I don't know how many times you have watched ariza play in his young career, but obviously not enough to call his defense suspect. He's been a good defender since entering the league. Larry Brown doesn't start many young guys without trusting his defense. Ariza really didn't do anything he's not capable of except he became more assertive which is good. He's always been a guy that can transition, defend and create with his defense. What he started to do this season was pick up offensively and knock down the 3. His ability to rub off screens, cut backdoor, and slash to the rim fits what adelman is trying to do.
adleman is not stupid enough to guarantee anyone a starting spot. if battier gets owned by ariza in the preseason he'll be starting and vice versa. the only reason i could see ariza not starting though is because we need as much bench scoring as possible and having ariza come in is a lot more of a boost than battier
He is one of those impact defenders. Makes plays rather than plays solid defense. The good thing is he has the tools to be good. But we keep hearing about Adelman prioritizing him on offense, etc... hes gonna wind up not concentrating where he should, especially on a bad team. His offense will never be that great IMO, he isn't a consistent shooter, shies away from attacking, does not look for contact. If Adelman wants Doug Christie pt 2 so bad (what you described) then I hope its off the bench.
Ziggy, its not against the rules to be a threat on offense and play good defense. Ariza is like brewer and prince offensively and pretty much defensively. Ariza playss good defense and he will also get steals if its availiable. He also runs on rebounds in which he gets baskets that way. He also does a good job of rubbing his man and making useful cuts in a offense. People need to get out the mindset of being comfortable with guys that are basically zero on offense. I'm not saying ariza will be great or that shane is a zero, but you have to be a threat offensively unless you can prove that you can shut the paint down or a player down like Deke,Old Big Ben, or even a guy like Bowen. Like I said, ariza will be offensively like brewer and prince which is a upgrade over battier.
Don't count SVG's decision as anything to go by. The guy's an idiot. He started and left in a badly underdone Nelson over Skip to My Lou who had just had a pretty good run to the playoffs (barring his usual brick 3 pointers).
Do you really think that DM is going to let Tracy expire with us? News folks, Tracy will not be a Rocket for long, as he is our most valuable expiring contract...
Are we over the Salary Cap or not? If we are over the cap it makes no sense to let Tracy expire. If we're not though, then it makes perfect sense as we could potentially sign a big FA.
Tracy will be here at the end of the year and maybe longer. There is a greater chance of tracy remaining a rocket than battier.
For me, we will have to put Shane on the bench. Without Yao we really need some scoring and I am afraid Brooks and Mac will not be enough. Btw, we should worry about starting center...
Naturally, The centers in the team are unproven and basically are rookies. ( Dorsey, Andersen ) The only proven player that can play the center position is really not a center and that is Chuck Hayes. Scola and Landry are really pf.
I loled ...where does it say he has to be the 1-3 option perhaps on the defensive end but he tries to do more than just spot up shooting starting that he will at the 2 sliding over to the 3 with mcgrady back..
They should be cautious with Tmac at first to help him build up his endurance, I could see him on the bench as the 6tth man starting the year. DD
T-Mac would never come off the bench. Especially in a contract year. I think I agree with leebigez that at this point Battier is more likely to be dealt than McGrady. Morey probably realizes that for as good as Battier is at what he does, he's over 30 and it's probably going to take us at least a year or two to become serious. Teams like Portland and Orlando with young talent to offer in return have been actively seeking a defensive player like Battier. Both scenarios make a ton of sense. I have a feeling this type of deal will go down.
Really? And this is his decision? T-Mac will do what the coach tells him to or he will lose money. If he wants to be a cry baby in a contract year that's up to him but it would be really stupid. The best thing he could do to improve his value is to come back and show he can be a "team" player and not just be the the team. T-Mac is done being the primary option, at least his is on a playoff team. If Tracy is smart he will play nice with the team, the coaches and do whatever is asked of him. If he comes back healthy at all he can do whatever they ask... which might be to lead and it might be to play 6th man.
