Ariza has been fitting in nicely. With Howard, Bev and Ariza we have 3 all defensive team caliber players.
I had my doubts, but Ariza has done a really good job so far. Loved the steals and assists in the 1st qtr against Memphis. A nice shot as well. Keep it up!
He just does his thing without calling attention to himself. I'm sure he loves playing beside Harden. I think it was only his one year with us when we experimented if he could the #1 option that was his worst year. Thank God he agreed to come back.
Way too early to tell. However I do like Ariza release.. I was getting frustrated with Chandler line drive, no arc shot he seemed to have develop the last two seasons.
Wing defense is going to make an incredible difference. The rockets were objectively 'decent' at defence last year (i think just outside top 10 in most rankings), and now sport three elite defenders at 3/5 starting positions. I have sneaky optimism about our defense this year. The Jones/motie dichotomy will inevitably continue to prove disastrous, but I can see the presence of Ariza enabling Harden to obtain 2012/13 Kobe Bryant levels of defense. When ariza takes the best wing player, I expect james to be: - Strong when locked in and challenged in isolation. - Exhibit similarly crap defensive awareness (ball watching) - And finally, to start showing his potential in picking passing lanes. Ariza + Beverly + Harden is an incredible amount of length and quickness. Harden has always been a capable defender, hopeufully this is the year he starts showing it.
Always thought CParsons was overrated. What were the Mavs thinking? Blindsighted by hate of Morey, I reckon.
I mean I agree he's a better fit for us, but Jesus Christ, the results aren't clear for anything after two preseason games. You might as well headline, the results are clear, Tariq Black > Chris Bosh.
No more Corey Brewers going off for 50 against us. That is certain now. Ariza fits this team perfectly and I don't think we even needed to see him on the court to know that. Also, having three elite defenders in the starting lineup and a ton of defensive-minded guys off the bench can't help but put some pressure on Harden to give consistent effort. I will be surprised if this team isn't hovering just outside the top 5 defensive teams on the league.
Maybe I'm wrong but when Ariza came to Houston he came to sort of replace T-Mac and become the new star of the franchise upon having playoff success with The Lakers. Like Harden, Ariza was quickly becoming what could be a star so The Rockets snagged him while still very very young like they did with Harden. The problem was that Ariza was not a star and the expectations for him were over the roof. I know mine were. So what happened? He was good, he just couldn't be the main guy. I feel like Dallas is doing the same with Parsons, they snagged a good young player who has had a lot of success due to his role but will soon find out he is not a franchise type player. Now Ariza is back in his rightful role with two of the best stars in basketball today. He can now do what he is great at without the pressure or a very lacking 09-10 Rockets lineup. Ariza having two good preseason games is not a bluff, he is just filling his role and doing his part. I personally feel like Ariza will be better and more important to The Rockets this year then Parsons will be for the Mavs. Go Rockets!
A few points: 1. No one knows Parsons ceiling better than the Rockets. Rockets are the team that scouted him, drafted him and have developed him throughout. 2. No one knows about Parsons back spasms better than the Rockets or any of his other lingering injury issues for that matter. 3. Parsons numbers last season are over-rated playing in a fast paced system and also having Dwight and Harden as the primary focus of the opposition commanding double teams and thereby easy buckets for CP. 4. Ariza provides much better D while providing equal O in a different way. He is not going to demand the ball or the number of shots. He will get his within the flow of the offense. All in all, I was and will always be happy with this decision even if Treyriza doesn't play as expected. It was the logical decision to make at the point all things considered.
It took Ariza over 10 years to develop into the player he is now. Parsons has been in the league for 3 and is already better than Ariza overall. To think Parsons cant/wont improve his defense and find a more comfortable spot on offense is foolish. I'm not saying Parsons is worth the contract but he's already the better player and his ceiling is significantly higher than Ariza's.
Or he was shot into a role that was not meant for him. He is the same player, just in the same role he was in with LA back in the day....
Yeah, just like they knew Dragic would be an all-NBA player. Ziggy's post should end this stupid thread anyway.
Ariza didn't get the opportunity to play alongside Harden and Howard his first three years... And his best year was alongside Kobe and Gasol..... Ariza is a great role player and a potential big time championship contributor. Lets see how Parsons does on his own before crowning him over Ariza....... If he can turn into Dalla's next go to guy and franchise player then yes I can come back and agree with you.
The problem with Parsons isn't that he's guaranteed not to improve, but that our team would have had no way to get better if he didn't, coupled with the lowish chance that he got better "enough", he's also sort of in that experimentation phase, but realistically, you're not going to go from one of the league's worst iso & pnr ball handlers into a star, Harden was downright elite at these in OKC (like league top few), Parsons was downright awful despite getting the weak defensive cover (0.6-0.7ppp bad).
