Yes, but I dont see how you can know for sure that Adelman would not use Battier against McGrady, like you claimed to. If Battier is doing better than Ariza against McGrady, Adelman will use him instead. A second thought compared to Mcgrady matchup. Neither Sura or Wesley would pose a threat to Ariza. Mavs used josh Howard who is very similar to Ariza on defensive end. I didnt see either abuse Howard. Jason Terry isnt a defenive player either. Absolutely not. If Hayes keeps Yao in control, its an advantage for current team. ForYao/Deke to win that matchup, Yo would have to absolutely dominate, and he never has in playoffs. Mobility. The answer lies in the Mavs series. Mavs beat the Rockets with small lineup of guards/small forwards going against Rockets 7 footers. Mutumbo was so ineffective against Mavs that Gundy had to reduce his minutes.
Howard is more mobile than Ariza, so he's matches up better with a sura or wesley. He's a swingman while Trevor is a SF trying to be a swingman. It's not that Sura will "abuse" ariza, but that he'll be able to consistently get by him and therefore cause the D to scramble, leading to opportunities for his teammates. Given that Tmac's jumper/release is high, i can't imagine Battier would be able to contest those better than a lengthy ariza. Battier could prob stay in front of tmac more than ariza, but Tmac has never been speedy, so ariza cant do too bad there. I'd be more worried about having a quicker sura matched up with ariza. It's not as simple as having smaller and quikcer players like the mavs did. you need capable smaller and quicker players. Guys who can dribble AND shoot like stackhouse, terry, howard, and Finley. Every one of those guys can shoot and put it on the floor. Battier and Ariza don't have their fluidity or ball handling skills. Budinger shoots well, but isn't as good as any of those Mavs off the dribble. That leaves brooks, who cant finish like any of those mavs and lowry, who can't shoot well enough. Even Van horn had the shooting/dribble combo, although not as good as the other mavs, but better than the rockets mentioned except for brooks. then there is devin harris, yet another guard who can shoot AND dribble. And yes, one more. Marquis Daniels. the "small" ball dallas played was all about their 1,2 and 3 spots. They could rotate numerous guys who all had the same killer combo, shooting and dribbling. With so many of them whoever had it going played more minutes/got more touches. The current rockets team "small" ball is based on their small frontcourt. It's not the same thing and wouldnt have the same effect vs the 05 team. this team can't replicate the small ball of dallas, they dont have the versatile shooters/ball handlers at the 1,2 and 3 spots.
No I was just pointing out that Howard then happened to be younger than he is today. Regardless of age, experience, whatever, he couldn't hold Scola. It is evident that TMac in his prime is stronger than Shane. If you don't believe the pictures, just look at TMac's ability to get to the rim and finish back then. Shane can stop Kobe from getting to the rim by fouling him. I think if he fouled TMac it would be And 1 that's all i'm saying. Players like Ariza can get to the rim. players like Lebron finish at the rim. Shane is strong and i am not knocking him in any way. He is my favorite rocket. I'm just saying he would have no hope of guarding TMac. According to you, TMac is the same size as Kevin Durant and Shane could man handle him all over the floor when TMac was in his prime? And you are telling me that TMac as a rookie was the same size he was in '05? Because he was relaxed and not flexing? You're serious right? http://www.nba.com/media/playerfile/tmac_kings.jpg http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_3NykgKdPP...A/S1600-R/Tracy_Mcgrady_Streetball_Adidas.jpg Like for real they are the same size? One no bigger and no stronger than the other?
My first thought was that the 04-05 Rockets would demolish this team. After thinking about it a bit more, I'd drop them down a notch, to "heavy favorites". If they played a 7 game series, I'd bet the old Rockets in 5 or 6. I'm glad some people pointed out our current offense over the 04-05 defense. To me, that is BY FAR the biggest mismatch in the game. The old JVG Rockets defense would absolutely eat us alive. Brooks won't get any calls against Yao/Deke in the lane, and he's a streaky outside shooter. The current Battier would never shoot that corner 3 because he'd never be left open. Ariza would get 10 open looks a game and likely clank 7 of them. Yao won't have to worry about guarding Hayes, and as a result Scola won't get any baskets inside. The only way the current Rockets can score would be for Scola at center and Landry at the four. Similar to how the Jazz played us. In which case, it would be all about how well Scola and defend Yao.
