I haven't seen much of Ennis, besides his games with the Grizz against us (couple seasons ago). And I really loved what Ariza brought to the table here in Houston. I guess being the "known" commodity is what makes everyone here put Ariza on a pedestal. But with that being said, I feel like they both bring similar skills and lack thereof to the table: Not super athletic but enough to get by on both ends of the court Great defensive skills but limited by aforementioned lack of athleticism Non-creators that can put the ball on the floor but best offense will be/has been 3 point shot Lack speed but have good overall lateral quickness and active hands to keep the offensive player at bay both behind the 3 point line and off the dribble drive Great hustle guys with the ability to get an extra possession due in large part to those defensive skills Again, we have only seen Ennis in a limited role with; Miami, Memphis, and Detroit.... if/when Carmelo signs he may still only begin with a limited role. So I don't think 3 months is enough to judge the guy by. I posted the Instagram vid of this in the "Houston signs James Ennis" thread... but I would never claim he is BETTER than Ariza, based on one pickup game.
In terms of shooting speed....Ariza has a pretty slow windup as well. Ennis' slow windup will be fine considering the spacing on the court. Not everyone can have as quick a release as Gerald GreenLite Green! Speaking of shooting motions, am I crazy or did PJ Tucker SPEED UP his shooting motion later in the year last season? He looked like he was getting his shot off pretty fast. Perhaps it was just a mirage though, perhaps it was more him just being more decisive in his decision to shoot. Either way, just looked way better when he got into the starting lineup and was firing away with no hesitation.
Say what you want about whether we should draw any conclusions from this vid....but, at least he can dribble.
There was no evidence in this video that he should put the ball on the floor more than Ariza did? I’m just goin have to wait and see.
I am hopeful Ennis will be a good pickup, but I think we were spoiled last year with how well the Mbah-a Moute vet min signing worked out (at least pre-shoulder injury). It is asking a lot to get that level of productivity out of a minimum-level contract (something Coach D'Antoni acknowledged repeatedly last year). I am afraid I am going to be slightly underwhelmed by Ennis this year simply because I will be mentally comparing him to Prince Luc, rightly or wrongly.
Which one??? I always thought guys like Ariza, Battier, Chuck Hayes, Tarik Black, Shandon Anderson, etc. are basically the same guy in scrimmages as in real games, even if they're scrimmaging against g league level or high college level type guys. It doesn't always hold... but a guy like Ariza put up 11 points, 6 boards, 2 assists and a 1.7 steals a game in college (granted in only one year as a freshman). Even Shane who is a well known Dukie was ho-hum for a couple years then of course was EXTREMELY solid - AP player of the year as a senior, but it wasn't blow you away Trae Young or KD type statistics. It was just super solid system play. Shandon Anderson - 10-15 ppg scorer in college giving you just a little bit of everything else. Ennis strikes me as this mold. It doesn't really matter a ton that his shot mechanics are a little slow. Or he doesn't have the best dribble. Hopefully no one thought we were getting an all star. If he can hit 3 pointers with a defender 2+ feet from him at 35%+ (ideally 38%+) he'll replicate Ariza offensively just fine. If he can switch on defense and grind and hustle he'll replicate Ariza defensively just fine (perhaps not quite as versatile but younger, fresher, more hustle).
