I was skeptical of the Suns’ decision to pay aging-vet-role-player Trevor Ariza 15 million (with an M) dollars this season just so he could take minutes away from whatever fringy prospects they would have on the roster. It was only a one-year deal so it wouldn’t hurt them too much in the long term, but still. Why? Why why why?
Now I know the answer. Because the Suns are gonna be good this year! And good teams led by young players need a certain amount of steady veterans to guide them through tough times. Ariza is that vet! So is Ryan Anderson. But mainly Ariza. He’s spent so long winning with the Rockets that he knows exactly what to do: give the ball to your star SG and have him do everything relating to running the offense.
I would not be surprised if Ariza didn’t have a game this good for the whole rest of the season. 21 and 7 (even if a bunch of the assists were dubious) is not a line he put up at any point in the last three years. Oh, and if you were on the fence about watching this vid, let that fact determine that, yes, you should definitely waste two minutes of your allotted time on this earth watching Ariza hit threes and dish dimes.