Yao is too tall to be a great rebounder. At least ,he wasn't ,after he got back from his injury last year. Scola is a poor rebounder .Together ,they will ,probably, have some problems with physical bigs. Where I heard all of that ? I write and read, in a forum, with people who follow and watch European Basketball regularly. Some , followed Tao this year, so I asked about him... As for me,my interest usually lies with the local team , so I didn't watch much of his game, this year (but did, over the years). As far as I know, Scola is a smart and mobile bigman, who can create on offense and is great with the PNR. He should have been in the NBA years ago. Only two things, seemed to be less certain by the answers I got: The first one, is his midrange shooting touch, people told me that he improved it up to a nice level (but he regularly plays close to the basket), but others, said that he should work more to gain consistency. The second one, is his quickness in the lane. He is quite average for his size in Europe. It may not be a problem, because he is not much slower than Oberto or Okur who did well in the league, but still , he might get blocked in the NBA. Anyway, everyone agrees that he is an NBA caliber player and that he can contribute .
Scola is an average rebounder I wouldn't say poor. And by no means he is soft. He plays hard and with a lot of energy. But yes, he is an average rebounder and defender for European standards. Its Tau. Actually (for those who want to know, if there is any ) the name of the team is Saski Baskonia (Tau Ceramica being the sponsor of the team) I agree, he has been NBA ready for a couple of years. He has a good mid-range shot, but of course, it could be better. His quickness in the lane is average in Europe? I don't know what that people have been watching. Scola is faster than both Oberto and Okur.
My mistake' I translate it He lacks of quickness, while attacking the rim, not moving without the ball. The speedy side of Explosive strength. I don't agree with you here. Anyway the NBA is a little tougher... Should be more consistent , like when he was young. We need a good shooting power forward to space up for Yao .Also he won't fit well into the Princeton offense, without range(assuming Adelman will use such an offense , without Yao, or similar offense with him).
Well, he is renowned because of the speed of his low post moves. Explosive strenght? well, he is mainly a finesse player in the offense. I never saw Oberto complaining about it, and Scola is as tough as him. Like he was young? what are you talking about? He developed his mid range shot (along with his free throw shooting) in the last couple of years. Scola has a solid mid-range shot.
He had a very good shooting ability, a long time ago ,and he abandoned it, while he became a pure low-post player. He started playing professional basketball when he was 15 (in Argentina), since then ,his game changed a lot... Anyway, it is a useless argument, lets wait and see. I really hope I am wrong about it, but I do not think he will be a good rebounder in the NBA. I am with "Realjad" here.
He played for Ferrocarril Oeste in Argentina. Then at 17 was signed by Tau, but instead of includding him in the roster they made him play one season in Leb (the Spanish second division) for Gijon (being the youngest player ever to play as a foreigner). Then he played with Tau Ceramica in the ACB League until last season. I'm Argentine and I've seen him play for the last eight years. He has always been a low post player. And he didn't have a good mid-range shot until the last couple of years. I don't think he will be a good rebounder in the NBA. Just that he will be decent, and won't be a liability. What I was trying to argue was the softness remark. He is by no means soft.
Alongside Yao, he will be a good rebounder. Actually, I think most of PF alongside Yao would be a good rebounder. BTW: I don't think Scola is soft. He is a winner!
First of all ,there are three active years ,that you missed (I think, I read something about a broken leg during his first year, or something like that). Second of all ,I might be mistaking , I'll check that out. About the softness remark... For me ,a soft player, is a player ,that doesn't fight for rebounds very well, that can't defend stronger, bigger guys very well, and doesn't attack the rim with power. The last one doesn't have to be a bad attribute. Anyway I think you agree that Scola fills at least 2 out of 3 of those conditions... Yao
I have seen videos of him playing for Ferro. He was a low post player. Other players changed position like Herrmann or Nocioni who played as PF and then changed to SF. But Scola has always been a low post player. With limited range (and terrible FT shooter) until the last couple of years when he made progress in those two areas of his game. His defensive flaws don't have anything to do with softness. But with being foul prone.
Scola is not soft at all. I remember he got Ts in Olympics and world cup. I think he is great for Rockets!
well im getting a little tired of having a team thats not even more athletic than the utah jazz. sorry, but ill take a beast athlete at that 4 spot for this team.
