Trevor Ariza in midst of historically long shooting slump

Let's just say it's a good thing Trevor Ariza plays some mean perimeter defense. 

Ariza signed a four-year, $32-million free-agent contract with the Houston Rockets this past offseason largely for that purpose. But he's also teased a pretty impressive offensive arsenal in the past, especially in connecting on a career-best 40.7 percent of his 3-pointers last season with the Washington Wizards. 

Eight games into his Rockets career, he seemed to be picking up right where he left off, shooting 46.6 percent from the field and a scorching 48.1 percent from deep. 

Since then, he's been mired in one long shooting slump -  among the longest, in fact, in recent NBA history. Over the last 27 games, he's shot just 32.6 percent from the field and 26.9 percent from 3-point range. 

He also hasn't shot better than 50 percent in one of those games, which, as HoopsHype points out, ties him with the immortal Ricky Davis for the second-longest such streak in the last 20 years. 

Thanks to the league's second-ranked defense (owing in large part to Ariza), the Rockets have survived the woeful stretch unscathed, and they sit fifth in the Western Conference with a 24-11 record.