Wizards' Rivers: 'I think we're heavily slept-on'

Austin Rivers has quickly taken on the high-confidence culture of the Washington Wizards.

The 6-foot-4 combo guard is coming off a career year with the Los Angeles Clippers and joins a Wizards team with greater depth than recent years.

"I think we're heavily slept-on," Rivers told CBS Sports' James Herbert. "Team's been to the playoffs, what, the last five, four or five years? Then going into this year, you add me, Dwight Howard, Jeff Green and nobody seems to talk about us. So I just think we're heavily slept-on, but that's fine. At the end of the day, nothing really matters until the season starts and we set that tone for ourselves. I get the hype of a couple of the other teams, but I think we have a chance to compete with the best of the East."

The talk of Eastern Conference favorites for 2018-19 has revolved around the Boston Celtics, Philadelphia 76ers, and Toronto Raptors. However, Rivers views Washington as a legitimate contender and added the Indiana Pacers as another sleeper after they nearly dethroned the Cleveland Cavaliers in Round 1 of the 2018 playoffs.

"Yeah, I would say Indiana's the other team that gets slept-on, too," he says. "You look at Indiana, they took Cleveland to seven games and then damn near, arguably could have beaten them. ... And nobody seems to talk about the Pacers because everybody's so f---ing gassed up on the Celtics and the Sixers. And rightfully so: they're both talented teams. But Indiana is just as good as both those teams. And I think we're in the same situation."

Rivers was dealt to the Wizards in exchange for center Marcin Gortat after a successful campaign in an increased role with the Clippers last season. He averaged 15.1 points, four assists, and shot 37.8 percent from three while averaging 33.7 minutes per game.