totally not true. von wafer couldnt understand an offense or a defense. he didn't have the intelligence to play disciplined basketball. a brain is the most important of the "tools" and he didn't have one.
in week one with a completely new team, a new role, and with some of the defensive assignments he has had, I would certainly say he needs time to adjust. he was asked to guard Monta Ellis last night for god's sake. rick doesnt even know how to manage the rotation yet. it has been two games! sample size = 2. why are you trying to pass judgment right now?
Isn't that what we do here? Watch the game, evaluate the players performance, talk about what needs to improve, etc.?
you need to have a set of expectations to compare to though. how is he supposed to play efficiently if he doesnt know his role yet? last year, if you add a new piece to an established team, you can make that judgment because everything else is relatively constant. on this team, everything is different, including Trevor. i just dont see any way to judge his individual performance right now.
He looked good to me last night, I think as long as he just doesn't try to do too much,just stay within the flow of the offense and he will average 15 - 17 ppg, I like the trade (basically a trade for Artest anyway) and I think as long as he just doenst go into the mindset that he has to be the star of this team, he is going to be a solid player here.
If he doesn't know his role then that's the problem that needs to be fixed. But I'm not going to pretend the problems just don't exist because its early.
Why did Von Wafer average more points last season than Ariza ever has in his entire career? Ariza does not have Von's handles or finishing ability. I don't think expecting him to play adequate defense and hit open shots is out of the question.
Wafer was fearless going to the rim. Sometimes he'd get his shot blocked, but he'll attack hard and force the defense to make a play. Ariza goes up soft, looking to avoid contact.
YES! And I completely agree without you about not ignoring problems just because it is early in the season. Ariza needs to make some adjustments and fast
who cares? he didnt understand the offense or the defense. von had different rules on offense than anyone else on the team because he was completely unable to run the offense. he was a band-aid, and unless he grows a brain, he isnt going to improve beyond where he is now.
He had a nice game last night. My only wish for him is to keep the ball closer to his body. To me it seems the further the ball is away from him (ball handling) the slower he looks and that worries me somewhat...(maybe it's a "length" thing). In fact I don't think I have ever thought of Ariza as fast. And maybe I'll never will, but I'll take his play if it equals a W within team play!
Ariza is a role player, just like Von. Do you think Ariza understand the offense or defense? He doesn't look like he has a clue what his role is on either end.
The question is, does Adelman knows Ariza's role on this team? You can't tell me Adelman knows exactly what kind of offense we should run and how our rotation and player mixture should work. I know this is a message board and it'd be boring people don't dissect every game in detail. But there's no way we can pass judgment on any Rockets player for at least a month. Because that's probably the earliest point in time when we actually have a stable system where everyone knows their roles, including the coach.
really? If you had major problems at a job in your first few days there would be no cause for concern? Where are you working?
I think some of you are just asking for too much he is a role player and we signed him for exactly that. when you have Yao and Tmac on a team you only ned a good supporting cast and that is exactly what he is and he is paid accordingly, and by the way he is the only NBA champion that we have on the team right now and actually the only champ that we have starting on this team in a long time so lets give him more help to make him fit where he really should be.
no, i dont think he does. but at this point i don't expect him to. he has the potential to be really really good, and i'm ok with things being awkward as he learns. at least he is committed to team basketball, unlike Von or Artest. this season is about the team finding chemistry and learning how to play together. he's not the only one thats struggling with that.
he doesnt have major problems. you are just overreacting and being dramatic. Elton Brand in philadelphia has major problems.
I don't know what you mean by pass judgment. There's nothing wrong with identifying issues that need to be resolved. I'm not saying that Ariza is a failed acquisition. Ariza is trying to play outside his abilities, and that's hurting the team right now. Maybe the idea is that if he keeps playing this way, over time he'll get a better at it. Fine ... but in the meantime we're going to lose a lot of games because of it.
