[CHRONIC] Luis 'MVP' Scola does it again. Can he do that for the Rockets, too?

http://blogs.chron.com/nba/2009/09/luis_mvp_scola_does_it_again_c.html

Yao Ming takes his jump shots from a chair, will likely miss the season and probably has completed his national team career.

Tracy McGrady is still working his way back from his microfracture surgery. The Rockets cannot know when McGrady will return. And after one FIBA Americas appearance, McGrady is even more certain to have ended his international playing career.

Luis Scola, however, goes merrily along.

He starred for Argentina again this month, earning MVP honors for the second time in three seasons for carrying his national team beyond expectations limited by injuries and absences, something the Rockets would like for him to somehow do again.

With Manu Ginobili, Andres Nocioni, Walter Hermann, Carlos Delfino and Fabricio Oberto all unavailable, Argentina still qualified for next summer's World Championships in Turkey, largely because Scola willed his team to five-consecutive wins, averaging 23.3 points in the tournament.

I asked him last spring if he planned to play this summer and he looked at me as if I were nuts, either because he is observant or because for him, there is no decision to make. He of course wants to play any time he has that option. This is how he goes about his career, always seeking to squeeze everything he can from every opportunity. It is also how he plays, getting the most he can from his ability.

Scola is one of those guys we all knew that plays in a way that matches his personality. In his case, that means he plays hard, with passion and for the team. And the rest of the time, he embraces experiences around the world his career brings him. He is the way we all think we would be if we could play professional sports.

In many ways, his and Shane Battier's approach has become the mentality of the Rockets. That will be tested next season. It is easier to believe that honest effort and intelligence can carry a team when it is working; much tougher through difficult times.

For now, however, the question that leaps to mind is whether Scola can do for the Rockets what he did for Argentina.

Averaging 23.3 points in a FIBA-length game is pretty remarkable, but the Rockets would be thrilled if he could give them the 16.2 points and 56.9 percent shooting (in 33.3 minutes) of his first-round series against the Trail Blazers last season.

That might be within reason. It could be tough to shoot that well. He burned the Blazers' determination to keep Yao surrounded after Yao's perfect Game 1 and the Rockets' rout. But if the Rockets operate their offense so well that they finally get defenders on the move and if they run the way they plan, Scola should be able to average 16, 17 points and hit half his shots.

That might not quite what he did to carry Argentina, but it would be a good start for the Rockets. Either way, they are thrilled to have seen him do it again.

• • •

On the subject of international tournaments, Rockets second-round pickup Sergio Llull is playing for Spain. If you are so inclined, and have loads of time on your hands, you can find the games online at FIBA.com.

The Rockets' other second-round acquisitions, Jermaine Taylor and Chase Budinger, were back at Toyota Center on Wednesday, resuming their off-season workouts along with Aaron Brooks, Chuck Hayes and James White. Joey Dorsey has also been a regular this summer. Trevor Ariza, among others, is due in next week.

• • •

Watching a ton of tennis the past two weeks, I truly enjoy watching the players carry their own bags around. Apparently, it's not just a rule. They showed Roger Federer arrive for his match tonight. He was carrying one of those bags the size of a Mini Cooper around the parking lot.

I've seen NBA players have one assistant to carry their man purse and another to say, "It's European!"



I guess James White is still on the team....