but he provides the option.. unlike Landry.. which has often been utilized.. evident by the consistency to which our players go to him at the low post.. in comparison to the time's we give Landry a set-feed.. Scola can secure the pass.. and seal off his man.. on a set low post feed.. he also provides better maneuverability to get the most out of his feed.. due to being able to dribble the ball.. to accomodate any direction and move he wishes to make at the post.. unlike Landry.. who has to take the jumper or be under the basket on the feed for a one bounce, dunk/lay up.. as I explained above.. it's very much less effective.. by the mere fact that his low post game has to be entirely created and catered to by the passer and other players drawing greater attention.. for him to maximize his offensive ability.. within the flow of the offense .. he can't create for himself..
also.. a turn around jumper at the low block.. isn't as consistent an option down there.. unless you're Tracy or Kobe Bryant in their primes.. certaintly not from your PF.. as an overall low post game..
An example of Scola's lack of athleticism: Brooks averages almost the same amount of blocks per minute as Scola. That is pathetic. Blocking shots isn't the most important aspect of good defense but this is a troubling statistic. The only reason Scola is a better defender than Landry right now is that he doesn't make as many stupid plays. It's not that Scola is so "smart" defensively. It's just that Landry is so "dumb" defensively that Scola has to be better. They are both piss poor defenders. Landry's superior strength, speed and athleticism could make him the better defender if he cuts down on the fouls that come from getting overly aggressive and learns to play better team defense.
WIth 5 minutes left in the game, I would rather landry in the game. If it was the last shot of the game and you pass it to scola, he would not pass it back out. He would jack it up with Yao, artest and Yao in the game. I have seen scola sell games in the final minutes. I trust landry's jumper wayy more than scola's
BrooksBall, it's unfair to criticize Scola based on his athleticism, as he has never really relied on it and his game isn't developed based on athleticism. His game is well styled in such a way that he doesn't have to be really athletic to what he does. I do agree with durvasa though -- Landry is, to me, clearly a better offensive player and go-to option on offense. Scola does have a better back-to-the-basket game, but Landry is much more effective at taking players off the dribble, and furthermore, has a better midrange jumper. He is also more accurate at the free throw line, although he doesn't draw as many fouls (I'm not sure whether this is a function of his usage rate, or whether he needs to be more aggressive than he currently is on offense). Landry's downfall all year though has been defense, and in my opinion he's not going to be a consistently reliable 4th quarter option until he can show some consistency in that department. I don't know how much more effective he can become, but his quickness and athleticism should be able to make up for his lack of size quite a bit -- the issue is more mental than physical as far as I see it.
Excellent point. This is the 4th quarter line up I envision also. Well, just as long as we aren't playing teams with exceptional length at the PF position since Artest's strength/bulk can be somewhat negated against a Bosh, KG or somebody else like that who kills him in the length, height and athleticism department. As for RIGHT NOW...... Since T-Mac is out of it and with Artest/Battier playing through pain I would say our current PF rotation is fine the way it is. Scola is smart, versatile and rugged enough to play key minutes down the stretch. Landry falls asleep defensively too much for my liking. Then, the "wild card" is Chuck Hayes -- a guy who has proven in this season alone he can neutralize Dirk, Aldridge, West and others in key stretches with this unit. Not a bad third option, i'd say.
We're watching different players. I think Landry has been more effective on his drives than Scola. I'm not sure why you keep making the point that Scola can dribble the ball, while Landry can not.
there is a distinct reason for the Landry love. he does things for this team that no one else will. he and Scola are of equal value to the team in my opinion...they just do different things for the team
your speaking of drives to the basket...? you can't be serious..? to bring that up as an arguing point.. for either of them.. it's like me arguing Scola has the better footwork.. it's really not a prominent quality feature of either of them to really base an argument on.. but while Scola's shown to have enough despite his awkward movements in the post.. to produce consistently.. nothing I've seen of Landry's few and far between drives have really shown any sign of potentially developing into a consistent option in his arsenal.. especially with his questionable handles on the ball.. and truthfully.. Scola's drives have looked a lot better.. simply because he can take the ball to the basket on a consistent basis.. his trouble is finishing consistently.. as he still hasn't learned how to go right at his defender, instead of arounding them.. which is why I keep making said point.. Landry's weakness are Scola's strengths, and vice versa.. but if I were to pick the best complete offensive player from the two.. currently it's Scola..
