I was reading other posts, bored with the lack of a BIG SPLASH this offseason, and I started looking more closely at Mr. Andersen. He's drawing comparisons to Scola because of his background in European play so I'm wondering what you all think will be his true comparison to Scola and what does it need to be for you to be as impressive a signing as Scola was. For example, I don't expect his value on the court to be equal to or greater than Scola. Scola has become my favorite player on the team because of his productivity and all of the intangibles he brings. But if Andersen is 75% as effective as Luis is then I think Morey will have done it again. He will have turned straw into gold, and hopefully soon with the signing of a premier replacement for T-mac, we will be back on top. So the question again is, how effective does Andersen have to be for this trade to either confirm your belief in Morey (in Morey we trust) or to make you a believer in Morey?
First of all, we traded like...cash considerations for Andersen? That means we didn't give up a player to get him, which is already a plus. Andersen doesn't have to be like Scola. We seem to already generate enough offense from spots 1-4 for Andersen to not really have to score more than 9-10 pts a game. If Andersen can bulk up a little bit, score close or over double digits, and maybe not get too bullied by Dwight Howard/Shaq, then I'll chalk Andersen up as a great pickup.
There Euro league numbers are close but Scola's game translates more to the NBA saying that I believe Andersen will still be productive and imrpove quite a bit. Right now Scola>Andersen no doubt.
The manner in which we acquired him is similar to what we did to get Scola. But even Morey said he's probably not going to be the same level of player. At 2.4 million per year, he doesn't have to be. At that money, the Rockets thought he would be better for them in the coming 2-3 years than any other free agent centers that were available. Not so much as a rebounder/defender, but as a guy who'll play well in Adelman's offense. Will it work out? Don't know, but it makes the coming season a little more interesting for me. I'd rather see how unknowns pan out, instead of rolling with known mediocrities.
Scola's a true 4, goes inside, fights inside and goes and gets the damn ball and puts the ball in the hole. Even in Andersen's highlight videos you can see his game around the basket is weak. He's going to have to improve defensively and he's going to have to hit a damn good percentage of his shots (many from long range) in order to be effective. I'm not saying he can't do it, but...
Morey made this pickup due to Adelman's offensive system. Even if Andersen doesn't score a ton of points he'll still help out the offensive game by being able to stretch some of the key post defenders away from the paint allowing for a more efficient Scola to take over. They compliment each other nicely.
Andersen isn't worthy of shining Scola's shoes. One month ago, this would've been a unanimous decision on this board. But, now that Morey has gone out and acquired Andersen, he's suddenly comparable to one of the most critical pieces to the Rockets' success?
Well, for a big man, I'd say having a certain level of defense/rebounding ability is a prerequisite to being an effective player. It doesn't matter how good of a scorer you are if you are always getting beat out on the boards and getting scored on. Adleman is in favor of balance, unlike Nellie or Dantoni, he won't play this guy if he doesn't meet these minimums. I hope this turns out well and I agree, at 2.4M he doesn't have to be a great player. I only differ in my opinion of some "known mediocrities". I think a decent rebounder/defender has a bigger impact than someone who is only a decent scorer. Having more impactful players will make the season more interesting to me. I'm not amazed by flashy offense if we ultimately lose because of it, like the warriors or knicks.
The real question would be which Andersen doubters also had the same remarks about Scola when we got him with Jackie Butler for Vassilis Spanoulis and a 2009 second-round pick. I don't see those guys speaking up. (and no I wasn't one of them I'm forever the optimist)
We've been a top 5 defensive and rebounding team for a number of seasons. Even without Yao, we have enough guys who are tough enough and smart enough to make us good in both those areas. The priority should be adding pieces to improve our play on the other end of the floor, imo.
no way! OFfense SCOLA is way more talented and skilled than anderson. anderson is at best a Back up talent in the NBA not a starter but were so thin on the center spot that chuck and anderson will be starters. remember scola was MVP twice before he came in the NBA...anderson? a role player that plays 20 min a game with the CSKA
Scola creates his shots. Anderson needs to be set up via pick and rolls, or passes from the post position. But I think Anderson should be effective. However.... Scola >>> Any of the rest of Rockets healthy players
Andersen Scola is not a good comparision, i think i would be happy if Andersen can put up averages of 8-9 ppg and 6-7 rpg.
first off, Scola coming into the league was better then anderson is now... With adelmen we wont know how anderson will produce until his second season... he tends to limit players minutes by experince, mostly rookies. AB and Scola had to wait... so dont get over excited abouting seeing him doing anywhere as near as scola anythime soon..
