Posted by joec32033:

The are slmost clones of each other basketball wise.

No man. Like you said, Pietrus is more polished. I can see a faint resemblance but I dont think they are similar.

Pietrus is built alot like Ariza, albeit Pietrus is 6-5, 6-6. Saying Pietrus is a little more polished is like saying the rock outside in my yard is more polished than the coal in my barbque. Both are raw, but if you look, Pietrus is averaging 10 points and a few boards and Ariza is averaging what like 5-7 points and a few more rebounds? Both are coming off the bench and both are a work in progress. Pietrus plays on a more offensive oriented team and we have alot of guys that dominate the ball and take alot of shots away from him.

You switch teams and put Ariza on GS and Pietrus here, I bet Ariza is the one averaging 10 points and Pietrus is putting up the more well rounded numbers.

pietrus is better right now, actually a little more polished I agree, but I think ariza will be the better ball player. Ariza is already a good decision maker out there, pietrus plays a stupid game. Ariza is a good passer, but he can't create off the dribble at all, not yet at least.. Both are high flyers and play above the rim, but ariza plays with more control and has a nose for the ball.. Ariza's game is much smoother..

Posted by TMS:

2 different players in my view...Pietrus is a great on ball defender...Ariza is great at defending the passing lanes...both are very athletic, but Pietrus is more of an "athlete" in the classic sense while Ariza is a high flyer w/length...i think Pietrus has a better frame to grow into a strong NBA player physically, but Ariza has some basketball instincts that might help him become a better player in the long run...both players will be solid when they learn the game more, but i think Pietrus will be better sooner than Ariza will.

thats why I made the camby but shorter comparisons with Ariza. he and Piertrus are too different players. One blocks very few shots not like Marion but is great at overplaying the passing lane and one does the more important thing and that is defend their man and shutdown guys like Kobe. the only similarity is their athletism

[Edited by - gunsnewing on 03/30/2005 10:38:56]

Posted by EnySpree:


Pietrus is clearly a better ball handler and 3pt shooter. Pietrus is also alot stronger than Ariza.

Ariza needs to work on his game and improve on his drives to the baskets and learn how to score if the defender is in the way. Too many times Ariza gets a full head of steam then he gets tangled up and throws up a goofy looking shot.....the ref's don't usually call the foul because it's hard to tell if he lost the handle or if the foul is on Ariza himself.

If Ariza works really hard on his in between game and his ball handling he will be awesome....Like a longer Jerry Stackhouse.

Pietrus just needs consistancy and more minutes. I think what you see with Pietrus is what you get. He kinda plays like Calbert Cheaney when he was younger. I dunno if he will be as good as J-Rich.

Pietrus and J-Rich are 2 completely different players. Piertrus plays much better defense but will never be the play Jrich is offensively but he can be the poor man's Ron Artest we so desperately need with more explosiveness at the wing. He can definitely develope offensively the way Artest did since he already can shoot the 3 well.

Posted by gunsnewing:

Posted by tkf:

pietrus is better right now, actually a little more polished I agree, but I think ariza will be the better ball player. Ariza is already a good decision maker out there, pietrus plays a stupid game. Ariza is a good passer, but he can't create off the dribble at all, not yet at least.. Both are high flyers and play above the rim, but ariza plays with more control and has a nose for the ball.. Ariza's game is much smoother..

I don't understand why you think Ariza is a better decision maker when instead of pulling up for a jumper he goes up for the dunk with his skinny frame and is either blocked or put on the floor. At least Piertrus can shot the 3!

you just answerd your own question, why should ariza take a 3 or a jumper when he knows that is his weaker area, instead of setting for his weakness, he tries to exploit his strength and that is taking it to the hoop, therefore a good decision, now the fact that it does not always work out does not mean it was a bad decision.

Now pietrus as you said can shoot, so I ask, when he is open why does he always try and take it to the hoop and make some superman leap over a defender in position already, if anything that shows lack of good decesion making, especially if he can hit the outside shot..

Posted by tkf:

Posted by gunsnewing:

Posted by tkf:

pietrus is better right now, actually a little more polished I agree, but I think ariza will be the better ball player. Ariza is already a good decision maker out there, pietrus plays a stupid game. Ariza is a good passer, but he can't create off the dribble at all, not yet at least.. Both are high flyers and play above the rim, but ariza plays with more control and has a nose for the ball.. Ariza's game is much smoother..

I don't understand why you think Ariza is a better decision maker when instead of pulling up for a jumper he goes up for the dunk with his skinny frame and is either blocked or put on the floor. At least Piertrus can shot the 3!

you just answerd your own question, why should ariza take a 3 or a jumper when he knows that is his weaker area, instead of setting for his weakness, he tries to exploit his strength and that is taking it to the hoop, therefore a good decision, now the fact that it does not always work out does not mean it was a bad decision.

Now pietrus as you said can shoot, so I ask, when he is open why does he always try and take it to the hoop and make some superman leap over a defender in position already, if anything that shows lack of good decesion making, especially if he can hit the outside shot..

its not a bad decision because he has no other option! he has no ability to pull up and sink a jumper so i don't understand why you think he's smarter than Pietrus can shoot! Look I love Ariza but he has a lot of things to improve on before he becomes the superstar Grant Hill player some of you guys expect him to become! He can still be a nice player but he has a long way to go to become a star.

[Edited by - gunsnewing on 03/30/2005 11:09:13]

Posted by EnySpree:

Posted by gunsnewing:


Pietrus and J-Rich are 2 completely different players. Piertrus plays much better defense but will never be the play Jrich is offensively but he can be the poor man's Ron Artest we so desperately need with more explosiveness at the wing. He can definitely develope offensively the way Artest did since he already can shoot the 3 well.

Rich and Pietrus are two very different players.

I don't like the Ron Artest comparison though. I know you said poor man's Artest but I don't see them being similiar skill wise. Pietrus' defense is not like Artest. As far as skill....only people that are St Johns fans know how good Artest was in college. Artest was the same do it all type of player in college.

What I do like about Pietrus is he plays within himself and he is learning the game. I think he might earn a starting spot in this league one day. Still I have a hard time giving him so much credit....maybe it's the whole French thing,

I agree except I dont agree with TKF's notion that Pietrus is a dumb player. He problably saw the 1 dunk attempt that we denied him lastnight and automatically made the assumption that he's a stupid player.

I've seen Piertrus throw down some of the most incredible dunks but I also saw him win at least 2 games with 3's. and he hit two 3's in a row effortlessly lastnight so saying all he does is go for dunks is stupid. He has a very good looking release on his jumpshot unlike Ariza's awkwardness.

He will be a starting SG once he becomes a free agent and gets the full MLE. Too bad its not this year.

I was looking for other good defensive players to compare him to but artest is the only one that came to mind. I know there's other examples out there. Maybe more like a Richard Jefferson but without the lowpost game. But the same attack the basket mentality and defensive aggressiveness and a better 3pt shot.

Posted by tkf:

guns I don't understand your point man, the fact that ariza does not shoot well, makes him less smarter. Look, you would be hard pressed to find a smarter player than Dennis Rodman, yet he could not shoot a lick, so are you telling me that rodman was not a smart player because he could not shoot a jumper. What I am saying is that pietrus does not make good passes, he relies a lot on instincts, ariza is 19, yet he finds ways to make impact on games in various ways, playing the passing lanes, rebounding, and he is good at finding the open man, he seems to have a very good grasp of the game..Pietrus reacts, like nalod said, he very much reminds me of gerald wilkens....

what exactly does Ariza do offensively that makes him smarter? and he's not the lock down perimeter defender Pietrus is and this team so desperately needs.