Minnesota Timberwolves treys, you say? Take me to the Rivers . . .

Timberwolves treys? Take me to the Austin Rivers

There was a 1974 song “Take Me To The River” performed by the legendary Al Green and guitarist “Teenie” Hodges. Green has since been inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1995, and his song has gone on to be covered by some of music’s most diverse and talented performing artists.  In 1978, the Talking Heads released their version of the song, and it became one of the best hits in their musical careers.

The path of veteran guard Austin Rivers has not been a comfortable one so far. To date, his best performance was a November 7th performance against the New York Knicks, when he scored nine points, two rebounds, one assist, and one block on 18 minutes of play. He scored once out of four attempts from the perimeter.

It was his lackluster showing so far that made him an obvious option as a player who could be moved before the NBA Trade Deadline. But with almost no production, trade partners would be just as likely to view Rivers as a salary dump as much of a player who could help their roster.

Until now, that is.

Austin Rivers is overflowing

Against the Thunder, Rivers more than doubled his offensive production. But that is not where the heart of my praise for the veteran will focus. So far this season, Austin Rivers had only made seven of 31 three-point shots. But against the Oklahoma City Thunder, the guy unloaded with four of five shooting from the perimeter.

In a game in which the margin of victory was just two points, and at a time when the Minnesota Timberwolves needed someone on the team to step up, Austin Rivers did so without hesitation. He led the Timberwolves to a salvo with their long-range artillery, with the Timberwolves scoring 12 of 25 three-point shots (40 percent shooting). But what about perimeter defense?

The Thunder’s artillery not only fell silent in this one with 29.7 percent shooting from the perimeter but the Oklahoma City Thunder were limited to just 11 of 37 three-pointers.

Is this just a one-off? Or is this an indication that Austin Rivers is settling into his new role with the Timberwolves? I’ll go with the latter for now.