MythBusting: Does Kevin Martin Make Trevor Ariza Better?

by Tom Martin on Apr 9, 2010 3:16 PM CDT in Player Analysis

I've been under the assumption, based solely off of what I have witnessed in games, that Kevin Martin's presence has had a positive effect on Trevor Ariza. But then I crunched some numbers, and what I found made sense, but was slightly off from what I had previously expected.

Table 1 shows some basic statistics of games in which Kevin and Trevor both played.

Put the whacky colors together. If you take a look at the field goal percentages, it appears that, in most cases, if Kevin has a good night, then Trevor has a good night. What does that mean? Nothing, really. Also, if you look at the two blue columns, you'll notice that Ariza is still the inefficient scorer that he has been all season - 13 points on 13 shots, 7 on 7, 5 on 10, etc.

Basically, I figured that Trevor's numbers might be slightly improved with Kevin onboard. Sadly, they aren't.

But what about from a team standpoint? Take a look at the table below.

Since Martin arrived, Ariza has been taking far less shots per game. He has also cut his amount of long two-point jumpers per game in half, and has slightly increased his number of three-point attempts per game. This is a good thing for the team - less shots from Trevor, period.

So, while having Martin on the court hasn't necessarily made Ariza a better shooter (perhaps he would have more open shots with Kevin playing), Martin's presence has limited Trevor's wild shooting, thus benefitting the team. Yes, it's a small sample size, but it's also a step in the right direction.

Tweet Comment 10 comments | 0 recs |

Do you like this story?

Comments

Interesting

Ron Artest had pretty bad field goal% last year from what I remember. Just a random thought.

by xNevermind on Apr 9, 2010 3:53 PM CDT reply actions

Ariza - This year and next

For the most part people have expected too much from Ariza. He’s good, I like him, but he’s not the type of player you run your offense around. Saying that, he came here expecting to play with McGrady and Yao; we all know the story.

Next year with Yao, Trevor should be way more efficient – hell the whole team will be. Mostly because of injuries, this year was like reconstruction, with Morey and Adelman as the foremen. No complaints here, I like the new Rockets model.

by MeLioRate on Apr 9, 2010 6:50 PM CDT reply actions

i really this offseason will be very important for Ariza

he will need 2 get stronger so he can finish those lay-ups he misses with contact and he will need 2 work on his shooting mechanics rather than shot selection. he does take bad shots to me i think but wit some time with the Rockets player development staff his whole offensive game will improve. i sometimes see flashes of a pretty good scorer out of Ariza

by batman713 on Apr 10, 2010 1:00 AM CDT via mobile reply actions

I think his stats in the Bobcats game show what he potentially can do consistently--17 pts, 9 reb 8 assists

(or was it the other way around?) A utility guy who can be good at everything including defense. He will be getting his double doubles or matbe even a triple double soon.

by RoxBeliever on Apr 10, 2010 2:21 AM CDT reply actions

Where's the missing FGA's

There’s something missing in your numbers,and it’s pretty significant.
The shots you’ve listed ome to 10.8 w/o Martin and 9.5 w/Martin.
That’s missing 3.9 w/out and .7 w/Martin. there is the huge diff and looking at the chart I would imagine these are shots from 8-15 ft. These would be the shots off drives that are cut off from rim.
If I’m right we are seeing pretty solid eveidence that w/Martin Ariza has settled back into being a very good complementary player instead of trying to be the “man”.
His shots from 16ft and out have only gone down from 6.2 to 5.8,less than one shot every two games fewer.

by Tisbee on Apr 10, 2010 11:26 AM CDT reply actions

Didn't think that the shots between 10 feet and 23 feet were that relevant...

There wasn’t a huge dropoff.

The Dream Shake ...on Twitter.
"I think girls are probably just better shooters." - Steve Novak

by Tom Martin on Apr 10, 2010 2:06 PM CDT up reply actions

I'm being dense but...

At the rim went from 4.6 to 3.7 and from 3 increased from 3.9 to 4.2 for an overall decrease of just .6(just over a shot every two games). Meanwhile his total attempts went down some 4.5 shots a game. That’s alomst 4 fewer attempts a game from beyond the rim to the 3pt line,most of which are not coming from beyond 16ft.

by Tisbee on Apr 10, 2010 5:05 PM CDT up reply actions

And I guess

I should learn to use spell check :)

by Tisbee on Apr 10, 2010 11:27 AM CDT reply actions

The fact that

Martin takes the shots and pressure from Ariza alone is a plus

He’s not a more efficient scorer because of it. He certainly have less chance to handle the ball, and a more efficient scorer to pass to

is there an assist/turnover ratio with/without Martin

by NVP on Apr 10, 2010 2:20 PM CDT reply actions

http://www.red94.net/?p=1480#more-1480

rahat huq of red.94.net references this article and talks about the big change in Trevor’s usage.

With Martin, Ariza is taking less long 2’s which isn’t in his skillset (yet) and has gone back to more catch and shoot 3s and driving to the basket.

I also think RA’s advice to TA when he was struggling with his shot to be more of a facilitator is also paying dividends as he is showing a more rounded game. I still think he takes some shots not within the flow of the game as in he stops ball movement, but overall he has shown better judgment on his shots and he has accepted his role wholeheartedly.

by RoxBeliever on Apr 10, 2010 8:57 PM CDT reply actions