I'm still happy with his signing and I think he will be a player for us once we get a star(s) in. But we're trying to help ariza, not hurt his confidence. We want him to improve. However, he seems to be getting worse and worse every game offensively. I know stats don't mean much, but these are some "UGLY" stats. He's playing 39 minutes a game, takes 17 shots a game, but gets only 18 points a game (thanks in large part to him making 2.5 3s a game, by taking a whopping 7 3s a game). that's not just inefficient, that's just bad. he's now shooting 38.8% for the season. he has had only TWO games this season where he shoots above 50%. this is without very little double teams going at him (they go at brooks/scola moreso). he has a PER of 14.8, which is terrible for a guy with a usage of 24. again, i know adelman wants to see ariza's limits. we've seen them. there is zero indication he will get better at creating his own shot off the dribble (he had 2 airballs last night, and 2 complete bricks). there is zero indication he will get better at ballhandling (he straight up dribbled the ball up to his shoulders and looked like a YMCA dude trying to show off). i'm not a coach by any means. but as an ariza fan, i wish he would do something that is wanted in this offense (CURL/SCREENS for open jumpshots). adelman was adamant during training camp that ariza was very good at this. yet i have not seen it. the only guy who has consistently done this is budinger. but yet as more games go by, i see more bricks and ugly turnovers that simply make me shake my head. i don't see any improvement from ariza as we play more games. yet the point is we want him to improve. we want him to gain more confidence in his game. adelman tried this with yao ming when he first coached the team. he tried yao at the high post and it failed MISERABLY. it took him a few months before he scratched that notion. maybe it'll take him a few months to scratch the notion that ariza will ever be a playmaker/shot creator/ballhandler. puts flame suit on.
Well, t_mac1... ...I don't think it's really a matter of "reigning in" Trevor Ariza for the Rockets, as it is trying to figure out what it is offensively he does best, and giving him as many opportunities to do that as possible. I agree with you about the catch-and-shoot aspect of Ariza's game that Adelman said he was pleased with during training camp. But the reason why we don't see more of it, to me, is that Ariza's trying his best to fill shoes that he just doesn't have the ability to do. At best, what Ariza could become for the Rockets is what Robert Horry was—a versatile player who could do just enough of everything well to be a solid contributor across the board for the Rockets. Again, the Rockets aren't really built to win a lot of the close games that they've lost this season as they're currently playing, because they just don't have a reliable and consistent scoring threat, or a particularly stingy defense that would keep game scores manageable enough for the Rockets to be able to win. I think we're all just going to have to get used to the idea of trial-and-error offense from a lot of the Rockets, t_mac1. Not just from Trevor Ariza.
I think the whole "puts the flame suit on" was unnecessary because your points are completely valid and you provided evidence as to why you think this way. Back to your post, this is also something that I do wonder because Adelman is not hesitant to rein in other players when they have gotten out of control, Aaron Brooks most recently, and Von Wafer last season. The fact that he has not reined in Ariza may be because Adelman and Morey are curious to see what types of developments Ariza can make when he is forced to act as an offensive option because he is still very raw offensively and young, and especially after they offered him the MLE this past offseason (which I believe was justified for his athletic and defensive ability alone). Also, I think they are giving him so much playing time because they want to see if Ariza can make Battier expendable in the future. Battier is getting up there in age and he is still a valuable trade asset to youthful teams in need of veteran leadership that are on the verge of championship contention (ie Blazers, Hawks, etc). I think the Rockets management has let Adelman know that this season will have nothing to do with his fate as the Rockets coach and has essentially given him a pass for this season. Consequently, Adelman has allowed his younger players to play more freely and at pivotal junctures of the game. I think the Rockets are hoping that by the end of the season, Ariza will have corrected a lot of the mistakes he's been making now (picking up his dribble, forcing contested jumpers, driving into the lane with no purpose), thereby making him an improved offensive player and making his value well above the MLE contract they signed him to.
yeah there's no reason to flame, i don't think anyone can disagree he can hold back some....it's almost like rafer all over again, but i dont think rafer took this many shots as consistently. i dont know if there's a direct correlation bt ariza's shooting and whether we win or lose, but when rafer shot 5 for 16, you knew we had lost the majority of the time..
