Not really who you'd expect to be a Late Bloomer [Trevor Ariza]

I didn't mind Ariza in his time here, he just wasn't a #1 option which is what we asked of him. Ariza is a great 4/5th option to have in a lineup.

 

Not stupidity. He was just asked to play a role he clearly couldn't play. At that time the Rockets were not going anywhere so why not give him the green light to see if he can develop to something more.

 

Some dork dropped him in my fantasy league. Picked him up as fast as I could. Don't like the player in real life, but in fantasy basketball, he has been unbelievable the last few weeks.

 

he was asked to fill in artest's role, too bad he took that literally and shot and dribbled worse than artest.

that season Rockets ran a run and gun offense with brooks and scola being #1 and #2 options on offense, Ariza just thought he was Lebron, but instead shot like artest

 

Terrible post. Daryl Morey brought him here to be a 1st option, but he is not a playmaker. He did not do well here because he was playing outside his role. Not because he mailed it in and lollygagged his way thru the season. Did you watched the season?

 

He's never been a #1 option, but as soon as he signed in Houston he turned into a really bad offensive player and this is his first really good offensive year in a while.

 

Nobody brought Ariza here to be the first option, least of all Daryl Morey when there was no objective data showing that he had the skills to be one.

This is not at all like James Harden, who had shown the off the dribble moves, the ability to run pick and rolls, etc. back in OKC. Ariza was a catch and shoot, slash and finish kind of player and it was obvious that his handles were laughably bad when he tries to create on his own.

HOU asked him to do more than he did before, but it was clear from the start that this isn't another Kobe or even Corey Maggette. He ended the season with a 21.2% usage rate, which is only slightly above average.

 

Whatever the case, Ariza's stop in Houston was when he started believing he could make 3s.

Ariza made nine 3 pointers total in his first 5 years in the league -- and he shot 21% from 3 point land in that time period (basically, 0.2 attempts per game). On his contract year with the Lakers in year 6, he made 61 3s on 32% shooting (and averaging a little over 2 attempts per game). He then came to the Rockets and put up 5.7 attempts per game.

The problem was, he just wasn't that good at them. He converted at 33% -- basically, what Brandon Jennings is doing this year.

Once he left, his attempts were almost cut in half, until this year, where he's averaging 6 attempts per game. The difference is, this year he's making those attempts at almost 44%.

To put that in perspective, if he had done that with the Rockets, he would have made 42 more 3 pointers, which alone would have added 1.7 ppg to his scoring average (so around 16.6 ppg), and put his FG% close to 44%.

There are very few players who go from really bad 3 point shooters to really good ones. Huge credit to Ariza if he can shoot like this consistently -- with his size and defensive skill, he could have a really long NBA career (he started in the NBA at age 19, so he's still only 28 years old).

 

If he comes back it makes my autographed Ariza jersey viable again

 

Wasn't his best season, statistically, with us?

 

he owes alot of his sucess to john wall

 

**** Ariza. That scrub thought he was Kobe on the court when he was here.

 

Ariza sucks, he has had hot streaks before - not impressed.

DD

 

The point being the organization ASKED him to be a playmaker off the dribble, hoping he would become Kobe-esque player. He didn't come in and demand that role. We gave it to him thinking we had nothing to lose since we weren't going anywhere that year. It says more about the organization than it does Ariza. Ariza's always been a solid basketball player in a role suited for his talent level, not a playmaker.

 

I don't understand the animosity Ariza's getting here. Any animosity should be directed at Morey, who misjudged him. Ariza played hard, he just wasn't cut out for the role the Rockets hoped he could fill.

 

3 point shooters that can play D are rare. He'll get Kyle Korver money. And deserve it. He shoots threes at a high clip can slash to the basket, get steals hawking the passing lanes, rebound at a high clip and finish the fastbreak. Expect the Wizards or someone else to give him Mle money. You can argue he's fools gold and only performing because it's his contract year but Ariza is filling the box scores and will get paid.

 

He's having a great season. However, the last time he was also in a contract year he really stepped his game up late in the season and in the playoffs, only to come back to earth after signing.

I always liked him as a Rocket...hope he continues to play well but the fact that it is a contract year is a red flag to me. But yeah, he is playing great ball

 

I agree with you that three point shooter than can defend are rare. The amount of money he gets will be contingent on whether teams believe that he is not a LONG term viable three point shooter or he is going to come down to earth.

It is possible he is just a good three point shooter now (doubt 45% good... but 37-40% is possible). Ariza last year went up to 36%-37% and has been creeping up. Also, early in his career he was a very poor free throw shooter and has shown over the last few years that the improvement is legitimate.

Ariza is like Gerald Green and some other players, he came to the NBA when he was not ready and had to learn on the fly. At 28, it is possible that he can now be a solid 6th man or three point gunner and defender for someone.... Part of the problem when he was younger, was that he just didn't know his own game well, he didn't know his role and now appears to.

 

No. Carl's point is that the organization did not ask him to do that... and to the extent they did, that ask changed pretty quickly... or diminished. Did they want him to be more of a playmaker than he was previously? Of course. But they didn't require him to be Kobe lite in any way.

He was effectively option #3 or 4 much of the season.

Statistically his usage rate (which in a way describes how much you are asking a player to be a playmaker) also confirms this.

The problem wasn't principally what was asked of him (though it played a role), but what he tried to do.

To be fair to Trevor, even that could be commended. He just signed a big contract and wanted to prove himself worthy of it. He wasn't.

All that said, it is definitely curious that right before he is to sign new contracts he plays really really well. Again, I'm not entirely sure he's sandbagging it. As noted, I do think he was trying to play his best and prove himself worthy of the contract, and has been a hard worker before. Is it just luck that he finds himself in the right place, right time as his current contract is coming to an end? Who knows.

I haven't watched a ton of the Wizards games, but from what I have seen, its true that Ariza isn't being a creator. But he's not exactly being a spot-up shooter either benefitting from wide open kickouts. Dude is hitting some crazy tough shots and getting incredibly hot for stretches. Seems unlikely to last... but more power to him if he can continue like this over the length of his next contract.

 

Ariza wasn't asked to be a #1 option here. He was signed primarily for his defense and he even sucked at that. He gambled in the passing lanes all the time, which left his teammates exposed. Offensively, he had no idea how to play within a team concept. He jacked up horrible shots, dribbled into traffic and turned it over, and just shot poorly overall. You had the feeling he was playing for himself, either out of selfishness or poor bball IQ. Contrast that with his eventual replacement, Courtney Lee, who did none of those things.

He's having a good year. Probably a contract year thing, as he's sucked for New Orleans and Washington every year prior to this one.