7-14 14 points 7 boards 3 assists and 1 steal....I wonder who put up that stat line tonight??? Guys quit overreacting, the dude is GROWING into his role and is paid only 5 million a year...I can live with 3rd options putting up those kind of numbers.
I hate to pile on because I think that's exactly what a lot of people are doing without stepping back and looking at the reality of this season. Having said that, I couldn't believe when he whined to Battier on the court after passing the ball to a camera man. It's one thing when he gets on Brooks, who is a less experienced player without the credentials of Battier. But to get on Battier, especially when it was his turnover, is a different story. Imagine how often players on this team could point a finger at Ariza on live TV during the course of a game. I'm starting to think Ariza is trying to hard to be the alpha male out there. He wants to be the leader but he doesn't have the game or the attitude to be one at this point of his career. He needs to chill on the attitude tip, in my opinion. He seems to lose his senses too easily.
Perhaps he's frustrated, and it's understandable. Here's a guy who left a championship squad, looking to make a name for himself. He chooses a team where he can have a bit more freedom on offense. So when he starts playing a bit poorly, he's going to get frustrated. He's beginning to realize that maybe he can't take the reigns of a team and lead them to the promise land. But hopefully, he matures. Hopefully, he realizes he's a top notch role player. Hopefully, he realizes he can still be a key part in a championship run. But it all comes down to what lies between his eyes.
I was giving Ariza a hard time about whining to Battier, too, but let's not go overboard. Battier does have stretches, particularly on the offensive end, where he is a liability. Over-passing can hurt your team. Being too unselfish can sometimes hurt your team. Failing to be aggressive when the opportunity presents itself, despite his limitations, can make things harder on his teammates, offensively, at times. And I say this as a person who appreciates Battier and is starting to wonder about Ariza.
The top 3 players you mention had maybe made one mistake in the game? Trevor had multiple turnovers, and has been making terrible decisions in the entire game. Hell in the last 5 minutes alone, he traveled, did a stupid offensive foul, turned the ball over and 3..yes 3 separate nearly back to back to back plays and then chucks up a wild 3 with time on the clock only go air ball and have CP3 make a 3 point play... This was in the last 3 minutes of the game. It has nothing to do with "newest addition" is has to do with just him sucking. Sure I know sheit. Take off the goggles man and wake up.
7 turnovers per game...HELL NO but thats where his game NEEDS to improve and 37 percent shooting is not good but again he is LEARNING, the goal is for him to improve RIGHT??? The idea is when Yao returns and whoever comes in to be the 2nd option is inserted into the lineup his shooting percentage should increase because he will need to take less shots and be more selective.
Anyone defending his play this season is flat out kidding themselves and blind to the facts. He's absolutely terrible, he's having a historically bad season shooting the ball. 37% / 32% / 64% is absolutely terrible for a player taking the amount of shot attempts he does. He can't dribble, takes out of sync, and his defense isn't even that good. He's been absolutely terrible, he's been the worst player on this team. I can't wait for the "he's on an MLE contract, what did you expect, a superstar." type arguments, which is absolutely r****ded. Minimum contracts shoot higher than those percentages, asking him to shoot higher, try harder, and not try to play out his capabilities is asking him to be an anti-superstar. He absolutely sucks. I remember the Orlando game, it was close, and he shot us out of it, and today, he comes in, gets a couple turnovers, which sparks the Hornets comeback. He's absolutely terrible. This is not a reactionary post/thread, this has happened all-season, when we're 34 games into a season, that's enough a sample size to determine improvement, and he's become worse.
I'd like someone to explain it to me because I'm at a loss when watching him play. Yes, I like his defense most of the time (a little gambling is ok in my book) but he either needs to be turned into a more aggressive Shane Battier or shipped out of here. If we're going to let someone "figure it out" during games, I'd rather watch Taylor do so at this point (as wheels off as that might be). At this point, I say ship him off to Philly with McGrady to mitigate the bad contracts we'll have to take back in an Iguodala deal. I can live with a three person rotation of Iguodala, Battier and Budinger even if Battier is losing a step. I'm not usually one that over reacts to a bad performance, but tonight was too much for me to take...
I hear you. I think he already knows the part in bold though. He was a key part of that Lakers team. I also think it's possible that one of Morey's selling points to get Ariza to sign here was that in addition to offering more playing time, he convinced Ariza that the increase in playing time would possibly lead to an even more lucrative contract several years from now. If he continued to play his role with the Lakers, maybe he never finds out if he can be more than an MLE guy. Maybe Ariza is actually thinking about his next contract despite how far down the line that is. He's young enough where he knows he'll have another contract while still in his prime. More playing time = bigger numbers = possibly more than another MLE if things work out. We may not think Ariza has a chance to be more than an MLE type but he probably wants to find out for himself.
HE'S NOT IMPROVING. His SHOOTING, is becoming WORSE with every game. His shooting numbers the past six games coming into this one was less than HALF the percentages Alston shot with us. 19-73, 5-30 from three, and 18-28 from the line. HE'S NOT IMPROVING. He SUCKS. and i just read page 2, I actually agree with DD on every point he's made in this thread. I may be overstating it, but Ariza is terrible
Man, I feel for you. The thing about Ariza is not only he doesn't have a skill set to creat for teammates, but he also has hard time finish aroud the rim. He used to be good when he was in LA. We're kind of hoping Ariza to be next Tmac when Tmac transform from a role player to be superstar since traded to Magic. But, after 30 games, the dream is over. As much as Tmac doesn't fit this team, Tmac's worst game is better than Ariza in term of abilities to scoring and creat for others.
It is on the entire team...and the coaches... Not all of Trevor's turnovers were his fault, a few were mental mistakes on the recieving end...
