If y'all want him to make 3's at a 38% and up clip, then you want a PG that penetrates and kicks and constantly breaks. Ariza was getting his shots off on discombobulated defenses that Wall carved up.
Ariza's shot has been bad. No denying that. Dribbling and creating offense has never been his strength, and he still isn't very good at that. But to say that he, as an overall player, has been bad is overlooking several other aspects of his game. His defense has been excellent. He has been active in passing lanes, getting steals that lead to fast breaks without overgambling too much. He is a good rebounder for the small forward position. Yes, him missing so many open 3's has been a letdown, especially with how hot of a shooter he was at the beginning of the season. Hopefully his shot will come back for him. But even so, he has done a lot of other really good things for us.
Law of average. Ariza knows it. The Rockets knows it. He was so good at the beginning of the season that they have to make sure he is horrible now so that he can be great again comes playoff time.
Anybody who knows a lot more about playing basketball than me, maybe you offer insight into this question: how do you get out of a shooting slump or simply improve your percentage? Beverly obviously improved over the offseason. I remember Lin boasting how'd shot thousands of threes two offseasons ago, and he came back with a much worse percentage than the year before. There's clearly a major difference between shooting lots of uncontested, no-pressure threes in practice and doing the same thing in a game with a defender closing in on you. It seems like more of a mental exercise than anything to fix things. So how do deal with this in the middle of a season when it's absolutely critical that you get out of a slump as fast as possible?
He has about doubled his number of tightly contested 3PAs this season, but the Rockets still get him plenty of open looks. He's just missing his open looks a lot more this season.
He's averaging 32.6 MPG in the 8 games since Brewer got here. People arguing that his struggles are based on his heavy minutes load are quickly losing ground. I honestly believe we should start Brewer until Ariza finds his shot. I don't expect Brewer to be a better shooter (though he's been strangely on fire since he got here) but he's at least not completely useless on offense without hitting 3's. That is literally the only thing Ariza can do.
I've had nightmares about the fact that the Rockets let him into free agency without some form of verbal agreement. I think Morey got way too cocky on that and Cuban served him up! Why?! Why?! just let him play out his last year and deal with free agency later!!!
I really like Kyle Korver. A lot. Korver would be amazing in this offense IMO. Imagine how many open 3's Ariza has had? Korver wouldn't get as many because I'm sure defenses would key on his shot a lot more, but still he is almost automatic. I know Curry and Thompson get all of the media attention, but just as a pure shooter, Korver is about the best in the league. Our perimeter defense would take a hit. Korver isn't a bad defender, but he is nowhere close to Ariza. Ariza isn't a main rebounder for us, but he is better than Korver. Even if we ignore the obvious impossibility of this trade (no way Atlanta would trade him with how well they are playing)- if we made the trade we would improve in some areas and regress in others. It will just be up to the Rockets front office to decide what aspects are most important to our game.
There are a couple of things that can get someone out of a slump. 1. He doesn't seem to have the legs right now because he is playing so many minutes every game. I know it seems like this "excuse" has been discussed before but I really think this is the case for him. Possibly playing Brewer more in his place could help. 2. He may be thinking about it too much and he just needs to just shoot. 3. He needs to take better shots in rhythm. I know I made it seem simple but I'm sure he'll get through it. He's not a great shooter but I'm positive he'll shoot better than he is right now. I hope.
One thing I've noticed with his shot is that his arm angle is too vertical right now. It should be down more, and it was down more last year when he was shooting so well. But it could be the result of him over-compensating because he's not getting the same lift because he's physically tired.
No that is literally not the only thing Ariza can do. Seriously- I understand the frustrations with how bad Ariza's shot has been recently. But he brings so many other things to the game. Corey Brewer has played really well since he has gotten here. I like his energy and hustle, I like his length and getting steals from the passing lane, I like the way that he gets out on the fast break, and his 3 point shooting has been a pleasant surprise. Brewer's energy is perfect for coming off the bench. But Ariza is a better defender. He is a better rebounder. He is just as good at getting steals as Brewer is. He, IMO, does a better job of playing within the offense of the starters whereas Brewer is going to get out on the run and do more of his own thing. I agree that Ariza missing so many shots has become terribly frustrating. But saying that is the only thing he does is incredibly underrating other aspects of his game
trevor is who he is at this point in his career. he's either going to go 8-11 or 3-11 and not much inbetween. he needs to recognize night when he just doesn't have his shot going and continue to do what he does best. find his open teammates, play stellar defense and keep his lanky arms in passing lanes.
Ariza not hitting his 3's is one thing. But his inability to dribble is more frustrating than anything. Damn Trevor, did you NOT learn how to dribble all your years in the NBA. Everytime this man goes into traffic, or is on the fastbreak, it's gonna be a automatic turnover
I keep thinking about Ariza's start to this year, and how good Brewer is shooting now. Is this Brewer? Just wait until that regression.
I should have specified that I was referring to the offensive end. Ariza is a very good defensive player and rebounder. I do not mean to undersell that. It's a good sign that he has not allowed his offensive struggles to affect him there. So credit to him. That said, I do not think highly of Ariza's offensive skillset. He has a poor handle, can't finish, and can't shoot (at least for the last 29 games). His role in the offense outside of those things (that he can't do) is minimal. Brewer would be an upgrade to all of those things (except shooting. Brewer will cool down) while also giving us much more speed in the fast break.
We can't have both Beverly and Ariza who are two Brick Masters in our starting rotation no matter how great they are on Defense.
