In his first 4 seasons in the league he was 9/43 from 3 point range - 21%. This regular season he was 61/191 - 32%. In the playoffs this year he was 40/84 (not a small statistical sample) - 48%. 48% under playoff pressure and against good defenses. There is reason to be optimistic about his abilities as a 3 point shooter anyway.
Absolutely. He only really started shooting threes this year, with pretty good results. It is pretty rare for a complete non-shooter to suddenly start hitting 3's and that's exactly what he did this year. It tells me he works on his shot a lot. He seems to have pretty good mechanics on his shot so I think he'll keep improving in this department.
Here's something interesting found out using data from browsing 82games.com: Per 36 minutes, Ariza commits .577 "ball handling" turnovers. For comparison, Odom commits .544 "ball handling" turnovers. Odom is considered to be a very good ball handler. Maybe Ariza isn't such a bad ball-handler after all? Off-topic, I love these kind of sites like 82games.com because they break down each boxscore stat into relevant information like the different types of turnovers committed.
Oh man,no I don't wanna trade Shane Battier for something in return,I love this guy,his defensive skills keep Rockets still an elite defensive team out in West,if he's gone,I could also smell the change of playing style next season. Anyways,if it's in the right direction for us,it's cool with me.
Mike James being useless was the reason for a Mike James trade. This has nothing no parallel to the Battier situation. Remember, James was the "new arrival" guy back then, with Alston being the hold-over (i.e. the Battier in that story). The team will keep what's useful and make a deal when the return makes sense. Having McGrady didn't make the Rockets trade Battier, neither did acquiring Artest. So what makes Ariza different? People act like you only need one good perimeter defender on the team, why?
There's a difference between being turnover prone and ball-handling ability. When people say Ariza doesn't have handles, they aren't saying he is turnover prone, they are saying that he can't create for himself off the dribble. That doesn't necessarily mean he turns the ball over when he does dribble it. Think Shane Battier.
You are comparing apples and oranges. Or, you are still holding on to some self-deception that Grady and Yao are going to make some Hoosier-ish return and there will be massive joy in Mudville. Artest was a talent upgrade on a team needing to compete with all the other teams with 3 "stars". Ariza is a small first step in the "we have no stars" direction. For all practical purposes, Battier only has value as the 5th (or 6th) best player on a playoff team. Right now Battier is too close to being #3. We all saw how that went with a healthy Yao and Grady. I shudder to think how it's going to go when Battier is #3 to a Brooks-Scola pecking order.
in the playoffs, teams were D'ing on Kobe and Pau, and dare Arriza to shoot the outside shot. how many open jumpers will Arriza get in a Yao-less Rox lineup ?
That's the problem. Kobe and Pau made ARiza much better than he actually is. The problem is, we no longer have Yao or T-Mac to do the same thing.
That's true but it is indicative that at least he's not affecting teams in a negative way when he does put the ball on the floor. I don't think Shane Battier is an apt comparison at all. I don't get get all these "we now have two Shane Battier" talks. Ariza uses 170% more possessions than Battier and drives 210% more than Battier (44% "close shots" to Battier's 21%).
I think it's also questionable how good Ariza's defense is. Kobe Bryant was who the Lakers put on the other team's best player wasn't he?
That's not what I saw at all. I watched a lot of LA games, and Ariza typically took the opposing stud wing, though obviously there were some fluctuations for individual matchups. They don't like having Kobe on the other team's best player, because Kobe loves to play help defense and follows the ball, so to speak.
Really? I'm not sure if this is true but I heard it was the other way around and Ariza guarded the other team's best player.
Reminds me of the Brooks/Rafer situation... Ariza is younger, more mobile and is a better scorer than Battier therefore the Rockets have insurance or even an upgrade if a Battier trade is to happen. Before that happens though Battier will definitely a good mentor for Ariza.
Great point. The only similarity between him and Battier is that they are both great defenders. Ariza is a whole lot more athletic and more aggressive going to the hoop. Battier is a much better spot up 3pt shooter. In fact, Ariza rarely shot the 3 the first 4 years of his career. Their offensive games are completely different.
Nice post Kevc. You know your stuff but you don't post much u coming from the Lakers board. Ariza has a better inside game than Artest because of his size and athleticism but do your stats show he has a better jumper and outside game?
Agreed overall. If this current roster sticks, it's going to feel a lot like the year before we got Yao, when we went on that horrendous 18 game losing streak or whatever it was. I remember streamers coming down from the rafters. I think this team is more capable of winning ugly, though so it won't be as bad from a W-L perspective. How do you feel about Ariza? He was a true 4th option on the Lakers in the playoffs, possibly could be considered a 3b (with Odom). All the more interesting since he was #6 in the regular season. I'm worried that we overpaid, but I feel like he's a solid roleplayer at a minimum, and has some upside to grow into a 15-18 ppg type scorer.
