Maybe I've lost my mind, but I don't remember using "I watch the games" as an explanation for my thoughts. It's not really what Ariza MIGHT be when the team is stacked with more talent, it's what Ariza WILL be when the team is stacked with more talent. We've already seen him perform in the playoffs with the Lakers; it's what gave Morey the go-ahead to sign him to a long term deal. I'm going to start a petition to have a locked, stickied thread that simply reads... "Trevor Ariza: Playing Out of His True Role and What This Means for Your Posts!" P.S. I don't really like what Ariza is doing right now either, but I'm not going to make rash judgements. P.P.S. Spoiler
Yes,I get your point. I said that because Ariza's job was to complement Battier,but you're right. Trevor is closer to Battier offensively than Ron,who despite being a volume shooter(on relatively bad teams) commands more attention than Ariza probably ever will.
When you don't get Lowry's name right, you can't expect people to accept your opinion. I fully disagree.
he's not a bad fit, he's just thinking he's better than he is (with adelman/morey telling him he can do more) and tries to do too much and this is the result. people may say when yao returns, he'll play better. i agree. but the thing is, yao won't play much (say more than 20-25 minutes), ariza will still be expected to take a lot of shots and i think he won't be as good until we get a full-flight superstar. but man, watching this version of ariza is even MORE frustrating than watch ron artest. at least artest had some skills, ariza just sucks trying to play this role.
Ariza isn't a bad fit! Just wait till Yao Ming comes back and we have our Point Guard playing playmaker, like Yao Ming, Ariza is not a self starter, needs to be set up in set plays, just like in the Lakers. At present Coach A is trying to make Ariza into something that he is not. Possibly when Tracy gets going there will be more set plays and Ariza will blossom.
Ariza competes. If he misses, he makes up for it on the defensive end. There are primetime players who occasionally are cold offensively and let their man take advantage of them on the defensive end that pretty much guarantee a loss. At least with Ariza, there is still a chance to win the game.
just saw the ESPN highlights: it appears the rockets didn't score at all, so they all must suck. this wasn't meant to be an Ariza bash-fest. i think he's a good role player, if he's given the right role. hell, all the rockets players are role players to some degree, brooks a possible exception. Ariza is very solid on defense, but we're already playing 4-on-5 on offense most of the night (w/ chuck); we can't afford to play 3-on-5, and one of those 3 (battier) needs one of the other 2 to set him up.
ariza seems to be bashed too much,I think it is a time to show some understanding for this guy. surely he will never be a go-to guy,but we need to admit he is a decent role player,his open 3 ,steal,team defense are all this team baddly needed,especially when yao back ,trevor will never need so many shooting opportunities,just do his own work well on defensive end will benefit us out of our imagination. so calm down guys,let's wait and see,a correct conclusion will be drawn in the end of next season.
My bad. I was having a conversation within the thread with another member. You quoted one of my replies to him/her and I didn't realize you were not that person. But to address the repeated "he is playing out of his role" excuse, why does that make him take poor shots? Playing out of his role is not an excuse for shooting pull-up jumpers from 21 feet when he is already 0/8 for the game. He isn't being forced into a role he can't handle, he is playing like he isn't aware of his limitations. I have a huge problem with that.
He is asked to do things he is not capable yet. But he is a good player, he defends, rebounds, passes, runs fast breaks, hits open shots when his feet are set. That's good enough for a MLE. If Ariza can really get and make shots any time he wants, he'd be a star player. Unfortunately he's not, but he's asked to do that in RA's system somehow. It's not entirely his fault, The main reason is 40mil sitting on the bench. Morey did an incredible job getting Landry an Scola cheap, but you can't ask him to get player at every position for that kind of money.
All any of us are asking is for him to play within his skill set. Who asked him to do things he isn't capable of? I think that's a bunch of bull. When does a coach or GM ask a player to do things that everyone knows they cannot do? He would be a good value IF he played within himself. He is not doing that and that is his choice and that is why he is catching hell here. He deserves the criticism as long as he is jacking up jumpers when he is ice cold or dribbling into crowds and then making desperate passes.
mind you, morey and adelman have publicly defended ariza's style of play. so again, it's also up to those 2 big guns to tell ariza to stop playing like that. if they don't, ariza is gonna keep playing like this, and will continue to struggle. i don't think it's all ariza's fault.
I think both of those guys are smart enough not to call out a young player's basketball IQ or shooting habits in the media but what does tell me you are right about them being generally happy with is play is the fact he is playing 39 minutes a game. I'm starting to wonder if developing Ariza isn't a close second to winning games.
You don't understand the impact of losing 40 mil. When two superstars can't play, somebody will have to step up and create offense. Brooks and Ariza seems to be the choice. Since we don't have anyone who can beat opponents off the dribble except AB and Lowry, when opponents paid extra attention to those guys on a good defensive play, somebody will have to handle the ball and try to create. Ariza becomes the obvious choice because nobody else could even dribble without getting stolen.
the thing is, what is there to develop? i'm fine with developing him if he shows a consistent improvement game by game, week by week, month by month. but i don't see any of that. sure, he will have an explosive game every 10 games or so (even rafer has one of those games here and there). cbud has shown more potential in limited minutes than ariza has shown with his 39 minutes per game. in november, he shot 36% and average 17 points on 18 shots. now that's one month, so let's see some improvement. no, after tonight's game, he's shooting 37% and averaging 14 pts on 14 shots. hell, let's forget the stats. he just looks god awful offensively. and that's not an exaggeration. and his defense has been overrated for the most part outside of a few good stretches. again, i'm all for developing players. i love for brooks to get more burn despite struggling in some b/c he does show SIGNS of improvement. same thing with cbud. or landry. those guys show the signs of being ready to accept more of a responsibility and improve their games. ariza does not. so adelman and morey have got to swallow their pride and stop with it. eventually, it will cost us games as teams will force ariza to do more.
I understand just fine. The guy tries to do things he is not capable of. No excuse for that. If you can't shoot pull up jumpers then don't shoot 10 of them a game. If you can't penetrate and make a decent pass then don't dribble into traffic. Does anyone else on the team try things they are not capable of play after play after play? Does Lowry jack up threes all night? Does Shane try to take guys off the dribble? Is Chuck out there shooting 15 footers? By the way, watch most of his shots, the other guys on the court are open to get a shot off at least as good as the ones he is hoisting up. He's getting worse. That's my biggest concern. The worse he shoots the poorer his shot selection becomes. It's like he is making a "Worse Basketball" DVD.
Most guys on this team only takes good shots. But when opponents played great defense in certain possesions, somebody will have to take bad shots. That part belongs to AB and Ariza because we don't have a superstar on this team. Aria plays a lot minutes, has the ball in his hands a lot. I agree he still needs to take better shots, but 10 shots in 36 minutes today isn't jacking up that much. Everything would be fine once Yao gets back, Ariza would get more open looks. He's just a role player who is put into this uncomfortable situation.
