Not surprised. Was pumped to have Ariza of Parsons. I didn't really care for Parsons tbh. I thought he thought he was better than he was and I thought he was vastly overrated. I always read about him creating, but he's really not all that at it. Yeah he can do it, but he's not someone you run an offense through to create. He's like the guy you forget about and he can do a little something when no one is paying attention. And even then it's a struggle and kind of awkward. I was excited when he went to Dallas before we even got Ariza because I thought that move would hurt them. Too much money for an overhyped role player.
Ariza makes the Rockets a better team over Parsons. Parsons got in the way. Ariza adds vet XP, plus shooting and defense. Rockets should be better this year even before we make a move. Plus I like the addition of Terry.
Tonight proved to me that Ariza is going to be a force with the Rockets, and more impactful than Parsons ever was or will be. Just look at the first quarter, he was all over the place defensively and fit well offensively. He is a smart defender who makes very little mistakes; an ability Parsons lost after his rookie year. Having a point guard in Beverley who will pressure everything and create mistakes is going to be great for two hawk eyes in Ariza and Harden. Then you have Howard that will help correct some mistakes and we can be a terror defensively. If Ariza can also shoot the three ball 40%, Parsons will be long forgotten by Christmas.
He wasn't garbage, he just didn't played the position he is comfortable at. He played shooting guard and that's not his position. Remember they had Battier and the Rockets had to put Ariza as a shooting guard. Small forward is where he is comfortable and CAN play that position. That's the difference from back then in 09 than now.
The results are clear, after 2 preseason games, the Rockets will win a ring this year, Cuban will have a hernia after finishing 9th, and Dwight Howard will be governor of Texas.
Ariza is a much better defender and 3 point shooter. Not quite as good off the dribble but MUCH better than he was last time he was here. Parsons is a better player overall but Ariza can be a great fit here and I don't think we lose anything with him in the starting lineup over Parsons. We just need bench help.
It wasnt just the positional issue - Ariza when he originally signed was actually in a similar position to how Parsons was this past offseason. Roughly the same age coming off of a career year and there was still untapped "potential" to him. Similarly compared to Parsons though Ariza was never meant to be the primary player on the team but potentially that secondary piece or at worst option 2b. Ariza's skill set fit with a inside force - that was supposed to be Yao - my guess was Morey and co. were hoping he could replace a little bit of what McGrady brought to the table or sort of be like what Artest did for the team the previous season when McGrady was not there. Problem was he was never really able to get that chance because Yao went down and he was asked to be option 1a or 1b (behind Brooks). It became clear after that season that Yao wasn't going to probably play again and if that was the case Ariza was no longer a vital piece for the team going forward. Fast forward to today - Ariza is still relatively young and far more mature. He knows his strengths and weaknesses and plays to his strengths. For a team that turned the ball over frequently last year we need more heady vets that do not try to do too much. And quite frankly Parsons is a better offensive player but all this talk of him being a good secondary play maker to me is a bit unfounded. Parsons was able to make plays when Harden and Howard were there since attention was on those two players. I expect there will be times when Ariza does the same this season. When Parsons was asked to create for others as the primary guy - he didnt fare at all too well. (for example the game against memphis when he hit 10 3s - he could not create a shot at the end for anyone) but the marginal added value Parsons gave you offensively - Ariza makes up for it and then some on the defensive end - and again having two vets now (and i cant believe I am going to say this) in Ariza and Terry who have won rings and understand the importance of playing within their role will greatly help this team and its younger players and bench.
He didn't lose it. Defense is all about effort. He's got a big ego and doesn't care to play defense anymore.
5 years ago, Trevor Ariza was definitely not garbage. 5 years ago (the 2008-2009 season), he was a key piece and a great role player on the eventual champion Lakers team. He then signed with the Rockets and one of the main reasons was because he wanted to try to take on a bigger role. He was supposed to be one of the main creators for our team that year. ...and he was unsuccessful. He was playing outside of his strengths. This time around it will be much different because he will be a complement to Harden and Howard, which is what he excels at. But back then, he was a good player who was playing out of his role. That is completely different than "garbage"
Ariza is living by Reddick rules, no more than 4 dribbles, 1 move, no counter moves, no dribbling beyond and that's fine by me Parsons usually didn't do much when Harden was out, Lin was good some games, Dwight was amazing in a cpl, but Parsons was basically flat when Harden wasn't getting 1.5 defenders. He probably couldn't have been in a more ideal situation than focus elsewhere and a coach that was willing to let him play up his contract.