I think the #1 jersey is cursed. LOL why else do you think McGrady changed his number. As for Ariza what did you expect from him?? seriously. He isn't a scorer. His role is a defensive stopper/ slasher. You can not ask someone to create if they are not use to creating. His whole career so far he hasn't been creating.
yeah you basically said what i was thinking, so i couldn't agree more on the subject. but i do think that as someone has mentioned already in the topic, that the current rockets offense is a trial and error offense and this really is a transition year, we have a whole season to find out what ariza does best and how to best utilize him. now to answer your question, i do think that ariza will be gradually reined in as the season progresses and should be completely "reined in" at next season's opener.
We pretty much know what he can and can't do. He can't dribble, but he is a pretty good spot up shooter.
It's not so much the amounts of shots he takes... its his shot selection. Most of his shots consists of leaners towards the baseline, contested threes, and tough layups. But that comes with his inability to create... Until Tracy comes back, we're just going to have to accept that he's going to have to take the majority of the team's shots in the offense.
I do see Ariza trying to post up a few times, with varying degrees of results. Tries to do that up and under move.
exactly. i think 15 games + his entire career should pretty tell adelman his strengths and weaknesses. i would be fine with this experiment if ariza keeps getting better and better every week even. unfortunately, i see a player who gets worse offensively every game. wins - ariza shoots 40% losses - ariza shoots 37% he's been pretty bad all year offensively. AB is more of an indicator whether we win or not. AB shoots 47% in wins, 40% in losses. i just wish more of those shots go to AB (regardless of how bad he's playing b/c AB has a much higher potential than ariza) or landry (who's coming into his own) or cbud (the faster we can develop him, the better).
Funny that you pointed this out because last night I started laughing when watching the game because the way guys talk about Ariza this Ariza that he is shooting the same percentage McGrady shot. The only thing is we won sometimes with McGrady shooting poorly. With Ariza we are winning but fading at the end. Hmmmm. I don't want to turn this into a McGrady thread but I think Ariza is just doing too much. IMHO I think he knows he has the freedom to do whatever he wants he tries so hard to do it that he is shooting off balanced shots and all that.
Agreed and the amount of traveling that he gets away with is both ugly and astonishing. It's really quite painful to see him trying to do the "point forward" thing.
Ariza's percentages seem to spike when it's a catch-and-shoot. When he tries to create for himself, he seems to miss a lot more often. I think it's okay if he shoots a lot as long as they're good shots. He's not attempting a lot of good shots like he did at the beginning of the season -- he's forcing it way too much. He needs to realize what his strengths are.
Its hard to be the main man (bigs excluded) when you can't dribble. His attempt at creating something at the end of last night's game was pathetic.
I believe he was rejected atleast once, if not twice, on that move. I was, and still am, for the signing of Ariza, but he just plain sucks at dribbling.
I think this is necessary. This is like his "rookie year" as a main cog. I say we rein him in next year when we want to make our run. Until than, let him learn under fire, let him fail. I think he still has untapped potential, but he needs to make adjustments game by game. IMO, If Trevor wants to be anything close to a star, he has GOT to get to the free-throw line. More curls and 66 down scenarios is a great idea. Less 9's imo...
Same story with Artest last year. Whenever those guys set their feet and shoot they're nearly automatic. Whenever they do the "put your head down, dribble dribble dribble, then try to create" thing is whenever the majority of us start needing oxygen. I'm sick of these typical 6-15 from the field yet 2-4 from downtown type of stat-lines. You have to figure out what your strengths are. I like Ariza as a player. I really do. I just grow tired of seeing him being asked to play like a superstar. If you want a wing player that can handle the rock, create for others and break down a defense.....well, I don't even need to say it. Just play him already! But i'm not a fan of this trial-and-error, letting Ariza learn the hard way type of stuff. He's clearly not the player either he thinks he is or Adelman thinks is. Maybe both. Either way we need to control what he's asked to do within this offense because his play is sloppy, somewhat predictable and seemingly getting worse.
I agree with everything here. He needs to learn to shoot in rhythm off the dribbble and he has to learn through experience when and how to unleash his incredible athleticism. Dude is a phenomenal athlete. He should be jumping center for us. He has made huge strides in his game just learning how to nail the spot up 3 point jumper. At one time, he couldn't shoot it. Now he needs to learn how to effectively pull up from all over the court, how to fade and shoot, etc. Don't know how much he can learn. That's what separates the great ones. The great ones have the mental and physical capacity to work on their game in intricate detail and they become like a microsurgeon, understanding when and where to use every move, every weapon in their reportoire. Don't know if he can ever put it together that well. But I like him. And I'd really like to see hiim and Budinger flying up the wings with Chris Paul leading our break. That would be incredible to watch.
