Adelman promised Ariza the Rockets would feature him offensively

I kind of agree that Ariza's not going to develop these skills all the sudden but I do think they are there. They are just not superb at this point and I don't know if he will ever be but I do think he has slightly above average offensive skills which he has not needed to tap into yet.

Either way, there are a couple of players that have become good ball handlers/creators for their team but the potential was always there for these guys. Iguodala as I mentioned is an excellent creator even in college but he always had those schools. Danny Granger is a guy that I did not think would develop into a creator/scorer that way he has.

I think/hope the best case scenario for Ariza is Gerald Wallace. He came into the league and provided moments of brilliance but could not get off the bench on the Kings. He finally starts making some noise on the kings but gets drafted in the expansion draft by the Bobcats and starts to make strides every single season. Even now, Wallace is still improving and has become a very solid player although reckless. He has improved every facet of his game and his defense has always been there. I don't know if Ariza has Wallace's potential but he can develop along the same lines as him given the opportunity.

Another guy that has developed into a pretty decent ball handler from a slahser is Richard Jefferson. I have been surprised by his continued success without Jason Kidd. He seems to be able to score on his own and is still pretty efficient at it. These are two guys I would love for Ariza to pattern his game after.

DD, I have been pretty skeptical like you about this signing but these players have a lot in common, especially the fact that they want to compete and get better. We should never underestimate that desire. I think it is crazy for people to assume he will be much better than he was in LA next year but he should be better. I am amazed at the people that say he will average 16 pts., 6 rebs., 3 assists, 2 steals next year. That is a ridiculous stat line and I think that is expecting way too much out of Ariza. We took a gamble on an already solid player developing more all around skills. Let's see if it pays off.

 

All of the guys mentioned so far could already dribble drive.......Ariza has not shown that yet.

I hope he does develop into "The man"...but all I keep thinking of is Luther Head....and he never learned how to dribble, Robert Horry...same thing.....

Guys that are good but not anything more than a role player.....

And all the articles I read about Ariza are he wants to be "The man".....which scares the bejesus out of me.

DD

 

Andre Igudala is one of my favorite players to watch in the nba outside of the rockets of course. Andre is a much better passer, handles the ball better and is prob a better athlete compared to ariza, ariza is not a bad athlete at all either. Now I have my doubts but I really could see him devlope into a player in the iggy mold, other than andres passing I don't see why with a couple of yrs of practice and extended playing time why ariza couldn't be very similer In production and overall style of play. I'm not saying its gonna happen but having a player with that kind of potential is exciting.

 

He crossed Lebron.. go youtube it.

 

What article are you quoting here? I've never seen anything of the sort.

All I've read and heard from Ariza is that he'll get an opportunity here to start and develop his "game". To translate that to being "I want to the the man" is a bit ridiculous.

 

damn so much ariza hate, why does everyone have to freak out over sportswriter cooks up?

in my humble opinion, the offense is going to feature AB and Scola pick and roll, with Ariza being number 3 option.

i can definitely see AB learning how to live in the paint and Trevor slashing to the basket or spotting up for open 3's.

all i know is that w/o Yao, the rockets can definitely speed up the offense which i believe Ariza will thrive in

 

Fair enough.

DD

 

Why do you think he can't dribble? Have you seen hours and hours of video where Ariza tries to dribble and turns the ball over? Iguodala and Granger actually have very similar statistical tendencies as Ariza early in their careers. Iguodala made his jump from age 22 to 23, Granger from age 23 to 24, etc. Ariza gets a large percentage of his baskets as unassisted jumpers and have very low ball-handling turnover rates, indicating he can put ball on the floor.

 

I think DD is just very attached to Ron and is taking his anger out on Ariza.. it's ok DD.. you will come around once you see Ariza play on the Rockets.. and how much smoother our offense will look as a result of that.

 

Not Ron, Von !



DD

 

I think it could indicate multiple things like he can steal and dunk, or he can offensive rebound and put the ball back up...

All of which would make him seem to be a better ball handler statistically than he actually is...

DD

 

Ariza won't be breaking anyone down with his handles, but he can attack the basket. You don't have to have out of this world handles to get to the rim.

 

True, but it's not enough to completely dismiss his ball-handling ability. The numbers are high enough. Also, it's not like steals and offensive boards are a bad thing. In fact, a steal and a dunk is twice as valuable as scoring off a dribble drive because you're taking away the other team's possession.

 

how did you go from "featured offensively" to "creator"......or even "star"...

 

Exhibit A = RAFER ALSTON

 

Also keep in mind of what they're paying Ariza: MLE.

That's less than what Shane Battier gets. Don't expect Ariza to produce like a $10 million+ player immediately, but I think Morey is banking on the idea that he could produce like that, making the MLE very worth it for his services down the road.

As you can tell, I am fond of this signing.

 

Tracy McGrady back with Toronto!!!!!!!!
He was considered a defensive specialist, and his only offense was slashing. It was not until his move to Orlando and Hill being out that he developed into the Mcgrady that we know today.

 

What i meant by this is that Rafer has some of the best Handles in the world and he can't get 2ft close to the basket and when he does he misses every thing

 

yeah, especially at about 6 mill a year...i dont see houston have those expectations...i think they just see him as a shawn marion type, don't need to run a lot of plays for him just give him PT, let him roam, as long as you pick up the pace some, create fast break opportunities, and so on, he's going to get some decent numbers from that.

 

one thing i really worry about though i that he seems to fall hard in a lot of his plays....watching a dunk reel he seemed to never land on both feet, he was always landing on someone or awkwardly...that says something about how he attcks the rim in traffic, but on this team it's scary..