I never read one word about Luc having anything done to that shoulder to prevent a similar injury during the season, and we all saw how the guy responded to that shoulder dislocation. Maybe I missed it, but I don't think so. I don't blame Morey at all for being hesitant to offer more than was offered to bring him back. It was a crap shoot for the Rockets, and it's the same thing for the Clippers. If he makes it through the season and the playoffs with that shoulder giving him no trouble, while playing at the same level he was playing here before the injury, I'll say, "My bad. I was wrong." I'll be surprised if he does.
GS had issue with our switching defense. It prevented them from getting open looks because of their ball movement. We forced them to depend on more isolations that normal. It wasn't about individual defense, but let's look at the numbers from those games: Game 3: Durant played 75 offensive possessions Ariza guarded him on 29 of those possessions. Durant shot 60% on the possessions where he was guarded by Ariza. Obviously, our other defenders were much more effective against Durant in his other 46 possessions. Game 4: Durant played 82 offensive possessions. Ariza guarded him on 44 of those possessions. Durant shot 44% on the possessions where he was guarded by Ariza. Again, our other defenders were more effective against Durant in the other 38 possessions. Game 5 : Durant played 79 offensive possessions. Ariza guarded him on 41 of those possessions. Durant shot 57.7% when he was guarded by Ariza. Another case where our other defenders were much more effective against Durant than Ariza was. Our team defense gave GS problems. It wasn't Ariza shutting down Durant.
The Luc-Ariza Tillman-is-cheap thing is already old. Crepey-skin old. We do need to bolster the roster, and I'm sure Morey sees what we see and then some. But does no one remember that we couldn't even PLAY Luc (ler alone Whyte Ryno) in the playoffs? How that hurt our rotation? Does anyone think Trevor Ariza is worth, what?, $10+ million in luxury tax money? They have been tryng for Butler or, barring him, at leasr some sort of upgrade. We can hope for that and see where it goes.
Of course it was our team defense, I never claimed otherwise...just that it was Ariza who was tasked with being KD’s primary defender for 35+ mpg, and the coaching staff trusted him with that responsibility he played an important role in that team defense that was able to switch effectively and hold KD to 3 straight bad shooting games somebody has to soak up those defensive possessions, and right now we only have Tucker to guard the likes of KD who we also want to be our small ball 5 against in order to counter Draymond, and Ennis
Yea but you said both defending and you said likely all could've shorten higher than 20% which isn't true. He did above average defensively overall I will say. Taking into account team defense AND individual defense. But he takes a high volume of shots though. He took 7 a game in both of those years. Idk he's average or above average but that certainly matters. Ok haha, I do respect you as a poster so I didn't want to come across as a jerk haha.
At the beginning of last season, Rockets had gelled fairly quickly. This year, with the addition of new replacements, it looks like it may take a while to gel. I've cringed when I've watched Rockets play so far. Honestly, this is below my expectation for the first few games of the season. It looks like the entire squad is playing together for the first time, there's no chemistry on the floor. Don't get me started on defense... Is it just me or is Capela doing a poor job defending the post? I know it's only three games, but I'm mostly talking about our veterans with regards to my expectation.
i cant remember ariza shuting down ANYBODY and i have watched almost every game during ariza second stint here
Morey talks a lot before the season. It is time for him to speak up now. Trade or Improve the defense?
