He was pesky and hustled. Let's not get carried away. He was not a lock down defender. But guess what? His other three seasons in the nba he's played poor defense.
I would still take Ariza over Parsons, given the contract situation and how this team is constructed. No way the Rockets could have matched Parsons contract and still strengthened the bench like what it is.
Yes, he is not on Ariza's level on defense not even close - agreed. Ariza is fine as a wing defender, a great addition for the money - but we really miss Parson's offense. Would you take Ariza at 8+M over Parsons at under 1M? DD
You don't need to score 110 a game if you defense well. The Rockets lost often lately because they stopped playing hard-nosed defense, having to dig a huge hole before they bother to climb back out of it.
I totally agree, when their shots were not falling earlier in the year they still played tough defense. This is on the starters, they are playing lazy, particularly Dwight. DD
Which is surprising. I thought he along with Tyson and dirk would work well with rondo. Only guy I expected to suffer was Ellis.
I would still take Ariza over Parsons, but Ariza's boneheaded play often made me want punch something. his role on this team is to play defense and shoot corner 3s. That's it, nothing else, dont try to create or dribble, those usually means TOs.
I still think getting Ariza and losing Parsons was OK. Parsons was flashy. Sometimes he'd go off for 20+ points and hit some 3s. Other times he'd be fairly quiet. Ariza is a better defender, and I think that's what attracted Daryl Morey's attention. He gave us 15 tonight against Washington. 10-15 per game on average from Ariza will work if he can get a few steals and a few rebounds. I think he's been what's expected so far. Nothing more--nothing less. Sure, I hope he can give us a little more offense, but does he have it in him?.
