Austin Rivers scored only two points in Sunday's Minnesota Timberwolves matchup with the Houston Rockets. Kevin Porter Jr. and Jalen Green combined for 36, but Rivers got the most important statistic of the night: the victory. Afterwards, the veteran guard indicated that he wasn't particularly impressed with Houston's young back court.
"Someone needs to teach KPJ and Jalen how to play the right way, you know what I mean? They need those vets," Rivers told Michael Shapiro of the Houston Chronicle after the game. "I like those guys, they're super talented, they can really score. ... They need someone to help them take that next step."
Rivers, a former Rocket, probably has a point. Nine players have given the Rockets 450 or more minutes this season, and eight of them are under the age of 23. The only veteran in that group is Eric Gordon, who hasn't seemed especially thrilled with the way this season has gone. "There's no improvement," Gordon said when asked about the team's progress on New Year's Eve. "Same old thing all year. We have a small margin for error. It's a lot of things. It's mindset. You got to play for one another. Do what's right by your teammates. If you do that, it'd be more fun. You give yourself a better chance to win."
That criticism was not pointed directly at Green and Porter, but considering their influence over the way Houston plays, it's hard not to view them as sources of Gordon's frustration. Still, the numbers don't quite match up with the reputation Porter and Green have developed as ball-stoppers.
The Rockets rank 17th in the NBA in passes per game. That's not ideal, but it's an improvement from last season's No. 21 ranking and far from the bottom of the league. Porter ranks 12th in the NBA with 80.8 touches per game, but he dribbles less and doesn't hold the ball as long as players in his range like Jalen Brunson, Darius Garland, Ja Morant and Trae Young, per NBA.com tracking data. Those players are more experienced and, frankly, better than Porter, but Porter doesn't play on a team with All-Stars, and someone needs to run the Houston offense. Green dribbles roughly one fewer time per possession and holds the ball for roughly one fewer second per possession than Porter does. Their figures are still relatively high compared to the rest of the league, but not glaringly so considering where they are in their development. The Rockets want them to use this tanking season to grow as ball-handlers.
The one area in which their youth really shows is in turnovers. The Rockets give the ball away 17 times per game, more than any other NBA team. Unlike the Golden State Warriors, who finish near the top of the league in turnovers most seasons as a byproduct of leading the league in passes, Houston's turnovers largely come as a result of misplaced ambition. Houston's young guards often bite off more than they can chew and make reckless mistakes.
Eventually, that will hurt them, but again, these are two of the youngest primary ball-handlers in the NBA. They have time to figure these things out. Veterans will likely help them do that over the next few seasons. A coaching change would probably be helpful as well, as the offense Stephen Silas runs asks for very few concessions out of Green and Porter.
Rivers was once in a similar position to Green and Porter. He was a lottery pick in 2011. He was one of the highest-ranked recruits in his high school class. He never got to handle the ball as much as they did, but he eventually had to learn how to play the right way. He eventually grew into a strong defender and offensive role player. That took several years. It likely will for Green and Porter as well. It's unusual to hear an opposing player speak so candidly about the development of someone else's youngsters, but Rivers has been through the same process. The Rockets might not like what he has to say, and the truth might not be quite so obvious, but ultimately, if Green and Porter develop in the ways that Rivers eventually did without sacrificing their vastly superior offensive skillsets, the Rockets will probably be in pretty good shape moving forward.
