#TBT- Trevor Ariza, SF, Houston Rockets
@Hoover__26 January 28
For this week’s #TBT, I went with a guy who has far surpassed the predictions that were made early in his career. He has developed a fantastic perimeter game from having a very poor one in college, and has turned into a very good player in both fantasy and real games. Trevor Ariza proves that sometimes, throwbacks just get better with time.
The Houston Rockets have a stacked starting lineup, with stars like James Harden and Dwight Howard. However, with stars like that, other great players are bound to get overlooked. Trevor Ariza is one of those players, as the 30 year old forward isn’t as highly touted as I think he should be. Ariza is a great shooter from long range, and is a very strong defender (he averages nearly a pair of steals per game). However, Ariza does something for his team that is even more valuable than his numbers. He has a propensity for hitting a big three when his team needs it. I can’t remember the last time Houston’s offense was sputtering and Ariza missed a big three that would have changed the momentum.
Ariza was drafted 79th overall in espn.com leagues on average, making him the 15th small forward drafted. Ariza has certainly surpassed that pre-season ranking, as he is currently sitting at 11th on the espn.com Positional Ranking. While Ariza can put up numbers with his teammates at full health, he really does well when his minutes are bolstered by an injury. For instance, Dwight Howard was out of the lineup when Ariza put up an insane 97 combined fantasy points in back-to-back games (espn.com). Ariza has the ability to have a huge game at any time, however. He put up 24 points and 5 boards against the Pacers, with both Dwight Howard and James Harden posting great numbers as well. Ariza’s long arms help him shoot over closing defenders, as well as reach in to swipe the ball away from opponents. His very high 3Pt% and steal numbers coupled with solid rebounding from the SF position make him a target in both roto and traditional leagues.
Ariza is the kind of guy that can be easily overlooked when picking a fantasy team. As far as the 25-23 Rockets go, many people don’t look much deeper than the big names. However, as soon as you forget about this week’s #TBT, he drains a trey in some unsuspecting defender’s face, and you think “Who is that guy again?”.
The Houston Rockets have a stacked starting lineup, with stars like James Harden and Dwight Howard. However, with stars like that, other great players are bound to get overlooked. Trevor Ariza is one of those players, as the 30 year old forward isn’t as highly touted as I think he should be. Ariza is a great shooter from long range, and is a very strong defender (he averages nearly a pair of steals per game). However, Ariza does something for his team that is even more valuable than his numbers. He has a propensity for hitting a big three when his team needs it. I can’t remember the last time Houston’s offense was sputtering and Ariza missed a big three that would have changed the momentum.
Ariza was drafted 79th overall in espn.com leagues on average, making him the 15th small forward drafted. Ariza has certainly surpassed that pre-season ranking, as he is currently sitting at 11th on the espn.com Positional Ranking. While Ariza can put up numbers with his teammates at full health, he really does well when his minutes are bolstered by an injury. For instance, Dwight Howard was out of the lineup when Ariza put up an insane 97 combined fantasy points in back-to-back games (espn.com). Ariza has the ability to have a huge game at any time, however. He put up 24 points and 5 boards against the Pacers, with both Dwight Howard and James Harden posting great numbers as well. Ariza’s long arms help him shoot over closing defenders, as well as reach in to swipe the ball away from opponents. His very high 3Pt% and steal numbers coupled with solid rebounding from the SF position make him a target in both roto and traditional leagues.
Ariza is the kind of guy that can be easily overlooked when picking a fantasy team. As far as the 25-23 Rockets go, many people don’t look much deeper than the big names. However, as soon as you forget about this week’s #TBT, he drains a trey in some unsuspecting defender’s face, and you think “Who is that guy again?”.