This is the same guy that was bricking shots, yelling at his teammates, swinging elbows at people out of frustration, and overdribbling in 2009. Probably was the most hated player on the team at the time. Not concerned about losing Parsons anymore especially with Papa Niko Niko's playmaking ability off the bench. On paper I thought we got worse, but in practice I'm seeing a lot more ball movement and passing than I ever did last season, lot more fluid offense and better team defense. Thrilled for this season.
Still very early... I would like to see him rebound with the likes of an Igoudala ... needs to be more physical...
I knew he'd shine as he is.. He was asked to do too much in 09. Now he's here with a defined role that he has played before, and around to star players. He's a better fit than Parsons for his defense alone, in my honest opinion.
Honestly, I am not surprised at all. That is why losing Parsons didn't faze me. That is also why I stated that we will actually get better with Ariza. The reason I felt that way was because: 1. He is much more older and mature than the Ariza we got from Lakers, where he was still young and overconfident after a HUGE playoffs with them. 2. He was brought in to be a potential star and THE MAN in his first stint. He tried to respond to those lofty expectations and fell flat. Icarus and the sun anyone? 3. He was forced to mature even faster while playing for the inept Wizards and did a PHENOMENAL job as the veteran leadership and glue for that team. 4. He is playing WITHIN HIS LIMITATIONS as opposed to Parsons who is still challenging them, so we are less likely to see him try to go Jordan during a game. 5. He is a much, much better defender than Parsons and just as good a shooter. In our team, the drop off in O from Parsons to Ariza+Papa K will be minimal if existent at all.
whoa. lets control those expectations a bit. dollar for dollar, that may be true...but in terms of true talent and impact it certainly is not.
not really..hes at that point in his career where he understands what he can do as a player and it shows. a lot of players go through their NBA careers never figuring that out. great fit for the team. As mentioned before he was asked to do more than what he could previously. his role here is pretty similar to what he was doing last year in washington
I guess overall, somewhat. But it's not surprising how he's playing because he's been a very good player since he was in Washington. Don't y'all remember what he did to the Rockets last year?? <iframe width="560" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/s_JpQneVP78" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
he realized he's not tmac and went back to being a really good role player as he was with the Lakers He has the perfect tools to be a utility swingman that compliments scorers like Harden and Kobe, long arms, good defense, nice spot up, good slashing, runs on fast breaks
btw Washington is going to miss Ariza more than they think this year. Pierce was an ok pickup but won't be able to do what Ariza did for them imo
I want to see him shut down KD. Can't wait. No more watching slow ass Parsons chase around shooters and getting game winning threes shot in our faces.
You want him to rebound LESS? Iggy averaged 5.2 reb/36 minutes last season. The highest that he's ever averaged is 6.2 reb/36 min. Ariza averaged 6.3 reb/36 min last season. In his best season Ariza averaged 7.9 reb/36 minutes. In fact, Ariza has had 5 seasons where he averaged over 7 reb/36 min and he's had 9 seasons that are better than Iggy's best season. So far in the preseason Ariza is averaging 7.4 reb/36 minutes. Ariza is and always has been a better rebounder than Igoudala. For a SF he's a great rebounder.
Wow, I didn't realize he was that strong of a rebounder! I haven't looked at Parson's rebounds but I'm sure he NEVER averaged >7rpg. If the Rockets have a strong run this season, Ariza could literally go down as the best role player the Rocket ever had, statistically. Who would be our current best role player of all time? Aaron Brooks? Otis Thorpe? Sam Cassel? Thomas Hamilton?