Austin Rivers Saved the Clippers' Season, and His Dad Cried

Austin Rivers, a former lottery pick who is already on his 2nd team and just 22 years old, played the most important game of his career Sunday, saving the Clippers’ season with 16 crucial points off the bench in a surprising 114-105 win over the Spurs on the road.

The Paper Clips celebrated in the locker room, and when Doc Rivers entered, he couldn’t hide his joy. Rivers was coaching the Celtics when his son was a high school star. One could make the argument Doc saved Austin’s career by trading for him. Austin Rivers had been in-and-out of the NBDL and shown nothing in the NBA … until Sunday.

"“For a moment, for a half second maybe, I became a dad in there,” Doc Rivers told Yahoo Sports later on Sunday at the AT&T Center. The tears welled in his eyes, but he quickly wiped them away and stiffened in the concrete corridor."

For the few and proud who have long been advocates of Rivers (I’m President of his fan club), you’ve got to wonder: Is this going to actually lead to something? Is he going to learn how to pass? Show less emotion after every basket? He’s got the handle down, and the attacking comes easy to him, but after three years in the league – he’d only have just finished his senior year at Duke if he stayed in school – there hasn’t been much growth.

And even Sunday, basically all of his work came in 1-on-1 situations. Eventually, he’ll have to prove he can reliably hit that perimeter jumper (he hasn’t), and work within the parameters of an offense. Chris Paul is a good teacher to have, but is Rivers listening?

The Spurs travel to the Clippers for Game 5 Tuesday, and yes, Game 7 – if there is one – would be Saturday night in LA, with the end of the game probably coinciding with the first few rounds of the Mayweather-Pacquiao fight.