Knicks previously had only two father-son combinations for the organization. On the last night of 2020, they will add a third.
After missing the entire preseason and the first four games of the regular season with a groin injury, combo guard Austin Rivers is expected to debut with the Knicks Thursday night against the Toronto Raptors in Tampa. Rivers’ father, Doc, the current head coach of the Philadelphia Sixers, played for the Knicks in 1992-94.
Rivers, 28, says he injured his groin a few days before it was bought into a deal and deal with Houston on Nov. 22, accepting a $ 10 million three-year deal with Knicks. However, only the first year of the transaction is guaranteed.
“It simply came to our notice then. I’ve never missed a full training camp. I didn’t get to play a game, a pre-season game, I didn’t even go 5 to 5. I just went straight into it, “Rivers said before Thursday’s game. “It’s basketball at the end of the day. You just go out there and play hard and it’s not rocket science. Just try to help the team win. “
The nine-year NBA veteran added that he is not sure if he will have a few minutes restriction on his Knicks debut or if he would fit in a guard rotation behind starters Elfrid Payton and RJ Barrett.
Frank Ntilikina (right knee sprain) and Dennis Smith Jr. (left quad) were excluded from Thursday’s game, with Alec Burks (left ankle sprain) and rookie Immanuel Quickley (hip pointer) listed as questionable. Quickley had missed the previous three games with a hip pointer in the Knicks’ loss at the start of the season in Indiana.
First-year coach Tom Thibodeau makes the Knicks “play hard,” Rivers noted, with wins in the previous two games against Milwaukee and Cleveland. Thibodeau was a member of the Doc Rivers staff in Boston from 2007-10.
“I will be honest, even as an individual, entering without having played with them, the only thing I know I have to do – photos, I could do everything, I might miss everything. I will regain that feeling and rhythm as I play these games – but the only thing that needs to be consistent is when I’m there, I have to play hard, “said Austin Rivers.” Because that’s what our team symbolizes right now. We’re one of the these teams, there is no free night when you play Knicks, this is the mentality we are trying to establish here.
“I know that brands and longings can fluctuate, but your effort does not. That’s what Thibs instilled in this team. I will come in and play hard. “
The 6-meter, 4-round Rivers averaged 8.8 points and 1.7 assists while hitting 42.1 percent of his hits (35.6 percent from the three-point range) in 23.4 minutes in 68 games (four starts) with Houston last season.
There were only two other father-son tandems that appeared in the regular season games with the Knicks: Ernie and Kiki Vandeweghe and Henry and Mike Bibby.
Doc Rivers, who coached Austin for four seasons with the Clippers, said earlier this month that he pushed his son to sign with the Knicks because of his “wonderful experience” with the organization.
“I think it’s the whole ambiance of everything that Thibs came up with,” Austin Rivers said. “It simply came to our notice then. There is no other option. Don’t play hard, don’t play. That’s exactly what is with him. I think everyone has this image in our team. And I think everyone knows – if you don’t play hard, you won’t play.
“There are only a few teams that have that identity and that’s what we’re trying to build here. Thibs does a great job and we just follow her. Everyone moves the ball and plays hard and that will be it. “