What if Ariza becomes a poor man's TMAC? (that can play D)

Horry is a lockdown defender and can roc the rim?

Didn't think so, shut the hell up.

 

tmac isnt a great defender, but he isn't suspect either.

wafer has a better chance in turning into a mcgrady than ariza does

 

Haha, you must be young. Throw in some tapes of the rockets version of horry, you might be surprised.

 

More like Rudy Gay with D. I think that's what's missing on this club. If we had Yao, Tmac and someone like a Rudy Gay, we would have been the beast in the West.

 

Remember T-Mac coming to Orlando when he got a much bigger role? It was supposed to be him and a injury prone Grant Hill(Hill=T-Mac) That never happened and Tracy started to develop into one of the leagues top scorers.

Similarities:
Athleticism
Shoot the three
Take it to the rim
Being able to play the three and two

He doesn't have T-Macs playmaking ability and T-Mac doesn't have his defense. Should be interesting.

 

I guess you can say I am a younger Rockets fan.. But what I've seen Horry as a clutch shooter/three point shooter. So was Horry playing passing lanes and getting to the rim?

 

Ariza is no where close to McGradys skill set.

 

Horry developed into that with age, but when he was younger he could drive with the best of them and was never a slouch on defense. He was a great all around player. Luck isn't the only reason he has multiple championships.

 

You probably haven't watched the young Horry, I suggest you go on Youtube and search "Robert Horry". He was a pretty good finisher at times... not Ariza like though, Ariza is more athletic, obviously.

 

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Oh man.....!!!! I remember young Robert Horry. He had the same build as Ariza, but was taller, longer, and shot better. He played center in college but we drafted him to play wing. He played small forward for us until we traded Thorpe for drexler in 95. He could shoot back then, had mad hops, and yes.... he could rock the rim. (Over People) He also holds the NBA Finals record for steals in a single game with 7 steals against Orlando in Game 2 of 95.

 

'rookie'

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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rxYiHcIOgKM&feature=related


Check out the 12 second mark

 

I've personally always have thought of Tmac as the Poor man's Kobe.

He does everything Kobe does, but with less passion and is always hurt. That's how i've thought of him, and being the Poor man's Kobe is still being a great player.

As for Ariza, I think he hasn't reached his ceiling yet. He can still slash and hit open shots. He's probably not going to be a all-star, or multi-time All-star...but being a 1st team defender...that is well within reach if you ask me.

 

i could see Ariza as a poor man's young robert horry, which if you think about it isnt half bad. Outside of TMac and pippen, I cant remember us having a better small forward in horry since 95. Horry > Ariza = Battier

 

A lot of you guys have revisionist history on Horry. He was a frustratingly inconsistent long distance shooter as a Rocket. He was definitely more of a slasher in those early days. He was never scared to take the three, but he wasn't near as accurate as he developed into. The thing about Horry was at a young age he knew how to play off his team's star player. He always knew where the holes were to attack the defense and he was good at getting in those spots. He was also a fantastic finisher and a decent defender and rebounder all in a long athletic frame.

He is similar to Ariza in that they both had that all around game so I like the comparison but I don't know if Ariza has the basketball IQ Horry did. Otherwise, I think you could consider them similar at this stage in their careers although Horry had a bigger frame than Ariza ever will so I don't know if Ariza ever will be able to cover 4s like Horry.

 

I was thinking about this the other day that Tmac/Kobe is a great case study into work ethic separating players as they get older. When Tmac first came to Houston you could make the argument that him and Kobe were very similar. I think there was even talk of a Kobe for Tmac trade(straight up) at one point. In a relatively short time however, Kobe has turned into a top 15 player of all time while Tmac's not even a top 15 player this season. To me the one difference is work ethic - it's what's kept Kobe relatively healthy and slowed Tmac down increasingly each year. You can see it on Tmac's frame each year - he just looks less and less defined in a league of world class athletes. It's really a shame too because you could argue that Tmac had more physical gifts than Kobe with his superior length and comparable speed.

 

This is why many players are and will be better than TSlack at the age of 30. TSlack only has the past. Many players still have a great game at TSlack's age. TSlack's problem both on the court and off the court is laziness or lack of determination. He likes to win but won't put in the effort (on or off the court) to get to the next level.

 

At his age ....comparing him with Tracy at the same age...

He will never be as good in any department...

We´ll be lucky if he develops into a Rudy Gay type player.

Hope for an early recovery from Tracy and a mid year recovery from Yao because if not... This season is heading for the Warriors 2008-2009 repeat.

 

a poor man's whatever?

How about he's just Ariza. The guy is who he is, he'll contribute on both ends of the floor, enough said.