Carluis Scolandry! (Chron Blog)

March 05, 2008
Scolandry the monster: Rockets 117, Pacers 99.

Now that Dr. Winningstein (aka Rick Adelman) is having so much fun mixing and matching his combinations, pushing every button that he can reach, perhaps he could spend an afternoon in his lab sawing and sewing and making his two-headed monster into one killer all-star power forward.

Then again, Carluis Scolandry is already knocking them dead around the league without surgery.

(First off, let me not take the credit for the name. I think it was Dan C. who first tossed it out the other night during the live blog. If it was somebody else, I apologize.)

Either way, with four arms, four legs, two heads and a truckload of hustle, Carluis Scolandry is giving Kevin Durant up in Seattle a run for his money in the Rookie of the Year race.

One is fresh out of college at Purdue. The other is a wily veteran and two-time MVP in the Spanish League.

One has long hair. One has big air. Together they have invigorated the Rockets at both ends of the floor like a shot of adrenaline straight to the heart.

Is it coincidence that the Rockets have lost a single game since Scola began starting at power forward on Jan. 29?

Is it coincidence that since Landry became a regular member of the rotation that opponents have been getting more facials than at your average day spa?

Carluis Scolandry is averaging a double-double. Broken down into their separate parts on Wednesday night against the Pacers, they were a matching bookend set of 13 points and 7 rebounds each.

They play like a pair of twin Doberman's - attacking relentlessly, sinking their teeth into anything that moves.

"Carl is playing great," Scola said. "He's got some good legs. He can run. He can dunk. He's fun to watch."

He's also somebody that a fellow NBA rookie in Scola - but a guy who has literally been around the world playing - can mentor. Take the end of the third quarter, for instance. When the rest of the Rockets jogged to the bench, Scola and Landry stood on the court for a little chalk talk.

"We've been working in practices and doing pick-and-roll, playing high-low after a pick-and-roll and we just talked a little about that," Scola said.

"I think everybody can give tips. I think communication is like 90 percent of a basketball game. You've got to talk all the time with everybody...A guy like me can say something to Deke. Not because I know more than him, because I don't. Just because that's what basketball is about - communication, keep talking, keep being focused....Sometimes you will see me talking to whoever or somebody talking to me. It's just part of the game. Every team really needs that."

Every contending team needs more than one or two stars to rely upon, as the Rockets know so painfully with the loss of Yao Ming. It takes depth to go far in this league.

The Rockets acquired Scola over the summer because they knew they had to upgrade the position. But they also drafted Landry because you can never have enough talent or too many young legs.

Now the kid who missed his junior year at Purdue following knee surgery and played his senior season wearing a knee brace is ready to one of these nights jump right through the ceiling.

But he's down-to-Earth enough to stay close to Scola for advice.

"He's always talking to me and helping me," Landry said. "Sometimes I get out there and so many things are going through my head, because it's all new. Luis pulls me aside and he'll say, 'OK, Carl. Follow the scouting report. You've got to do this. You've got to do that.' It helps.

"That's good. He's a good player and I'm trying to come along and grow as a player as well."

Together they have grown into Dr. Winningstein's finest creation.

Carluis Scolandry - the two-headed monster.

Posted by Fran Blinebury at March 5, 2008 11:17 PM

http://blogs.chron.com/franblinebury/2008/03/scolandry_the_monster_rockets.html