http://blogs.chron.com/franblinebury/2007/08/scolas_highlight_reel_its_all_1.html Scola's highlight reel? It's all in his head If it's mind-bending, rim-swaying highlights you want, you tune in to see LeBron James or Carmelo Anthony or Kobe Bryant for Team USA. For the sleight-of-hand of a magician and the strategy of a general, you keep your eye on Jason Kidd. When you watch Luis Scola play for Argentina, you're often struck by one thing — he knows how to play. Oh, there will be quibblers who want him to finish more with slam dunks and the insatiable appetites who'll want him to gobble up every rebound that comes off the glass. But in getting an extended peek at the Rockets' newest power forward, what Scola gives you is a sense of skill, of professionalism, of seeing the court and knowing what to do. In many ways, he's a power forward version of Shane Battier. Through the first three games of the FIBA Americas tournament, Argentina was 3-0 without regulars Manu Ginobili, Andres Nocioni, Fabricio Oberto and Walter Herrmann playing. Through the opening round of the competition, Scola is giving a glimpse of what the Rockets saw when they dealt for him and hope to have on the floor. "I didn't see anything that surprised or was unknown about him," said general manager Daryl Morey, who has just returned from Las Vegas. "Overall, he's just got a very high basketball IQ, and that's something that we're looking forward to utilizing." Through the first three games, Scola was averaging 16.3 points, 8-3 rebounds and 3.7 assists per game while shooting 56.3 percent from the field. "He hits the mid-range shot, he gets himself in the right place for rebounds and he makes the extra pass that leads to a basket," Morey said. "You can see all of those things that will fit in Rick (Adelman's) offense." The Rockets' world is never going to revolve around Scola. But if you're watching any of the tournament on TV, you're seeing why the franchise is excited about having him as a complement. He's likely never going to be an All-Star, but he can help elevate the current All-Stars, Yao and McGrady. In the win over Puerto Rico, when Argentina fell behind by double-digits early, Scola embraced the role of the workhorse and put his team on his shoulders, finishing with 22 points and 11 rebounds. Against Mexico, he missed his first two shots from the field, then hit 5-for-6 the rest of the way and dealt out five assists. "Here's a story you'll really like," Morey said. "I went to dinner with Luis the other night and when we first sat down, all he said was, 'I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'll try to do better.' "When I asked him what he was talking about, he told me that David Macha (the Rockets' strength and conditioning coach) had given him a workout program to follow over the summer. But he's been training with the Argentinian national team and they usually have two-a-days. Now they have games. And Luis was concerned that he's having trouble getting in the workouts that David gave him, too. "I told him, 'Relax, Luis. I think you're playing enough basketball, doing enough to stay in shape.' But it's always nice to have a player who feels that way, who wants to be doing more." • • • No progress on the Dikembe Mutombo front. Morey met with the 41-year-old center in Atlanta last week and made a one-year contract offer. Mutombo still has some other teams sniffing around and might be able to get somebody to offer him a little more money than the Rockets or an extra yet. "I think we have a pretty good understanding of where everybody is at," said Morey. "I really don't think he wants to play for other teams. But I think he's torn between what we can offer and maybe some extra money. I do think he has appreciation for how much we want him and how much we think he can contribute."
good read on scola been watching his games on nba tv and he does look to be a really great complimentary player for yao. adelemans offense is complex and relies more on bball iq than individual skill and athletecism....the real question is going to be how quickly he adjusts to the NBA. and I dont mean just the game, but the whole schedule, workouts, traveling, back to back an 82 game schedule. I think he'll adjust quickly to the nba game seeing how he is coming in as a piece and not THE piece to the puzzle. he wouldnt be asked to be the leading scorer,rebounder or anything just go out and play his role. he is a lot more impressive than I had originally thought...i cant wait for argentina to play the us. this trade by morey and les (les had to be the one willing to pony up the money) was a complete steal.
Strong work ethic and a strong sense of duty: this guy will make it in the NBA. Reminds me a bit of Yao in that he has a very unselfish view of the himself compared to the team. Can't wait to get the season started.
I've been watching Scola in all the games so far, and I have to agree with Morey with one exception. Sometiems when he isnt right at the basket when the shot goes up, he doesnt head towards the basket....he will just stand and watch. That is something he will need to improve on. His strength, defensive positioning in the block, driving ability (much better than I expected), and smarts are his strong points. He is very skilled at moving without the ball, and getting his shot off on the move. Has an impressive knack of gettting around defenders to get his shot off int he paint. I almost agree with the comparison to a PF version of Shane....except Shane has a bit more "motor" to him. Im not ready to declare him "cant miss" but what he is showing me in terms of both tangibles and non-tangibles give me confidence that he will be a very good player for us.
