How many of you out there would be happy with Ariza's defensive skill alone? If he brings the same defense he brought the Lakers but his offense remains the same would you be happy with that (for the price he is being paid) or do you have higher expectations and think he should bring more then just his known defense for that MLE or that injured player exemption. DM said it himself, Ariza is worth that contract just on his defensive skill set alone. But do you, the BBS'er agree? Or agree to disagree that with this long off season that his list of expectations gets longer and longer with every passing day. This poll is just based on him being paid the MLE (or around). I'm just curious. I know I have high hopes for him to showcase his unknown offense but at the same time have to remember he isn't getting paid too much. But I have to be honest with myself here, will I be happy if he doesn't bring the O!?
If Ariza doesn't bring a IMPROVED offense, just the same thing he brought for LA, would you still be happy. Sorry for the confusion, can someone edit it?
One observation I've made over the years here is that in general, BBS posters really suck at making clear poll questions. But, now that we have some clarification, I can say "Yes". I would be happy if Ariza brought the same skill set to the Rockets. With Tracy and Yao both injured, it's easy to start asking more of him, but I would consider any offensive improvement to be icing on the cake. He's being paid accordingly, IMO.
I think it is nearly impossible he can't improve just a bit. In your drawn scenario he would still give us a couple of transition points. I am content with his D alone.
Four factors that make me like this signing: 1. Ariza is a team player. 2. Ariza is a hard working, humble guy that loves basketball. 3. He's ultra athletic and a slasher, which we have not really seen much of on this current Rockets team. 4. He's only 24.
If Ariza brings what he brought in the playoffs when he played way over his head, I will be overjoyed. But I hope people understand he most definitely isn't a deadeye 3-point shooter. That was a fluke. If Ariza plays with energy, gets smarter, learns how to defend better without fouling and shoots 38% from long range, I'll be OK with the signing. He must not try to be something he is not, which is a gifted offensive player. His forte will always be hustle, energy and defense. He'll always be a 3rd/4th option on offense.
How many of you out there would be happy with Ariza's defensive skill alone? This poll is just based on him being paid the MLE (or around). Those two alone I thought was kinda clear, but guess not.
and to answer the question, no, I will not be satisfied with the signing of a redundant player when this team desperately needs size and athleticism on the front line and a true slasher/scorer at the wing position.
I don't care about his contract! the NBA gave Ariza to Houston Rockets! NBA gave Houston money to sign Ariza! So thanks to the NBA for Ariza! thank you GM Morey for Ariza! thank you YAO!
I don't like the idea of paying a defensive specialist full MLE money, especially on a team that has a superior defensive player already. I fully aware that trev is gonna be groomed as the successor to shane and he will eventually be asked to contain the kobe's, durants, etc of the league. I just don't believe those players are worth full MLE money, particularly on a non-contending team (which we are this year). I also have concerns about trev wanting to showcase his offense. From all i have seen of trev, he does not have the handles and has far too slow of a ball release to justify more shot attempts. He's a well above average athlete, yes, but has poor balance/fundamentals offensively.
how about all 3.. yes because he is a great team player..hustles..brings great energy..i think he needs to build on that rather then try to do lead the team in scoring no because he doesnt have the skill set to become a great scorer in this league..the comparison to T-mac is very bad..t-mac averaged 32 ppg at one point...i dont even think ariza can get to 20 and finally i miss Ron Artest...because of the simple fact that not only wont ariza produce as many points...is a worse 3 point shooter..besides the point that when it comes down to it he is not a true lockdown defender...yet... morey said his contract is worth his defense alone but come this season when the rockets play the cavs he cannot bang with Lebron and his 250 lb frame...he cannot force someone like carmelo anthony out of the paint...yes he can get in your face..disrupt your shot..and strip the ball etc. but when it comes down to locking down the best of the best..pierce..lebron..wade...he isnt that type of shutdown defender like artest was...then again hes only 24 and can develop that so either way it will be interesting to see
Confusing poll but if the question is about Ariza's defense alone and will I be happy if he remains a relatively poor offensive player while being a solid defender -- hell no, I won't be happy. Half of the rationale behind signing Ariza is due to the 'upside' element. When I see Adelman making comments about showcasing Ariza on offense and what not, I take it as a clear indication that this team plans to drastically improve our transition game. We all know that transition and fastbreak play was an aspect of the game that was all but non-existent on Rockets teams that were centered around Yao and with Rafer seemingly incapable of pushing the tempo. Now we've added two speedster PG's. With Yao out of the picture indefinitely, offense is going to be hard to come by. Conversely, taking Yao out of the picture also gives us the opportunity to become faster and ultimately capable of getting more transition/fastbreak points. We've added the fast PG's needed to push the tempo, Scola is already a great transition player and now we've added Ariza -- a player that's just as good, if not better than Scola in terms of transition play. This all adds up in my book. Maybe you guys are seeing something different? Either way, Ariza will need to take advantage of such opportunities because he isn't going to transform into Kevin Durant overnight. It remains to be seem if Ariza can create his own offense a consistent basis. When you have a player like that and a coach that plans to feature such a player -- you have to think where the offense will come from. Running more and transition/fastbreak play is the only option that seems to make any sense and definitely looks to be the best way to maximize Ariza's strengths on offense.
Listening to Morey's statements and then Adelman's about Ariza I think the Rockets DO expect him to become a better offensive player. Despite what Morey says there is no good reason to sign Battier 2.0 when you already have the real deal and do not show any signs of wanting to get rid of him. Unless, of coure, you expect Ariza to become a real scorer. Morey said what he said about Ariza's defense justifying his contract because he doesn't want to put too many expectations on the kid. He is young, humble and doesn't appear terribly confident so it would be r****ded to go to the media and state that part of the reason he was signed was because he is expected to be a 2nd or 3rd option on offense.
I have one point to remark. As much as I respect Ron, I won't miss him and I love the youth transition we are going through.
If he's scoring between 12-15ppg with a field goal % of +46% and shooting 35%+ from from the 3pt line. I would take that all day especially when you include his lockdown defense and age.
