No, I do realize it's going to happen to Ariza. That was why I said Ariza is the better defensive player right now. I have nothing against Shane, he's just not the player he used to be. Last year he was still a great defender. HE SHOULD have been 1st team over Kobe or whoever they put over him and Artest, but it is quick drop off for players like him. Bowen was once a stud and ... downhill immediately....same could be said for Big Ben.
By almost all indicators, Camby has always been a great defensive player. He just has that stigma because he played on a running Denver team where they give a ton of raw points. And then played for the crapola Clippers team. If Camby ever anchored a solid half-court team, no one would question his defense. If Camby came to the Rockets splitting minutes with Yao, he'd be considered Super-Deke.
Well I will have to vehemently disagree with you. Ariza may gamble on defense a few times but his overall defense is solid. He's shut down long athletic SF like G. Wallace and even Kobe in his first faceoff. You many not WANT see to great things he does and how disruptive his length is in the passing lanes and contesting jumpers so I'm not going to try and convince you. All the games we missed him on Defense should have, but obviously you just don't like the guy and everyone can see right through you. No need to argue when you've made up your mind.
I do agree that he is a solid defensive player, but he is nowhere near Battier's level. He is our player, I support him being here. I DONT support the myth he is a better overall player than Battier, because he isn't. The main reason he irritates me is because he is shooting 15 shots a game at 38%, 6 threes at 32%, with a terrible 67% at the line. On a side note, you are mis-remembering the Bobcats game if it was THIS years games of which you were refering. Battier was on Wallace in the first half locking him down, but had to switch onto Jackson because he was torching Ariza. Battier couldnt slow down Jackson either, but with Ariza on Wallace, he started playing alot more effectively.
did ariza guard wallace all game? I think that's the game jackson torched us for 40 pts. I'm pretty sure ariza and battier switched off, not sure how often though... and i think the "ariza guarded kobe" is as tired as the "battier guarded kobe" comments last season. If we're going to talk about defensive consistency maybe it's time we used more than the same tired matchup. Let's talk about what they did against those guys not named kobe. Trevor didnt even lock down the kobe-stopper assigment after that first defensive performance because the next time they swtiched between battier and ariza. I believe Granger also had his way with Ariza, as did Roy. I like Ariza as a battier replacement, but as of now he's got some unfilled potential on the defensive end. He should be a much better shot blocker with his athleticism and length. He can keep gambling on passes to his man since he does get steals often, but he needs to stop leaving his man to go roam on the other side of the court and/or to get an early crack at a fast break. That's how Granger got 36 on him.
