Life without Kobe and Pau for Trevor Ariza
by slikysmooth1 on Feb 12, 2010 1:14 AM CST
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Trevor Ariza is finding out the hard way that playing basketball without Kobe and Pau isn't easy. Last year he was a key contributor to the Lakers Title run because he can defend and hit open jump shots. Keyword OPEN jump shots. He had Kobe Bryant, Paul Gasol, Bynum, Odom, and even Fisher who always hits big shots for them. No one in their right mind is going to guard Trevor Ariza and leave those guys open. Thus, he thrived and landed with the Rockets this year. Well he was suppose to have Yao and T-mac, but we all know thats history now. The Rockets tried to make him into a scorer running offenses for him, but THEY are finding out too that Ariza is NOT going to be a star like Tracy McGrady or even Ron Artest, or even Cuttino Mobley. Ariza is a great COMPLIMENTARY player. He is an athlete who can defend and finish above the rim, but thats all he is. He is not a player that can carry a team, he would be a great third or fourth or even fifth option. Basketball isn't easy when you don't have Kobe and Pau, who created so much openings for everyone playing with them. Same can be said about Yao and T-mac when they were healthy. Every NBA player can hit open shots, but it becomes a lot harder when they are actually guarding you now. Ariza is finding it out the hard way, now teams are actually defending him. I'm not bashing the Ariza signing, I'm just stating the fact that he is not going to develop into an all-star. He is not going to replace Tracy McGrady, he is just another complimentary piece that fits well in the system. Don't expect his awful shooting percentage to go up until the Rockets have another duo like Yao and Tracy again.
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Smooth
This is my biggest problem with the Rockets organization. You cant bring a player or players in here, that are complimentary/role players and expect them to be effective in roles they aren’t programmed for. If you don’t understand that, you might as well stop reading now. Battier was also a Bench player, and they brought him here and promoted him as the missing piece to WIN now. I knew he(Ariza) was being setup for failure when Morey was making the comments about green lighting him for more shots…..and you have not heard Morey or Adelman admit that was a mistake. Now ignorant fans have been lambasting this guy, when they should be turning their fire at the organization. I’m saying wake up fans.
On Ariza
I think that they gave Ariza the “green-light” this year in order to see what Trevor could do with a greater role in the offense. And yes, the results have not been glamorous, but I think we’ve got Battier 2.0 with Trevor: a more athletic defender who has a little bit more offense.
The need for this team is another McGrady (or a McGrady-lite player) who can create about 14-16-ppg, because you add say an average of 16-18ppg for Yao, Landry and Brooks and then another scorer, and you’re good to go….well, until the next injury comes along.
B^2
In Daryl Morey, Rick Smith and Ed Wade we (usually) trust.
Once again - context.
This is an incomplete team, and so guys are being stretched. What’s the harm, and more to the point, what’s the alternative given the injury/contract/salary cap nexus? It may have escaped notice in some places, but the last few Ariza games have been MUCH more controlled.
Significant gravitas shortfall expected in 2010.
Niceeeeeeeeeeee.......
but Cuttino was never a star :)
Who would be a great Yao/______ tandem? Iggy? I’ve never really watched how Iggy plays with the bigs. Thoughts?
He's a fantastic player.
His deal isn’t easy to swallow.
Significant gravitas shortfall expected in 2010.
Ariza was a mistake
I will say it. The Ariza deal was a mistake. Morey made a mistake. Probably. At least that is how it appears. A short time ago, everyone on dreamshake was blabbing about how the Rockets got the best of the Artest-Ariza deal. Well, the Lakers got the best of that one. Artest is a better defender and he can actually shoot straight. The Rockets have too many “good defenders” who cannot score (Ariza, Battier, Chuck Wagon). To win, you got to score more than the other team.
Ariza isn't a mistake. Ariza is an experiment.
Ariza has never had to “be the man” on any team as he has had to be (to a certain extent) here. In L.A. he was purely a role player & he excels at this role but here we had no true go to guy so Morey decides to try Ariza out & see what he can do. It’s obvious he can’t be a leader on this team but for the price & with (insert superstar names here) & Yao he can go back to the role he is use to playing. A good defender & say 4th option.
he is struggling a little
but he really isnt playing badly. for his price he is doing really well.
this year is also alot of lets wait and see just exactly what his limits are.
no one knew. and no morey did not make a mistake.
+ artest left on his own we didnt trade him away. ’
ariza left the lakers own his own they didnt trade him.
it esentially worked out in wee traded players but there was no a actual physical trade, just a coincidence.
Yes, it looks like a "challenge" trade
but it was just two free agents being signed.
Ron Artest is an excellent piece for a contending team. He’s not much use on a team that’s going to struggle to make the playoffs. We added Artest as a final piece, but once again injuries made a mockery of our plans. Given that the Rockets beat LA as many times as all their other playoff opponents combined, I’d say the thinking on the Rockets being ready to contend was right and Artest was a good signing. With no Yao or McGrady, why not go younger – that was Ariza.
Next year I expect to see Yao, and a SG/SF scorer of some description as part of the team. Add that to Brooks, Landry et al, and that’s a dangerous team.
Significant gravitas shortfall expected in 2010.
Let's not call a deal until we've seen more than 50 games. Do you really want the next, what, 3 years of Artest?
I need some autotext here, but briefly
Ron Artest is in the absolute best place he could possibly be in the whole NBA. His slowing feet are covered up by LA’s huge frontcourt. His jacktastic tendencies are controlled by Jackson and Kobe. He’s the 3rd or 4th option, so he shoots open shots. He’s still strong, and tries hard, and that’s helpful for LA. Of course he was meant to be a LeBron stopper, and that hasn’t exactly happened. Put Artest on the Rockets and I feel very sure we’d have a worse, not better, record. Ariza and Artest have both benefitted from the attention the Kobe/Gasol pairing draws.
Now, do you really want Artest’s deal 3 years from now? Who do you suppose will be better?
Ariza’s offense was an experiment, the results are mixed. I’ve seen improvement. He’s gone from a green to yellow light, and if you’ve watched the past few games, Ariza’s been contributing all through the scoresheet. What’s not in question is his defense. Add Yao back to the mix and the Rockets are a stifling D again. Ariza has the speed to defend players Battier is going to have increased trouble holding, but Battier can muscle up on guys Ariza can’t slow down.
Significant gravitas shortfall expected in 2010.
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