Not surprised. He was asked to be someone he wasn't capable of being his first stint with the Rockets. He has really come into his own now and he seems confident in his abilities. He is just sticking to what he does best and not trying to force the action.
You can see why he can grab rebounds just from the few games I've seen him play with the Rockets... he's really long. He's pretty tall but he has some long, lanky arms. He can go up with 2 hands and pull down those mid-range rebounds due to his length. That will be helpful this year.
He never thought he was Tmac... Everyone needs to understand this, and then feel bad for crucifying him in his first go with us.
I knew he would be better than what we previously knew him as, but I didn't think he'd be this good. In fact, I still don't. He's playing at damn near 3rd superstar level. I don't expect him to keep it up for the regular season, but I do think he'll be pretty good.
I don't think he has gotten much better. He just plays within himself now. He was able to make all those moves a few years ago, but now he has the benefit of two much better players taking some of the attention away from him. Giving him more spacing and opportunities.
He played the same way last year. But his stats are pretty good this preseason. Here are his preseason stats per 36 minutes. (And he played 35 mpg last year, so it's pretty close to his average): 57.1% fg% 40.0% 3p% 7.5 reb 5.0 ast 3.6 stl 17.1 pts
Just for fun... let's compare Parsons to Ariza's per 36 minute stats this preseason: Parsons: 40.9% fg% 25.0% 3pt% 6.5 reb 4.4 ast 2.4 stl 18.0 pts Ariza: 57.1% fg% 40.0% 3p% 7.5 reb 5.0 ast 3.6 stl 17.1 pts
Yeah that's what I mean. I don't expect him to shoot 57% or get 3.6 steals per game. Over the last 4 years he shot 40% in 244 games at 33 mpg. Even at his greatest year (last year) he doesn't match up with how he has played so far: 57.1% fg% 40.0% 3p% 7.5 reb 5.0 ast 3.6 stl 17.1 pts 45.6% fg% 40.7% 3p% 6.3 reb 2.5 ast 1.7 stl 14.6 pts Really good numbers, but fewer points, steals, assists, rebounds, and a far lower shooting percentage. Look, he'll be good and I am a fan. I just don't want people to flip their sh** when he doesn't produce like this in the regular season.
I really like Ariza and Beverley as the 4th and 5th best players on a championship team. Also looks like Papanikolaou is a guy that can play championship minutes. Still need the following: 1) #3 star 2) PG that can initiate the offense 3) Well rounded PF 4) Backup center #1 can be solved with the acquisition of #2 or #3. Backup center is up in the air. We don't know enough about Dorsey or Black to know if they can protect the paint. I'm hopeful that Dorsey is the answer.
I don't think anybody expects him to shoot nearly 60% from the field and get nearly 4 steals per game. But what it does show is that he can play just how he did last year... which was a great season for him, and that he fits in well with the team.