I've only seen his highlights from the tournament, but the two things that have really impressed me is his passing game and ball handling. In Adelman's offense, he's going to be a pretty good weapon in the high-post. But, he blew me away in the couple of highlights against Mexico of him taking the ball almost coast-to-coast and making a great pass at the end of the break for a layup. I can only imagine most of the PFs in the league trying to stay with him as he runs the court.
did anyone notice this part in his response to a question: I guess its possible that we'll already be trading Butler? I like Deke, but even if he resigns I'd still want Butler on the team for insurance. Just my 2 cents on that issue
I disagree. I watched him pretty closely when shots went up and his first instinct seems to be to put his back on the nearest body to box out. This doesn't always lend itself to him getting the rebound, but almost always improves the chances of his team getting it. On offense, he goes to the rim as soon as the shot goes up - exactly what we need for offensive boards. I like this guy and haven't seen a major weakness in his game.
Don't believe everything that Fran writes, he gets it wrong most times. I say the Rockets keep 3 Centers and 2 PFs on the 12 man roster, with Landry going to the D-league to develop.
dont get me wrong, Im not saying he does it every time. It is just something I noticed two or three times during the three games I watched. I have yet to find a major weakness in his game, adn like I said, my assessment of his game gives me confidence in his ability to bring his game to the NBA. minor issues he will need to work on include setting proper picks/screens, better defensive technique, and stamina building. I figure that he will start out productive in limited minutes early in the season and get better pretty quickly as he picks up how things are done in the NBA. By all accounts his on-court IQ is very high, and he seems very dedicated to doing things right. comparing this guy to Boki or Vspan just isnt fair to the game Scola brings to this team. It doesnt take a professional scout to see that.
I sure hope we don't end up releasing everyone. I would love to trade some of these players away for value, but I'm prepared for worst case scenario
The good thing about Scola is that he's been playing professional ball for at least 7 years or more now (and in a lot less plush accomodations than the NBA) so adjusting to the travel, etc won't be as much of a problem as with college kids. Also, he has a really good combination of being experienced professionally but eager and willing to do what he can to improve and fit in (very important element....shown by his eagerness to please Morey with that regimen training). I don't think his stamina is a problem. He looks like his motor is always going. By the way, there's a guy that kind of looks like him on the team with the exact same long hair (Sandes).... I wonder if some plays of Sandes are being attributed to Scola.... I don't think Scola stands around watching rebounds in front of him without going after it. I've watched his entire games (not just the highlights) and he goes after the ball. In fact, I think he might pick up fouls because he goes aggressively for the ball so much. Scola does box out for rebounds and he can't be as bad as people think since he was in the top 10 in rebounding in the Spanish league last year. Scola is just way better than I thought now that I've gotten a chance to watch his game closely.....I saw him in previous years but wasn't keyed into him because I thought he was a Spur. I was impressed with that play that you guys were talking about too where he rebounds the ball, dribbles down court leading the break and zips the ball past a defender perfectly into the hands of his teammate for an easy layup. We can see a lot of Scola in our fast break offense if we decide to speed things up because Scola is incredible finishing on the fast break.
some players may not even have any value, such as reed, harris and rafer's contract may scare some teams off.
IN order to get a better idea of how he plays, Ive have been watching the games with an eye always on Scola. Its a tough trick to master since most people instinctively want to follow the ballhandler when watching. so Im about 85% sure the few plays I saw were Luis. Im willing to concede that codell may be right and he was in fact blocking someone else away from the that area....that much I cant be positive about without going back and rewatching them one of the other thigns I liked that I hadnt really mentioned is what you brought up....he runs the break really well..not near as slow as some made him out to be right after the trade.
harris is NON guaranteed reed doesnt make very much and Alstons contract is not terribly out of line for a decent point guard in this league. the only thing that *might* give a team pause in re: to alston is his major weakness(shooting duh)...they have to consider whether his + outweigh his -. a team looking for a distributing point guard that is not injury prone and can hit a decent clip from three could do worse than alston.
Regardless of how good Scola is (or is not!) today, one thing he will definitely benefit from is working out with the strength and conditioning people of the Rockets. We only have to look at Yao as an example. The guy has really gotten bigger in the upper body the last couple of years. Scola strikes me as an equally hard working guy, so I think we can look forward to similar results.
Scolas off the ball movememnt is impicable. he's allways in position to either get a easy bucket or draw a foul and get to the line. what will standout will be how he'll accumelate alot of fouls on the opposing teams. He's the perfect motion offense player. he could endup being a borderline star in this league.
I agree with Rockets2k. Sometimes when he's further from the basket he'll just stand and watch. Couple of times I saw him not box out. I'm sure the rockets coaches will pick up on it if it becomes too much of a problem. It will be interesting to see him up against nba level athleticism though. Manu, Nocioni, Hermann, they're pretty athletic players and I think it's what helped them become successful in the league. Haven't seen Hermann much (he's a charlotte bobcat, go figure), but in the couple of youtube clips he does show some of his athleticism and his huge hands. Dude can really palm the basketball.
harris is partially guaranteed, albeit only $50,000 reed $1,436,500 this year $1,573,000 next year (not bad for a scrub) rafer $4,550,000 this year $4,900,000 next year, $5,250,000 the year after that (not chicken feed).
This makes no sense whatsoever. Deke was making $16 million a year 5 years ago, and he isn't getting much more than the veteran's minimum from any team. If anything it is probably about playing time.
