I know that Carl Landry and Joey Dorsey are the flavors of the month, but Luis Scola is the best PF on the Rockets team. Last night's game was a good example of why he is the best option as a starter. The guy just knows how to play the game the right way, he moves into open space, plays very smart defense, and accomplishes so much more with limited athleticism. This is not a critique of Landry, I love the guy, but just watch how sneaky Scola is....when his man turns his head to watch the ball, Scola notices and moves to open space, creating more offense for himself and others. And even though Scola is not a great leaper, he uses positioning to get to a lot of rebounds, he is just flat out fundamentally sound. I love watching him play, his basketball IQ is off the charts....just a joy to watch. And, I think he is the key to winning this year.....as teams leave him open to guard our big 3, he will have a lot more opportunity and freedom. Luis Scola is underated as a starting PF......and even though we had to give up my ManCrush to get him....I could not be more happy. He may not have all star athleticism, but he has a championship mindset. Luis is CLUTCH !! DD
He put up good numbes in the end, but I didn't think he played that great. He had a rough first half, at least. He had 2 or 3 air balls on routine shots for him.
I agree the number were there but if you watched the game he had some shots that he should have made. Still a good performance from him though
Agreed that he has played better, but I was not really talking about one game, or how well he shot, but rather what he does to help his teamates, and how much he gets out of his limited athleticism. And, he DUNKED last night.... Scola is just so smart out there, lots of players can jump through the roof, but it is the guys that have the quick minds that generally succeed more than others, and when you have both athleticism and a quick mind you get the superstar players....especially if you combine it with a competitive streak. Scola has average athleticism, but his mind is off the charts, as is his competitiveness. There is no way, I would start Landry over Scola, he is just not as savvy at this point in his career as Luis is....Luis just knows how to play the game. And it helps in so many different ways.... I think his value to the team is underated, Luis has helped turn this team around....... We are very lucky to have him. DD
I don't think Scola is an efficient player if you try to run the offense through him. He's a good 3rd or 4th option on the floor: when other guys are drawing attention, get it to him and he's skilled enough to take advantage most of the time (though that wasn't the case during the preseason and in the first half of game 1). I don't want to Juwan-ify him. Let him do what he does best -- hustle and generate points through that hustle.
I don't think I share the same level of enthusiasm for Luis. I like him a lot, but to me he seems so out of control half the time with his numerous spins. He seems to me missing those layups more than making them now. His midrange shot, minus the occasional airball seems where he makes most of his shots if you don't count his garbage points. Which he gets a good number of out of sheer hustle. To me, Landry is the player with more skills, although he didn't really show that last night. It was like he went away from what was working for him in the preseason (his jumper). Although his stat line was pretty impressive with 3 quarters of play, I don't think he had a great game. I think he'll have a great season though. I also think he'll be a huge key to this team's success this year. Moreso than Landry.
funny you should mention that I doubt landry or scola will ever put up the numbers Juwan did in his prime.. I am happy to give scola the ball and ask him to score points when our big 3 are having a drought...remember this is the same guy that scored consistently on the dreamteam in the olympics. He was Argentina's first option, and he was able to make such an impact
If Scola can hit that mid range J more consistantly he will be the ideal PF to play alongside Yao and Tracy. He feeds off of them so well. Always in the right position, out working and out thinking his opponents. He's not a great finisher, but definantly above average. He also brings a toughness inside that every good team needs. Landry is stronger and more explosive than Luis, but Luis is the better player right now. He just understands how to play team basketball at both ends of the court, and he knows what he can do to help the team win.
Scola is a great guy. He is getting better and better with rebounding. We saw that last night. Not only that, he likes to hang out with the fans. I've got a lot of pictures with Scola and his autograph for many things. Great guy...
Scola is now the heart of this team, with Deke not here. We need Deke so bad to be a good influence on that bench. We need Deke bad. But yeah Scola is my favorite player hands down.
Scola was the only guy that was consistently able to get his last night in one-on-one situations. His low post spin moves were killing defenders every time. He missed a couple lay ins following those moves, but he was getting his shots no problem. Despite that, he still shot 45% (1 TO) on his way to 12 points in 25 minutes. durvasa, I don't see how you can question his efficiency on a night where McGrady missed 11 shots, Artest had 4 TO, and none of the big 3 shot as well as Scola. If anything, I'm disappointed Adelman didn't try to use Scola as a high post center with an "Adelman Offense" lineup: Head-Barry-Artest-Landry. Scola's tenacity on the glass was also a real great thing to see - it was my one concern about him throughout last year. Evan
I admit that after his less than stellar shooting performance of the preseason I thought he was going to suck it up in ther first game. Proves to show that he came prepared. Hopefully, his midrange shot will be consitent during the season. That dunk on the break was sweet. Last year he just laid them in.
