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He's looking more comfortable within the offense
Role change could suit Ariza just fine
By Marc J. Spears
Kobe Bryant looked at the box score from the Houston Rockets’ preseason game against the Boston Celtics and was alarmed by the stat line of one player.
Trevor Ariza, Bryant’s former teammate with the Los Angeles Lakers the previous two seasons, had missed all but one of his 11 shots – including all four of his 3-point attempts – and failed to hand out a single assist. Bryant figured Ariza was in need of a little brotherly advice, so he sent him an encouraging text message.
“He was like, ‘I’ve been through the same situation before. So just slow down, stay focused on your goal and it will come around. You’re in a situation where you have an opportunity, so take advantage of it,’ ” Ariza said of Bryant’s message.
Ariza welcomed Bryant’s advice because he now finds himself in a unique position: The Rockets need him to become their go-to scorer, a role Ariza hasn’t held since he was a senior at Los Angeles’ Westchester High six years ago. In his six NBA seasons, Ariza has never averaged double figures in scoring.
“It’s an adjustment,” Ariza said. “It’s a different style of basketball that I’m playing now. I’m going from being the fifth option to one of the main guys on the team. It’s taken a little while to adjust to it, but I’m happy to be in this situation.
“The best part about it is I can take shots, and if I take a bad shot, I’m not going to be yelled at. But the toughest part is probably having to take it all on my shoulders. It’s what people say pressure is.”
Ariza expected as much after signing a five-year, $33 million contract with the Rockets this summer. With All-Star center Yao Ming sidelined for the season, guard Tracy McGrady likely out until January and Ron Artest having taken Ariza’s place with the Lakers, the Rockets are desperately counting on Ariza to tap into more of his talent and expand his game.
While trying to change his mentality from that of role player to dependable scorer, Ariza leaned strongly on Bryant for guidance. Ariza figured he would still be alongside Bryant this season after helping the Lakers win their 15th NBA le by averaging 11.5 points in the playoffs. He entered free agency hoping to land a big contract from the Lakers.
Negotiations, however, never really progressed after Ariza’s agent made it clear he wanted more than the $5.8 million midlevel exception. The Lakers quickly turned their attention to Ron Artest, who eagerly accepted their five-year, $33 million offer. Ariza was left to take a similar deal from the Rockets.
“I can’t keep looking back at that,” said Ariza, who will receive his championship ring when the Rockets visit Los Angeles on Nov. 15. “You don’t live in the past. You live in the present and look toward the future.”
Before choosing Houston, Ariza said he also received strong interest from the Cleveland Cavaliers, Portland Trail Blazers and the Toronto Raptors. But despite those intriguing overtures and the fact he knew Yao would be out at least this season, Ariza joined a team that will do well to simply make the playoffs.
The reason? An opportunity to grow as a player and become a leader, the chance to viewed as much more than a defensive standout.
“A lot of players here are younger and they come to me a lot more,” Ariza said. “It’s weird, because I still feel young. I’m 24, but I’ve been in the league for a while.”
Ariza said he has sought guidance from Rockets forward Shane Battier and the coaching staff. With Yao and McGrady out, Houston coach Rick Adelman is in desperate need for a go-to guy. Without a proven superstar on his active roster, he hasn’t known exactly where to turn.
Point guard Aaron Brooks is coming off a breakthrough playoff performance and is a comfortable first option for now, but he also has lacked consistency. Luis Scola can score inside and outside, but is more of a role player. Ariza, meanwhile, has the athleticism to become a more dynamic scorer – he also improved his 3-point shooting considerably last season – but has never averaged more than 8.9 points in a full season.
“He played a certain role with the Lakers, and we’ve asked him to do more things,” Adelman said. “It takes time for a player to get acclimated to doing that. It’s not going to be an easy process for him, but he has to just keep fighting through, find out where his comfort levels are and find out where they’re not.
“He is one of the guys we have to keep force feeding. We lost so much scoring from last [season’s] team, we need someone to step up and we hope he’s one of the guys that can do that.”
Ariza’s goal: To become more like Bryant and less like his old self.
