Trevor Ariza is in the top 10 for three-point attempts again this year. That’s three years in a row now, so we can’t blame D’Antoni for this apparent oddity. An oddity until you notice that he was THIRD in that category two years ago. Somehow it escaped my notice that during the 2014-15 season, the only players who attempted more threes were Damian Lillard and Stephen Curry.
The Rockets may be chucking threes more than ever under Pringles’ leadership, but for Ariza, things have barely changed from last year. A three-point chucker is what he has been for the past few seasons, the only difference now is that all his teammates are as well. Add in his defensive ability and generally solid role-player-ness to his willingness to shoot any three presented to him, and you get a guy who seems like he should be more liked around the league.