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

Dude, I understand that you're not the one bashing Trevor. But at some point while making this thread it had to cross your mind that Ariza was gonna be the answer even by default.

Ariza has major problems with his skills and has a lot of work to be done and as DD stated once we either recieve another star SG/SF thru trade or see Yao back on the floor that's when a lot of his faults will be hidden and he will become our complimentary player to that guy.

He is not a number 1 option as we see and is playing out of his role. Things will change once he becomes the 3rd option on offense. Our "utility player" as we've labeled him.

 

Yeah, but after a year of having no constraints, does he REALIZE his limitations.

That is one thing Battier knows....WHO HE IS.....

Trevor does not.....judging by his play on the floor and attitude towards his teamates.

That could be a major problem.

DD

 

And on top of that DD, the starting five is pretty much playing 4 on 5 with Hayes in the game. Ariza would be much more effective as a role player instead of a go to guy.

 

So know he's being labeled as the "problem" on the team. Of course he knows his limitations, if you've ever played a team sport and wanted to do everything for your team to win even if it means dribbling the ball helplessly down the court, you do it.

I haven't seen any outbursts or retaliations for his or his teammates play on the sidelines, or did I miss something?

It just seems to me that now Tracy is on his way out the door Trevor is on his way to being his replacement. He has limitations but he knows now, RIGHT NOW, that those are out the window without a Tracy (in his prime) or Yao to compenate for the lack of scoring.

He does what he can to help us win, NOT to pad his stats. The little stats he has.

 

Ariza obviously does not know his limitations. How many times did he slip and fall last night while dribbling into a crowd? It's really getting ridiculous with him.

 

No I'm not pleading his case to be the #1 option, as said by Coach Adelman and Daryl Morey themselves he will be asked to play out of his role and be a main fixture/option in our offense.

That is exactly what he's doing. Ariza is by far not my most fav player on the team, I don't see him ever becoming as some suggested when we signed him the main option on the team, either you have it or you don't. Trevor doesn't.

Brooks and Landry are more of number one options than Trevor as you said. Those two guys are the focal points of our offense on this team. Including Scola, he would be a lot better with the ability to use his left hand somewhat. That's neither here nor there.

I'm just saying Ariza is playing way out of his role and wil be put back to where he was while in LA with Kobe, as the helpful all around man that can be a key spot up shooter in late game situations when our stars draw double teams. That's the way I see it.

 

I'm not always happy with Ariza jacking up shots. Yes Battier knows his role, he has been a role player his whole basketball career. I know people want results instantly, but the team is trying to develop TA into someone who will be able to handle pressure situations imo. Is Ariza a number one guy, probably not, is he a number two guy I would say no to that too. But getting him big minutes and letting him develop can only help. If he learns to slow down some and affect the game in different areas he can be huge for us. Guys I get frustrated with him too but you have to be patient. DD, it's basically the same thing I have seen so many people complain about with Brooks not being a solid pointguard. You have to give these guys time to truly evaluate whether or not they can be successful.

 

The difference for me Mikol, and your post has a lot of merit, is that in Brooks you could see the solid basketball skill set present that would allow for him to develop.

That is what I see missing from Trevor, just the basic fundamentals.

I don't think he has a good base of which to draw from, so if he does develop it is going to take him developing fundamentals first.

DD

 

Landy stops the ball the most often. However, that is my design, and I have zero complaint with it.

I almost put Ariza, but while he gets a lot of touches and shoots a lot (he's been reducing the volume and upping the quality lately, though), he's not really a stopper.

 

Fixed. I make some weird typos.

 

Lol at Ariza being ahead by 52 votes!!

 

Ariza doesn't really stop the ball. He'll make his move quickly, but he has this annoying habit of stopping midway when the defense is about to collapse, pivoting back, stumbling, and then trying to pass it back out. Maybe that "fancy" footwork was something he picked up from Kobe Bryant last year, but he's not very good at it and he needs to just work on finishing those drives or doing a stop-and-pop. Its ridiculous how often he makes that futile maneuver. Do the Rockets coaching staff not notice it?

 

I'm not sure it is a lack of fundamentals. I think it was about two weeks ago when coach told him to affect the game in other areas, he goes out the next game and I'm sorry I don't have time to look up which one but just about has a triple double. I think in part, it's on the coaches because they seemed to have given him a green light. If the team can decide what they actually need from him I think it would help him some. I will say he has moments where he just doesn't know what to do with the ball and gets in trouble after making his move. So at this point I really don't like him as a playmaker. He has some tools, so I think the team should work with what he has and not ask him to do to much

 

First of all, don't buy into that foolishness about DD talking about ball stoppers. Everey player that has ever played has been taught to triple threat or read the defense. Now some guys survey the more than other, but one of the biggest mistake a player can make is recieving the ball and not looking at the basket. All great players are ball stoppers or even really good players. The league isn't made up of catch and shoot guys. There are some, but very few of the really good players catch and shoot. Don't believ that bs DD is feeding you. If you do, the minute you turn around,he'll knife you in the back bigtime

 

Again, I can see your point, but I was talking about the basic skills of dribbling, passing and shooting.

He is lacking in all three areas.

DD

 

One thing to keep in mind is, we would not be as frustrated with Ariza and Anderson etc ball hoggin, or goin through the learning curve, because thats what was expected going into the year, quite a bit of struggling from multiple players. I think now that we're a surprisingly a legit team, with big wins over just about every great team, we've come to expect a perfect outing every time out....In this regard I think most of us have to realize what we're working with and the main objective of this year was to not only win, but see what we've got, and as such we should be patient and accept the good with the bad.

 

Dang I am trying to figure out if you are truly this obtuse.

I have consistently said that someone is NOT a ball stopper when they can finish.

Why do you think I like Maggette so much?

It is the guys that can NOT finish, that become the ball stoppers, if you are playing efficient basketball in a manner in which your skillsets allow, then I have no problem.

It is the guys who are playing outside their skills and hurting the team because of it, that is where it bugs me.

You play ball Leeb, ever get on a team with a guy who chucks, but can't hit? The knucklehead who has no clue what he is or isn't good at on the floor?

That is how I see Trevor.

DD