Lee = Ariza I like them both. Ariza has more size and is more versatile defensively. Courtney can actually dribble and shoot free throws.
I prefer my guards and small forwards to be able to dribble and put pressure on the defense. Which is one of the reasons I really dislike Battier on offense. At least Ariza tried to drive, even if it wasn't all that fluid.
People hate on Ariza but dude was very good IMO. He wasn't the scorer that you'd expect from a SG but he was a great SF, who just got caught in a mindset of trying to play out of position. His defense was excellent and I think the only reason we let him go was because he didn't have the leadership necessary to lead the team or teach/force others to try to play defense as we all saw when Battier went down.
His defense was far from excellent. He could play the passing lanes. he couldn't shut down a tree stump. Lee and Battier are both superior defenders
His defense was horrible at times. If it's one thing I could always count Ariza to do was getting lost on back screens and picks and letting his man have the easy lay up. He also got the team out of position several times by trying to play the passing lanes. Overall, his defense was just average. He played well once Martin got here on the offensive end, but it's nothing I'm missing.
Lee has yet to make a 3-pointer in the preseason. I've heard the Rockets marketing people advertise him as some master of the midrange. Um ... why is that a selling point? Since when is it a good thing to have role playing backcourt players who shoot a lot of midrange jumpers?
Ariza was playing the same way he played in LA. He could afford to gamble and play the passing lanes a lot b/c Bynum and Gasol had his back. IMO, he was a perfect fit in LA.
I think we got rid of Ariza for chemistry reasons more than anything else. His attitude seemed strange last season.
Apparently, Aaron Brooks wasn't Ariza's problem. On a night when CP3 gets 10 assists, Ariza still manages to miss 10 out of 12 shots. I can't believe people still believe Ariza is better than Lee or Budinger. Ariza was one of Morey's biggest mistakes.
Not sure why you consider it a mistake. We had an injury exception and we used it on who was available. He didnt fit, we flipped him for another piece that did. Not using that asset would of been a mistake.
Ariza must have been a knuckle head in the locker room. There is no doubt that he is a better version of Battier right now. He's more athletic and can guard the 2 and 3 spots with his length and hit the standstill 3 better than Shane.
