I don't why people try to overrate player on the rockets. Ariza sucks. He is way below average on offense and his defense is good, but not Tony Allen good. He is turning into Shane Battier people want to try to justify his contract.
As of right now Pierce has a better PER (17 vs 11) and you could argue that age would only be a factor if we actually keep Ariza all 4 years of his contract. Morey's history has proven that he'll probably flip Ariza for a "better" player in a year or two.
The dude is worn the heck out. Give him a break. I think we are seriously underrating how much wear and tear was put on Ariza the first 30 games of the season. Leading the NBA in minutes played (err, 2nd in NBA anyway) doesn't exactly mix with playing all-out defense or with high shooting percentages. Look at his games played log; those minutes per game numbers are ridiculous and it's no surprise that the in game shooting percentages stink too. For the 13 games from 11/24 to 12/20 he played an average of over 41 mpg (from basketball reference). That would put him at #1 in the NBA by a full minute per game. What changed on 12/22? Corey Brewer's first game with the Rox. For the 4 games since then he has averaged 36.5 mpg, which would knock him all the way down to 8th in the NBA; albeit still a minute per game higher than his previous career high. Playing less won't pay immediate dividends, but with Brewer here, I suspect Ariza starts feeling better within a couple of weeks and you'll start to see that 3 pt. percentage climb over the rest of the year. Not to mention his defense & energy level should bounce back. Code: [b]G Date Opp MP FG% 3P%[/b] 14 11/24/14 HOU - NYK [highlight] 42:01 [/highlight] [b]30%[/b] 33% 15 11/26/14 HOU - SAC [highlight] 41:12 [/highlight] 42% 29% 16 11/28/14 HOU - LAC [highlight] 38:04 [/highlight] [b]39%[/b] 43% 17 11/29/14 HOU @ MIL [highlight] 40:33 [/highlight] [b]28%[/b] 33% 18 12/03/14 HOU - MEM [highlight] 34:21 [/highlight] [b]33% 25%[/b] 19 12/05/14 HOU @ MIN [highlight] 43:57 [/highlight] 40% 42% 20 12/06/14 HOU - PHO [highlight] 43:27 [/highlight] [b]33%[/b] 33% 21 12/10/14 HOU @ GSW [highlight] 43:24 [/highlight] [b]33%[/b] 33% 22 12/11/14 HOU @ SAC [highlight] 42:42 [/highlight] [b]31%[/b] 30% 23 12/13/14 HOU - DEN [highlight] 41:43 [/highlight] [b]29% 27%[/b] 24 12/17/14 HOU @ DEN [highlight] 45:39 [/highlight] [b]27% 27%[/b] 25 12/18/14 HOU - NOP [highlight] 39:37 [/highlight] [b]33% 0%[/b] 26 12/20/14 HOU - ATL [highlight] 40:40 [/highlight] [b]36%[/b] 33% 27 12/22/14 HOU - POR 31:37 [b]33% 17%[/b] 28 12/26/14 HOU @ MEM 40:00 [b]39%[/b] 40% 29 12/28/14 HOU @ SAS 36:44 [b]22% 17%[/b] 30 12/29/14 HOU - WAS 38:09 40% [b]25%[/b]
One thing that is consistent since the summer is that all the big pieces that have been added have been long and lean. It's kind of hard to quantify exactly how that effects defense, but all those arms and legs flailing about does make a difference to and changes the character of team defense. I assume that this isn't a coincidence. Even at his peak as a defender, Pierce wasn't that type of physical specimen. Physical strength and bulk was always as much a part of what he did as length and quickness. Again, I don't think there is any way to quantify it, but I do remember how much more trouble I personally used to have against longer quicker teams that wouldn't get into a shoving match with me. The new defenders are all steal/block guys instead of Batter type effort/position defenders.
Means nothing since Pierce couldn't stand in front of a broom. Pressing defense is something nothing calculated.
This. Ariza is overrated. In fact, he has sucked this year. He's been below average on defense even. Look at the stats and admit it, people.
What about Pierce vs. Kostas? They make semi-comparable money. 4 years is a long time to commit to a guy that old, but he would really help us this year.
Can pierce put up the same numbers playing 35+min a night for us? Doubt it. Ariza is the better player for this team.
Then forget Kostas then - I'm all over Pierce if we had a shot. Oh wait...we were too busy preparing gift baskets for Bosh....
I feel kind of ignorant here, but is there a chance that we're really overstating how difficult playing 40 minutes a game is on a PROFESSIONAL athlete? Consider....professional tennis players sometimes play back-to-back days of two hour matches in the heat. Now before you non-tennis playing posters scoff, I will provide an anecdote from my youth. I played tennis competitively for school and juniors (I don't want to overstate how good I was - I just want to say I played a lot of tennis regularly). A few years after playing regularly, I played in a real low level basketball league. I was sprinting down the court every possession. I never got tired. NOW, I absolutely KNOW that playing in the NBA is on a whole other stratosphere. But we're talking about 40 minutes for a professional athlete. 40 minutes...40 minutes in a climate-controlled arena.......that really explains an entire inability to perform athletically? These are professionals. I know this little diatribe could very well possibly be the butt of jokes and derision, but I'm just saying I'm sick of this "tired" excuse used over and over again. I just don't think it should justify anything. People struggle through a lot worse and get the job done.
Paul Pierce has gotten better at making decisions offensively. Maybe because he simply isn't good enough to score on 4 defenders anymore. Ariza definitely runs the break better and raises pressure on the teams best offensive player
