Scola is anything, but average........to quote the great Clyde Drexler, "he is skill dubbed". Scola has excellent footwork for a PF.......honestly some of the best footwork I've seen on this team since Hakeem. He was a nice and improving jump shot. and The man plays like someone lit his ass on fire.....a true winner with a pure heart.
Other than his haircut, I don't have anything to complain about Scola. He hustles. He rebounds. He plays relentless defense. He even scores. And he is durable. I only wish that Yao and T-Mac can be more like him.
actually, i don't think he's ideally utilized when he plays next to yao. that's why i want to see him as much as possible in a small ball line up without yao. scola plays the pf next to yao but there's no doubt he has the offensive game to be a center. but the best thing is that he always outruns his opponents on the break. he isn't that usefull now with yao on the court since he can't do his stuff under the basket and he's very, very streaky with his midrange game (don't believe that that'll change!). he's also not the most athletic and the best defender. a healthy landry should fit much better next to yao. and with scola being the main post option in a small line up or as a normal backup center we'll use his strengths much more.
Nasty, I feel sorry for who ever we play and they see this line up towards the end of a close game or when we beat the Celtics on November 4. I hope for a rockets win and and Obama win too.
even if Scola is average, he's still very solid and consistent night in and out. He isn't going to be superstar on this team, but he is the best 4 we have had on this team since Barkley and OT. I have two wishes for him next season. 1. First and formost...stop doing all the crappy pump fakes when you don't need too. You need to go strong to the hole sometimes. 2. Stop doing crappy fouls when you don't need too, unless you really want to sit on the bench more.
I agree the hype here is too much, but don't discount Scola's value. The Rockets "took off" last year when he was inserted into the starting lineup. Scola is a key player on our team.
^^ I''ll continue on. Stop trying to take so many charges when it's obvious the refs are calling it a blocking foul. He's gotta get more consistent from the perimeter. Other than that, he's solid and certainly good in the low post.
Every big man has a transition they have to go through when they enter the NBA.....I expect Scola to be a much better player this year.
......hopefully he'll get much more respect from the Refs since he won't just be some unknown rookie.
I'm thinking that the Rockets will be boasting 4 all-stars level players next season. Yao, Scola, Artest, and McGrady. We keep hearing about the big three, but maybe we'll soon be talking about the big 4. And the other rotation players would not be chopped liver either. Alston, Battier, Barry, and hopefully Landry Brooks, Mutumbo, Head, Hayes, and Francis should all contribute as well. And if Dorsey brings the Muscle, he could be part of a lineup who could intimidate that punk Carmelo back into his shell of being coy and smiling with a huge grin on his face after he finds out he can muscle it up.
Scola had a pretty stellar rookie season and though he doesn't have the upside of a typical rookie for obvious reasons, be will no doubt be better.
Hi i like to point you out some things about scola game, his best offensive game is by far posting up one on one, today he schooled whatever defender the US put on him, and let me tell you that in fiba rules the inside defense is much stronger because there are no positioning limitations. Second you were saying his mid range game is streaky, let me tell you, is streaky on the rockets because Alston has zero fundamentals and don´t kno how to play the pick n roll, he is a very reliable midrange shooter on the move, he becomes streaky when he is used as a spot up midrange shooter. I bet you that if you give scola the ball in the post 10 times a game he will score 60 percent of it, and he has an advantage over yao, he can be posted up away from the basket. I hope T-Mac starts playing the pick with scola more next year because he is a very good pick n roll player.
I'm not going to dispell what scola did today which I think is good, but it has nothing to do with the nba game. The is not more physical than the nba. If that was true , the imports wouldn't struggle so much with the physicality part of the nba. Also, guys like V-Span would be better players in the nba than what they displayed. I think those guys maybe not on purpose play harder for their countries during the international games than they do for the nba clubs. I'm not saying they don't play hard, but I think the priority is different. Back to Scola, the small ball theory should only be used in short spurts. As we witnessed last year, when yao or deke sits and scola plays center, teams get a free pass to the hoop. When a teams doesn't have a guy that can meet guys at the rim, opponets attack. Once they get past the initial or wave of defense, they can score unchallenged. I like Scola's role as the AC Green type on this team. On the pnr, most times it turns to a pick and pop because of the guys that protect the rim in the nba. I see scola as a guy that will go 5-10 fg and 3-4 ft, with 8-10 rebs. That's what green would do, that's what scola does. If we start isolating him on the blocks against the really good 4's and expecting him to produce like in these olympics, I thinks that's asking too much. He's a play finisher, not play creator. There's a difference. I do like his fit being the 4th option on this team though. I can see some hi/low action with he and Yao. Scola does get good position and has strong hands, his problems has been finishing over taller guys. Hopefully he can get better at this.
I just finished watching USA vs Argentina and Scola was the reason why Argentina gave the Americans so much trouble. If the Argentina did not have a horrible first quarter, they could of beaten the United States. Without Ginobili for most of the game and Nocioni was not 100% fit, the Argentines put up a fight. Luis Scola had a tremendous game. He gave Melo or whoever was guarding him a lot of problems. His terrific finishing abilities around the rim is difficult for anyone to guard. I think that Scola is the perfect guy to play with Yao Ming. Scola is tough and diligent. He is the type of player that the rockets need.
the fiba game is a lot more physical than the nba game. under the basket (more contact allowed) or at the perimeter (no hand checking rules), it doesn't matter. if you don't believe me you might believe kobe bryant ("I think the NBA is actually a little less physical than international basketball. I think the international basketball rules and what they have, it's what the NBA used to be in the '80s, in terms of being able to hand-check and set screens and roll with the guard under, real physical in the paint. It's a much more physical game."). it's basically the same what other nba players (chris kaman for example) and coaches (eric musselman) say. the nba game, however, is a lot more athletic. and that's where most international rookies struggle. they're not used to the quickness and the leaping ability. also, i disagree a little bit with what you said about the small line ups with scola and the defense. scola may not be a very good defender but he always hustles. of course, those small line ups are only good for 15 or 20 minutes per game (basically everytime yao needs a break). the defense will be fine, though. remember, we've artest on the team now. if we go small with him and battier, chuckwaggon or landry in there scola will be able to play good team defense. that's all we need against most teams without a true post player. plus, i hope we'll gain a lot more on the offensive side by being able to outrun teams. that should be fun, especially vs. the 2nd units of other teams.
