Takeaways from the LA Clippers’ 102-84 win over the Utah Jazz

Austin Rivers Gets back in the Groove

After missing an extended amount of time during the off-season dealing with mono, Austin Rivers went on to miss part of the Clippers’ preseason slate with a strained glute. The rust that Rivers had accumulated showed in his first two games of the season as the guard struggled horrendously on offense, shooting 3-18 (0-5 from deep) against the Lakers and Suns. Against the Jazz, Rivers looked more like the player we saw last year when the young guard was moved into the starting lineup due to a Chris Paul injury. He shot 7-13 from the field (2-6 from three) and did a fantastic job of penetrating the Jazz defense and getting to the rim. River’s three-point shot is still warming up, but the guard did knock down two threes in the win, including an important one in the fourth quarter to help stem a Jazz comeback attempt.

“That was nice, we needed it,” Doc Rivers said of his son’s offensive performance, “I was more impressed defensively, really. We switched him onto Rubio in the second half and I thought he did a terrific job there. Offense is offense but where I’ve been the happiest with Austin in the three games, him and Pat defensively, they’ve been absolutely wonderful.”