The 04 05 team would win, this team biggest weakness is going against 7 footers with post offense and wings that can score the ball.
Are you making stuff up as we go along?? They are very similar on defense with their long arms and lanky bodies. Neither is quick enough to stay in front of smaller players but play decent defense and use their arms to cause defelections and turnovers. Ariza plays the passing lanes better and has better steals averages. nba.com even lists Ariza guard and Howard as SF. But I dont need to look at that. Howard has played at SF with Stackhouse, Terry, Kidd. I have followed Ariza since his Knick days and I can tell you that he has been interchangeable his entire career just as Howard as been. Sura's or Wesley's penetration did not pose a problem for Howard. It wouldn't be an issue for Ariza either. As for the other point, while these Rocket guards (brooks and Lowry) are not as good as Mavs guards, Rockets PF are miles better than anything Mavs had at C/PF. Considering Yao/Deke could not dominate that lineup, it is safe o say this Rockets team holds considerable advantage at that spot over the Mavs team. BTW, you are glorifying Van Horn and Daniels. Two players who were just about useless in that series. Van Horn should never be used to make a point. he was a human ice cream cone. Even Devin Harris who you took the liberty of bringing up had the deer in headlights look when the series started. Mike James ate his lunch. So really the players left who did damage were Jason Terry, Howard, and Stackhouse, with Finley in spots. Lowry and Brooks might not be as good as that duo, but they are not that far either, as seen by their performance in playoffs last year. Brooks and Lowry are much closer to those Mavs guards than Mavs PF/C is to currents Rockets front court. You also mentioned Mavs guards superior shooting and ball handling skills. Shooting yes, but not ball handling. Jason terry has always been criticized for his nall handling, which is why he was moved to SG position. Howard is not very good at ball handling either. In fact, Brooks and Lowry are better all handlers than any of those Mavs you mentioned. Mavs offense was geared towards isolation. I think you need to re-watch the series. Since you have already admitted that you forgot that Yao wasnt that good back then, and then you brought up players for mavs who had zero impact for that team in the series, I think you have a faulty recollection of that series.
what am i making up? Ariza is like 6'9 and he's got no business playing SG, we know his natural and only position should be SF. Ariza isn't quick at all, his length helps him survive out there against smaller players. Howard may be lanky, but the guy is almost 3 inches shorter and a lot better ball handler/shooter. So yeah howard can play the 2 and 3. AGain, what about this is made up? Howard isn't blazing fast, but he's faster than Ariza, even if not by a lot, it should help him guard smaller players better than Trevor. Nba.com is not the definitive site for player positions. It's going to list them as whatever they play and trevor has been playing SG because of tmac's injury and shane being in the lineup. I'm sure chuck is listed as center too, but how can you argue that's his best position? It's not, it's the PF spot, same with Trevor. Howard can play either spot, the fact that he's listed as a SF just shows what he's been playing the most or lately. And just an FYI, howard is actually listed as a guard-forward on NBA.com, not just a small forward.
So I guess the coaches who had been playing him at SG all these years should have consulted you first? Just as an example, his quickness sealed the deal against the Nuggets in the playoffs last year. He is not the quickest guy out there but I don't see how Hoard is quicker than him to make a difference. NBA.com and espn Howard 6-7 210lbs Ariza 6-8 210 lbs Now I am convinced you are making stuff up. And here I thought I was having an honest discussion. This is where I stop.
so you're telling me everywhere he's been Ariza has played the SG spot only? Ideally no coach wants him at that spot. Why is that difficult to see, a SG that can't dribble ?? Doesn't make any sense, when he plays SG its not because he fits, but because there's a lack of SGs on that team. His quickness sealed the deal? Trevor Ariza doesnt mainly get stls due to his quickness. He gets them because he gambles a lot and passers forget he has a long reach, by the time they realize it, it's too late. You're right,i think we should stop because any serious nba fan, especially from houston, should know that sites like nba.com and espn consistently screw up the height and weight of players. Does Hakeem olajuwon ring a bell? I've seen him listed as high as 7'1 before. Chuck's been listed anywhere from 6-6 to 6-9. Landry is listed as 6'9 but it's been confirmed he's closer to 6'7. That's just the mistakes on the rockets, imagine the rest of the league.
