Now that McGrady is gone, who is the biggest ball stopper on this team?

One of the most common complaints about McGrady was that he was a ballstopper. And since Adelman's system is based on having 5 guys that are constantly moving themselves and are constantly moving the basketball, I would like to know who you think is the biggest ballstopper now? Who is the guy that hinders the offense most because he holds the ball instead of making a quick decision with it, either to pass it, shoot it, or made a quick drive to the basket? Who holds onto the ball and slows down this team's offense the most?

 

LOL. You guys are hillarious.

The point of the thread is not to bash Ariza. I want to see how strongly we feel about Ariza clogging up the offense. I like the guy as a player. I just don't understand, after this many games, why Adelman continues to let him dribble around with the ball attempting to create. The creation in our offense comes from totally discombobulating the defense with movement of players and the ball. Why, if we are getting rid of McGrady because he doesn't fit, is Adelman letting Ariza try to play the same way McGrady does?

IMHO, when Ariza is on the perimeter, he should catch and shoot, and if the shot is not there he should swing the ball and immediately dive for the hoop, run through if he does not get the pass back or alley oop, and circle around to the perimeter again. If he gets that ball back in the paint area, one dribble max, and attempt to finish high. The creation should come with him 3 feet from the rim with the ball cranked above his head. If he draws the double on the finish, then he can pass off to Scola or Landry for the finish.

The other play for Ariza is a simple dribble drive off the swing and defensive overplay to the strong side. Ariza should work on his drives and finishes in the offseason. That is, he should work on taking it to the hole and using his steps to avoid defenders and get off the little layups, and 3 foot fadeaways when the defense converges.

For Ariza to attempt anything else at this point is basically Ariza trying to play McGrady style basketball. He slows down, and loses all the natural advantages he has with his speed and hops. And then he plays to his weaknesses which is handling the ball in traffic and making decisions with the ball in traffic.

I don't understand what Adelman is trying to accomplish with him at this point. It just seems so simple to me what he should be doing.

 

Not about bashing Ariza. It's about why Adelman is playing him this way. I believe Ariza is very coachable. I believe Adelman has asked him to expand his game and Adelman has not made the decision to reign him in. I believe he is playing the way that Adelman is coaching him.

Neither is this a praise Mcgrady thread.

And yes, we need a go to guy. Who should that go to guy be? Ariza or someone else?

If I posted another poll asking who should be the go to guy, who should be the guy dribbling and attempting to create among this current group of players, who would we pick? See, that's a toughie. Brooks is obviously our most advantageous mismatch one on one if we are coming down in the halfcourt and looking for a shot. However, his playmaking and creating ability is very suspect.

IMO, if we have to have a bucket, the ball should be in Brooks hands with Landry posting up down on the block. Brooks high and Landry low. Everybody else should be moving off the ball and looking for the catch and shoot or the finish.

I just don't understand continuing the Ariza being a creator experiement at this point in the season. I think Adelman should sharpen up and hone down Ariza's game, at least for the remainder of this season. He should ask Ariza to either catch and shoot, catch and swing and dive to the hoop, or catch and make a decisive drive to the basket and attempt to finish. Just dummie it down to 3 options. If Ariza puts the ball on the floor from the top, it has to be with his first step advancing towards the rim. The trouble starts when Ariza takes that first dribble and he is moving sideways or backwards and not advancing directly towards the hoop. The defense knows they have him in a weak position, they swarm his dribble and then Ariza and our offense becomes discombobulated instead of our ball movement and player movement discombobulating the defense. Ariza dribbling the ball anywhere besides a direct path to the bucket gives the defense a chance to recover and reset and then we are down in the shotclock attempting to reset the offense and we are forced to get off a quick, hurried shot. And even worse, is when Ariza continues to try to make something after they have swarmed his dribble. Turnovers and bad forced shots are the result with our team being out of position to defend the runouts off those forced, bad shots and turnovers.

 

Once again, this is not about bashing Ariza. This is about what would make our team work better. I don't think benching Ariza is the answer. He is very valuable on the defensive end and I believe he could be very valuable on the offensive end as well if he were coached diffferently. I don't want Ariza riding the pine. I want him playing more effective, efficient offense that fits with what Adelman is asking from the rest of the team, share the ball, move the ball, and move your body.