That's the only reason why Scola is better? Sorry, but that would mean Michael Finley > Manu, because finley starts. Landry is better at coming off the bench because he brings in fire power and because he is a guy that can play the center position when Yao Ming sits as well.
Landry isn't a better free throw shooter, they were both at about 66% last season and this year are only 6% apart, which doesn't mean much when they both shoot only 2 FTs a game. They are pretty much equal there. Landry also isn't a better jumpshooter. He's better from the free throw in, but Scola is better from the free throw to the 3 pt line. However, last year Scola shot a lot better from the free throw in, about as good as Landry this year, so maybe Scola was in a slump for a period of time. For some reason Landry shoots very well on the road and not so well at home. Scola is about the same for both.
agree with most of this and i also think most of Landry's "drives" come with the defense scrambling, so he's catching the ball and drives as the defender is running at him, which puts him at an advantage, while Scola mostly drives with the defender already in front of him.
I am referring to this season. Landry has been a lot more consistent and has better form on his free throws, and >6% *is* a significant difference -- there's nothing "pretty much equal" about 80% versus 73%. Furthermore, although their jumpshooting percentages are almost equal (48%/47%), if you've been watching the games you'd know that Landry shoots a lot more contested jumpers than Scola, who generally will only shoot a jumpshot if he is wide open. And to correct myself in the previous post, Landry actually has about the same number of free throw attempts despite having a lower usage rate, and generally draws fouls more frequently (17.5% to Scola's 11.5%). So the evidence says that Landry is all around a better shooter, better at drawing fouls and better at making his free throws. That of course, would explain why is PER is much better (ranks 16th in the league among power forwards, and second highest on the team behind only Yao/McGrady is a very close 3rd). Landry is clearly the better offensive player -- his deficiencies are on defense.
How 'bout neither? I'd like to see Artest at the 4 during clutch time unless we see special matchups.
I do agree with you that Landry is a better shooter and better at making free throws,but I do feel that Scola should be able to draw fouls a bit better because of his low post footwork. Scola's lack of athleticism does however prevent him from getting at the line more than he can though. Athletically, Landry is obviously better but his low post footwork isn't as polished as Scola's.
That's why i mentioned they both have few attempts, that's what makes it almost equal. The fewer numbers you have to calculate with, then the easier they are influenced by one or two games. If Landry has a bad night and goes 3 of 7 next game, that will drop him to 76%, if in that same game Scola goes 5 for 5, it will take him to almost 75%. In others words, pretty much equal. Of course it can go the other way and push Landry up and scola down, but you get my point, we're not exactly comparing 60% and 90%, which would be more definitive. Also, Scola shot almost 83% in Oct and Nov, but this month is shooting 66%, which obviously dropped his %. Landry had a very similar start AND a very similar drop this month. It's definitely too close to declare one or the other the better FT shooter. As for their jumpshooting, Scola has shot 286 field goals and Landry 181, so if Landry has only shot, let's say, 50 open jumpers and Scola 80, that's 28% of shots are open for Landry, and Scola.....also 28%. I'm sure those extra 30 shots make it look like Scola shoots mostly open jumpers, but its only because he has so many more attempts to work with. I remember Landry hesitating earlier in the season and mostly all his jumpers were open, no he's shooting more contested, but again, I don't think the evidence shows Landry is a better shooter. Also, Scola does a really good job of getting away from the defense and shoots a lot from the corner, so his open shots look EXTREMELY open because there's no other jerseys behind him just open space. Landry shoots mostly from the FT area, so even though he's open because his defender isn't nearby, there's jerseys to his left and right and behind him, so he looks more crowded and therefore "not" open.
