Doc Rivers Thinks His Son Austin ‘Would Be Great’ for the Celtics


Boston Celtics head coach Doc Rivers acknowledges that the prospect of coaching his son in the NBA would be a weird experience for all involved. But the elder Rivers certainly wouldn’t turn down the opportunity. From WEEI: “The Celtics coach opened up about the possibility of coaching his son Austin Rivers in the NBA. ‘I would love the opportunity, I guess,’ said Rivers. ‘It would be uncomfortable. I just think that would be a strange thing to do. Having that said that, I wouldn’t mind. He can score, and I think that would be great for us.’ The best prep guard in the country as a high school senior last winter, Austin Rivers averages a team-leading 13.8 points per game for No. 4 ranked Duke this season, shooting 43.6 percent from the field and 37.7 percent from beyond the arc. Once projected as a surefire lottery pick, his stock has slipped to No. 21 on ESPN draft analyst Chad Ford‘s Top 100 NBA prospects list. So, what must improve for him to have an impact at the next level? ‘Just his whole game,’ said the elder Rivers, who despite running practices for their teams once or twice has never coached his four kids. ‘I think he can score in this league right now. I don’t think he could have any problem with that. I think defensively — just the knowledge on the weak side of the ball — is where he would have to improve. I think he can score in this league right now,’ Celtics coach Doc Rivers said of his son and Duke freshman Austin. The Celtics actually have two first-round picks in the 2012 NBA draft, so it’s not entirely impossible for Austin to fall into Danny Ainge‘s hands. As of this moment, the C’s own pick would be a lottery choice. While nobody expects them to miss the playoffs, a low playoff seed and therefore a pick in the late teens seems highly likely. Not only that, but the Celtics receive the lower pick between the Clippers and Timberwolves as a result of the Jeff Green deal (top-10 protected), which after the Chris Paul trade almost certainly means the C’s will pick for the Clips somewhere in the low 20s this coming June 28.”