Austin Rivers could be backup point guard solution

By Joshua Buckhalter

Jun 1, 2021; Denver, Colorado, USA; Denver Nuggets guard Austin Rivers (25) reacts following his points scored in the first quarter against the Portland Trail Blazers during game five in the first round of the 2021 NBA Playoffs. at Ball Arena. Mandatory Credit: Ron Chenoy-USA TODAY Sports
Jun 1, 2021; Denver, Colorado, USA; Denver Nuggets guard Austin Rivers (25) reacts following his points scored in the first quarter against the Portland Trail Blazers during game five in the first round of the 2021 NBA Playoffs. at Ball Arena. Mandatory Credit: Ron Chenoy-USA TODAY Sports /
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The Atlanta Hawks don’t have many holes on their roster. That’s to be expected of a team that made it to the Eastern Conference Finals. One of the few, however, is a critical one. The hole at backup point guard has been a hot topic this offseason. Lou Williams did an admirable job playing the part in the postseason.

But he is an unrestricted free agent as are backups, Brandon Goodwin and Kris Dunn.

Austin Rivers could be the answer, providing the Hawks with a nice blend of Williams’ (a very streaky version) scoring and the defense they hoped they were getting when they signed Dunn.

The former 10th-overall pick by the Pelicans back in 2012, Rivers has become a journeyman rather than the star many hoped he’d be coming out of Duke. His career-high scoring for a season is just 10 points and he’s never cracked even three assists for an entire year.

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Rivers did whatever the team needed of him this postseason with the Denver Nuggets. He averaged 9.2 points in 10 games with nine starts in place of the injured Jamar Murray.

That’s the second-best mark in his postseason career.

He had 21 points in Game 3 versus the Trailblazers and had 18 points and seven assists in Game 5.

Unfortunately, he hit the other side of his streak and shot just 34.8 percent from the floor and 26.7 from outside to score 5.8 points per game.

But he’s also capable of giving you 41 points or 10 assists in any given game. Or doing this:

https://twitter.com/BleacherReport/status/1354261841434664961

That is just further evidence he is tailor-made for the backup role in Atlanta.

Trae Young is going to play the majority of the game, but the Hawks offense was 12.4 points per 100 possessions worse when he sat in the regular season and 8.7 points in the playoffs. Unfortunately, Williams playing point guard didn’t help as the offense had a higher rating without him.

It also doesn’t hurt that Rivers father, Philadelphia 76ers Head Coach Glenn ‘Doc Rivers’ Rivers, spent the first eight seasons in Atlanta as a player as a second-round draft pick out of Marquette.

The younger Rivers can lead a second unit or play next to Young thanks to his feisty defense.

Denver was the second team Rivers played for in 2021 — he started the year and spent 21 games with the New York Knicks — and sixth overall. But playing for the team that drafted his father would probably add a little something to it all. More importantly, it makes basketball sense for oth Rivers and the Hawks.

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If they don’t address the position in the draft, or maybe even if they do, River would be a nice (cheap) option that should easily earn his contract.