I'm talking about the 3 point shooting, his ball handling/creating, passing etc. Folks here thought he took some huge leap forward last year that was going to be sustainable here in Houston. He is who he is as a player, and that's not really a bad thing. I just think the expectations were a little unfair thinking he was going to be an offensive force because of the few Wizards games folks here watched last year. I'm perfectly fine with who he is, and who he's become over the years. Like Jalen Rose said, Ariza is a superstar at what he does. When he stays in his lane, and does what he does, he's an excellent get for this team. When you start needing him to create off the dribble, and chunk up 3's like he's Ray Allen, you got yourself an issue right there.
Ariza's game kind of reminds me of Battier back on the Yao & Tmac teams. Good defender, but as far as offensive consistency not so much. However, I will say I feel Trevors offense is still better than Battier's. Here are the breakdowns... Shane Battier <PRE> Season Age Tm Lg Pos G GS MP FG FGA FG% 3P 3PA 3P% 2P 2PA 2P% FT FTA FT% ORB DRB TRB AST STL BLK TOV PF PTS 5 seasons HOU NBA 348 340 34.2 3.1 7.1 .429 1.7 4.3 .388 1.4 2.9 .490 1.0 1.3 .743 1.1 3.6 4.7 2.3 0.9 1.0 0.9 2.2 8.8 </PRE> Trevor Ariza <PRE> Season Age Tm Lg Pos G GS MP FG FGA FG% 3P 3PA 3P% 2P 2PA 2P% FT FTA FT% ORB DRB TRB AST STL BLK TOV PF PTS 2014-15 29 HOU NBA SF 45 45 35.7 4.2 11.4 .370 2.3 7.0 .324 2.0 4.4 .442 1.7 2.0 .852 1.1 4.3 5.4 2.2 2.0 0.2 1.5 2.3 12.4 </PRE> I think the sample size for Ariza is a little too small, but based off of what I've seen this year, their roles for their respective teams are/were also very similar.
Ariza is fine. Yes, his offense has dropped off whcih could be just a slump but he brings top level wing defense every single night. At the end of the day, this team just doesn't have enough reliable 3 point shooters considering the offense that we run. You cannot have Ariza, DMo and Dwight all starting along with Bev (who is an ok 3 point shooter) and run the gimmick 3 ball offense that we do. Come playoff time, it just is not going to work. Eventually, Ariza ought to get better offensively but Morey has to make a move for another dead eye shooter. Where is Canaan? He could be the guy.
Maybe relax a bit guys. Looked up Arizas career splits, and December is his worst shooting month. 29% from downtown on his career in Dec. Feb is his best month 39.9% from 3. And over his long career, he has shot 38.2% from 3 after the all star break (45.7% from the field). He will be fine. Just went through his customary downswing in Dec. And has already begun his uptick in Jan (this year was 27% 3s in Dec and 34% in Jan). Looking forward to the reig of Lord Threeza in Feb, and then the sustained 45fg% and 38% from 3 to close out the year!!
he was +17 yesterday even with his horrible shooting. harden with all his stats was only +16. even though ariza still chucking up shots, he's is still very valuable to the team
This is where +/- stuff loses me. If you watched that game last night, there's no way in the world you could possibly make an argument that Ariza had a good game...and you certainly couldn't make the argument that his game was better than or even remotely close to as good as Harden's. Yet he comes out +1 over Harden. This reminds me of when David Carr would be among the league leaders in QB Rating. That tells me you more about the value of that stat than it does about what was actually happening on the court.
When your jump shots are that bad, stop shooting and start driving. Or, move in closer, work your way out a shot at a time. The last thing to do is to just keep shooting 30 footers and expect a miracle. Are there any coaches assigned to the Rockets to work with the players?! Good grief, fundamentals!
+/- numbers (in small sample size) tell you more about what players are on the floor and how they were playing with and against the player than the player himself.
On offense, Battier definitely tried to do a lot less than Ariza. Battier rarely drove and rarely shot contested shots. He basically shot when he's open or passed off quickly when he's not. Ariza, on the other hand, would try to do more with the ball. It's kind of a double-edged sword. In trying to do more, he produces more but also makes more mistakes (or misses more shots).
He just was on the floor and sat at the right time - he was on when the lead got pushed to 25 and sat when it got down to 17, missing the high water mark of Lin's Laker tenure when he managed to cut it to a razor-thin 11 in the 4th period.
So over his whole career, 38.2% post all star break is bad? Check his carer splits. November and December he always shoots poorly... Feb he is 39% o his career from 3. watch his % increase again from now until the end of the year (just like it always does).
For what it is worth, he was 41% from 3 post all star break his last stint in Houston. Where we all agree he was being asked to do too much.
We just need offensive continuity and motion. Sometimes it's hard to tell if Harden is going to randomly pass out or Dwight is going to go up and then pass or draw the foul. There's been too many situations when Ariza is passed the ball and he's left on an island with no motion, so he creates. Parsons was out in the same position. Now we have Josh Smith who is the worst guy to put in that position. If you watch the Spurs, the ball movement is predictable but hard to defend...you have to make a split second decision as a defender with near perfect rotation. Guys like Danny Green, has an easy decision to make, shoot or pass, no need to "create" as it's not even an option in that offense. Gary neal did well in that offense as well. Ariza would excel in a consistent and fluid offense.
It doesn't bother me that he's not making shots, whats bothering me is that he's missing WIDE OPEN super clean looks off of great passes. I mean if they're giving you that much space you have to sink them. Even Josh smith knocks down those super wide ones more often than Airza lately.
The next time someone has an urge to discuss how horrible they believe Ariza has become, I hope they will go back and look at the Mavs game from tonight. At the half Ariza was basically throwing up a donut stat wise, but at the end of the game he's a plus 5, 13 points, and basically shut out Monta Ellis in the fourth quarter after taking over guarding him for Beverley. Ariza is a huge reason for much of the success the Rockets have had this year. People need to give him a break when his shot isn't falling. Every night he plays big minutes and almost always at the end of the game he's in the plus column. I personally am very thankful that Ariza is a Rocket.
We were too hyped about his early season shooting streak, now everything feels like a let down The truth is he over performed in the first part of the season and is now slumping but he has been consistent on the defensive side of the game which is a huge reason why we are winning I expect him to fall back to average on offense which is all we need
