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Brian Shmitz on Ariza
Topic Started: Jan 16 2007, 10:43 AM (356 Views)
melbournemagic
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Next To Howard, Ariza Least Expendable

The Magic could ill afford to lose center Dwight Howard as they position themselves for their first playoff run since 2003. They are pretty well stocked at the other positions. A case can be made that next to Howard, forward Trevor Ariza is the one player the Magic could not afford to lose.
Ariza, who could be sidelined for as long as two months with a serious knee sprain, gives the Magic something no other player does. At 6-8, he is long, slashes to the basket, plays defense and has a nose for offensive rebounds.

If he had a consistent jump shot, he would remind me of a younger Grant Hill.

When Ariza gets on the floor, good things usually happen. He does all the little things, a lot of dirty work, rare for a 21-year-old in a time when most just want to be ont he SportsCenter highlights. The Magic have three points guards and a bevy of wing players, but no other player can duplicate Ariza's skills.

He was an absolute steal by the Magic last season. Not only did the club rid itself of Steve Francis' albatross contract, they pirated Ariza in the deal.Now all the Magic can do is wait and hope Ariza is a fast healer. He'll be a key player in the playoffs.
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MAGICMANEVAN
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I 1000% agree. Ive been saying this all along. This guy is amazing and will continue to be a cornerstone of this team as long as we keep him around... Resign him to a 7 yr contract Otis! :yes:
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TheFalcon
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Air Gortat
I can't wait till we get him back. We are going to need a healthy team if we want to make any noise this year.
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gomagic33
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Mr. Anderson
I agree. Ariza has become a very important part of our team. I am just hoping that he is not injury-prone though.
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MAGICmanSAM
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gomagic33
Jan. 16 2007 06:39 PM
I agree. Ariza has become a very important part of our team. I am just hoping that he is not injury-prone though.

i don't think he's injury prone. This is his first big injury and it was because of a stupid wet spot on the freakin' court. Some Magic players said they kept telling the ball boys that there were wet spots on the court and they weren't doing a good job of drying them out. If you saw the fall that Ariza took, it wasn't pretty. Anybody would've suffered an injury. Ariza's a strong kid.
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gomagic33
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Mr. Anderson
MAGICmanSAM
Jan. 16 2007 07:36 PM
i don't think he's injury prone. This is his first big injury and it was because of a stupid wet spot on the freakin' court. Some Magic players said they kept telling the ball boys that there were wet spots on the court and they weren't doing a good job of drying them out. If you saw the fall that Ariza took, it wasn't pretty. Anybody would've suffered an injury. Ariza's a strong kid.

He also missed the pre-season with an injury. Anyway, I hope it will not be a pattern since we really need his presence on the court.
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Black and Blue
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Good that others are noticing it. I said all along that resigning him was the most important move by far in our offseason, including the draft. Otis seems to be agreeing with us on most of our ideas, and is running this franchise beautifully.

...Redick should teach Otis to stop listening to Twardzik, but this will come eventually.
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