[Ariza] Alright, who is ready to eat crow?

Isn't it too early to be prognosticating?

 

Just checked: Ariza was even a lower second rounder than Parsons and is paid less now

 

The season is only 4 games young, and the 4 teams the Rockets have played have a combined record of 2-13. Maybe you should wait a little while longer before running victory laps, or you may be eating crow yourself by midseason.

 

I came around on Ariza when i watched him blow up in the playoffs (emphasis on watched, before i was really just looking at numbers)

 

Ariza is what he is and that's exactly what your seeing. On this rockets team at worst Ariza will continue to play like he is playing now which is really good. We are better defensively but still need to grow. 76ers played hard being 0-3 trying to get a win and Rockets beat them like a true contender should have. Now 76ers are going to come out and surprise another team they play and beat them watch. Rockets will play even better against better competition.

 

I was never against getting Ariza - i was Always Against letting PArsons go. And i still feel this way. IF we still had Parsons we would have elite 48 minutes at the 2 and 3 spots and 5-10 pretty good backup minutes at the 4 (Parsons) and the 1 (Harden). In essence we would be pretty close to a complete championship playoff rotation, needing only 1 or 2 more quality role players like a backup center....

But for Ariza: I liked the signing at the time, I love the signing now.

 

Had we kept Parsons and signed Riza, I would've had CP coming off the bench. Parsons has really lost his ways ever since he gave up playing defense after his first 2 years. His offense isn't quite good enough to neglect that part of his game. With Trevor, you kind of know what you're getting out of him. Some solid minutes and a proven vet/champ if you play him within his role. He isn't the next coming of TMAC like most thought on his first stint here.

 

Parsons doesn't make this a championship team. Lillard's shot was over Parson's. Rarely can you say "case closed" but this is about as close as you can get.

Early season stats are lining up from last year. Parsons gives you one extra PPG and Ariza is better in every other category.

 

I am not saying Parsons alone makes us a championship team. And I am not saying Parsons instead of Ariza.

If we have both we can limit Hardens and Parsons minutes to 35 a night with Ariza taking over the remaining 26 - then play Harden 5 minutes at the backup PG spot and Parsons 5 minutes at the backup 4 and we have Ariza playing 36 minutes as well. That means we always have a very good player at the 2 and 3 and some great backup minutes at the 1 and 4. We can finish games with all 3 in, depending on the matchup.

In the playoffs you need a great 7-8 men rotation. With both of them, we'd have 6 great players in place. One more backup C and we might be set - if not, another backup PG. Those are guys that are attainable with the assets we have (picks, TE, MLE).

I am not saying that guarantees a championship (like Bosh and Parsons would have done) - but it would put us in serious discussions. Instead of going for the 3d star, we'd have some elite depth. And a very well built line up.

 

You are saying Parsons AND Ariza? Was that ever an option? Ariza was a FA and I'm sure he doesn't sign here to come off the bench.

Parsons at 15mil/yr
Ariza at 8mil/yr

That's the reality. If you are building a "championship" team, nobody but butt hurt Marc Cuban takes option A.

Talk of rotation? We also have Kostas off the bench who is playing respectable for a rookie. Our small forward rotation is stronger this season than last. Don't blame the Parson's departure for any lack of championship contention. Parsons and Ariza were never on the plate.

 

The last couple of seasons the Rockets have not had any trouble scoring points. The major deficiency has been on the defensive side of the ball. Harden fits very nicely on the wing surrounded by Ariza and Bev. And Harden's defense has been at least average this season. Jones is also sandwiched between Howard and Ariza. The team is now much more balanced, and offensively should suffer very little without Parsons.

 

I believe the Ops point is that Parsons had a cap hold of $1M for this season. It was a shame to let him walk for that paltry amount of money.

 

To be fair, he was abysmal the last time he was a Rocket.

 

Isn't it remarkable the number of wide open three pointers a premier penetration guard can generate? So far it looks like three point practice out there. If a NBA player receives the ball and no opponent is in their face, they should hit 40% of their threes. Stand still, catch and shoot against no defensive pressure. What could be easier?

 

Ariza can work in both a halfcourt and a transition offense.

Parsons does not do very well in a slow halfcourt setting. He is just out of his element when his team does not play fast.

Defensive guys always like it to slow down

Dirk is attempting 14.3 shots a game and Parsons 13.5

He is shooting way too much for a 3rd option

 

This is not the same Ariza from his last stint here. He has improved considerably.

 

Had we matched Parsons, the only thing we would be able to improve our team with is the mini mle (next year), low draft picks and min contracts.

In realistic terms, you don't really improve at all at that point, the cba was deliberately set up to stop teams doing what the lakers and mavs did under the previous cba, continually roll over and get better.

If your team isn't a contender by the time you hit the apron, you aren't getting better.

 

If Bill thought that Parsons "just gets it", i bet he thinks Ariza "gets it" even better. He's become just an outright professional. I was always a decent fan of his but i didn't expect a veteran/leadership personality from him. Seeing that from him is great