“I have to tell myself to shoot more, and everyone reminds me of that,” Ariza said. “Every practice when I pass up a good shot thinking someone else is open for a better shot, they tell me to shoot the ball. I got to [be aggressive], and I’m still having problems with it.”
Ariza showed some of his potential this week when the Rockets beat the Golden State Warriors on the road. He scored a team-high 25 points while making four 3-pointers.
“Now you have to guard him like he’s an All-Star, basically,” Warriors guard Anthony Morrow said. “He has the green light, obviously, and it’s hard to guard guys with the green light.”
Said Ariza, “That’s what I came to Houston for. And that’s what I’m supposed to do.”
Some 400 miles down the road in L.A., Bryant probably had a proud smile on his face as he looked at the box score.
He's looking more comfortable within the offense
Houston got a very good player for the price they paid.
Does Ariza have an opt out after three years?
i dont think he does
Im happy for Ariza. I miss him though...
I like Ron-Ron and have been rather quiet about this the whole summer but I really loved Ariza. Just loved the kid and what he brought.
I really hated to see him go.
Last edited by TheManFromAcme; 10-30-2009 at 03:34 PM. Reason: typo
We all did.
However I think if we had stood pat with Ariza and not made any more moves, the likelihood of us repeating was less than favorable with the moves all the other teams made.
We may not repeat with Artest but he gives us much higher upside. High risk high reward.
Still love to get Trevor back. Maybe he demands a trade back to LA and we ship them some expirings...
That would be splendid. He was a perfect fit with the system. Just like a glove. The kid has nowhere else to go but up.
im happy for him and his black jap kid. houston is a nice place for him if he wants to do more than play defense and wait for 3 pointers which would have been the situation here
You guys keep forgetting:::we never had a choice. It was either Odom & Artest OR Ariza.
Semi-truth to this statement.
Hated to see Ariza go, but I'm starting to like Artest.
Exactly, with Artest they gain the ability to guard the more deadly players in the NBA a lot easier (Melo/LeBron etc.) but they lose a player in Ariza who would hustle every single play and would come up clutch with a steal or a 3 pointer.
i see a lot of potential in his game, like turner from the rockets coaching staff i dont see a jordan or bryant, but i do see a pippen... something about his jump shot is a little wierd, kind of a slow motion that will give him issues when he is the go to guy. As for his personallity he is a nice guy. I think he is quite sensitive which is a reason why i think he chose houston. Coach rick adelman is very easy going as is the whole entire team. With the exception of tracy mclazy no one is really going to call him out in taking a bad shot or not, which is a reason why i want mcgrady out. When it comes to taking artest or ariza for a 5 year 33 million deal i would take ariza. I think ariza with his talent and length make him capable of being a better player than Artest, though for the "win now" mentality, artest is the best choice. But ariza fits in perfectly with what he are doing, he is a young nice and talented guy that can grow here. WHen he was with the lakers i didnt like him at all, but now that he is in my team i do.
Also if Yao and McGrady somehow can magically make it through a whole season fully healthy then Ariza is the perfect partner to them.
Kobe giving advice...but but he's not a leader and he doesnt make other players better,
Weren't you the one saying that Ariza was overrated and benefited from playing in a LA's syste's that suited his game?
I'm like Al, hate to see Ariza go, but, not like Al, I'm starting to dislike Artest. He's mincin'/Radmo. His head is on a swivel/Radmo. He's watching to see if Kobe is watching him/Radmo. He's getting to the rim and then passing it 20 feet away/Turiaf.
I wish Odom & Artest had never met & we had Ariza.
LAkers are gonna regret dropping this guy.
Nah they got Artest =P
shouldve told him to go see the prophecy in colorado...
Ariza with 16 points on 100% shooting, 2 steals and 1 turnover in the first quarter vs. the Blazers tonight.
Last edited by Lars; 10-31-2009 at 08:06 PM.
Blazer's defense really really sucks.
It wasn't too long ago dumb Laker fans were pissing on this guy and throwing dirt on him after one preseason gameI hope Ariza's confidence and game keeps rising.
Ariza is amazing right now. But I'm not convinced until he play this good against Celtics.
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