[SI] "Some failing to live up to expectations." Scola listed..

Don't know how you can say he is sluggish when he may have 4 post up attempts the whole season.

It's a spacing issue. We are attempting to run last year's system without a high post passing big. Scola is having to play at the top most of the time with Dally slogging around in the paint. They can't switch off because Dally can't play the high post and allow Scola to get down in there. When and if Scola gets down low for some postup action, Dally is still down there destroying the spacing.

Scola is simply not getting the opportunities he got last year of working in the low post.

And the other things, if and when he gets the ball in the low post, what do you think the defense is going to do if Hill and Dally step outside? Yeah, they're gonna fade off Dally/Hill and help Luis' defender. So, if you were Luis, would you rather throw the all to Dally/Hill or throw it back out to Chuck who will drive and finish or reset and get the ball back to Luis on the reset?

There's no comparison in our offense this year without Hayes, and last year with Hayes. We are severely hampered without Hayes in the high post.

 

Wen a high effort, limited talent guy starts to play with less than the top effort, its a wrap. A guy like Odom can play with not as much effort because of his talent and skill level, but guys like scola and chuck hayes cant. When posters said scola can play till he's mid 30 because he doesn't use athleticism, i thought they were wrong. Thats why you dont get rid of the younger equal player.

 

I was worried years ago about re-signing him but the counter that foks had was "well he's not that athletic anyway so he'll be fine even if he loses his athleticism..." Maybe, but not if he loses his energy.

 

Completely agree.

He actually seems to be getting more iso post ups, but he's just not converting.

And his rebounding is more worrisome to me, though I guess you can attribute some of that to the Bert and Parsons rebounding well.

 

I think jopatmc's explanation is correct.

 

Why EVIL ARGENTINA makes Scola plays for national team all time!

 

Statistically shorter power forwards decline in their late 20s


He bucked that trend, but maybe not anymore.

Then again, it's early.

What's his contract status? I seem to recall there is a team option?

 

Dalembert is like what Randolph does to Gasol's stats, but Scola doesn't care he just wants to win. Scola's still got it his value will be super high next year after making playoffs and beasting at Olympics.

 

motivation.

 

So do I, with one caveat. I posted some time ago that I was concerned about the knee. That he hasn't fully recovered from the surgery yet, and that this compressed season, with no training camp worth mentioning, or preseason worthy of the name, with game after game after game (plays into what HeyPee said), make me think that he's been having trouble with that knee. I've seen him flexing the knee on the bench during games when the camera panned that way, and that's something I've never seen him do before, and it's always the same knee. In my opinion, this insane season has slowed down Scola's recovery. No Hayes, and Patterson not playing like he normally would (or getting the minutes), and we've all seen Hill's production, have meant Luis being slow to get up to speed. Add what DaDa and others (I've commented on it before, myself) have said about the transition to a new coach, a new system. Add Dalembert, a real rebound and space eater playing in and around Scola's campground, the post, and we have a Perfect Storm where all these desparate things have come together to affect Scola's game in a negative way. I don't think it's his age, except that age makes injury recovery take longer (have personal experience with that one).

Time will fix this, in my opinion, time, and adapting to the changes. It would be nice to be able to give Luis fewer minutes and a game off from time to time, until he's himself. In my opinion, at any rate, and time doesn't seem to be available, not if McHale and Morey want to step to Alexander's tune... win games. Normally, that's my tune, as well, but this could be the one season in many years when putting the flute down could be a good idea.

 

Off course is the system, patterson rebound per minute are not better.
We are winning. Why all the critics. Scola has one of the best +\-.

 

100% agree. Perhaps the solution would be to move Scola to the sixth man role, instant offense in the post off the bench. If only Patterson hadn't got hurt and was ready to step into the starting lineup.

 

Small sample size. See you at the end of the season.

 

A combination of fatigue, age, and a play style that doesn't require as much from him.

 

It is spot on.

DD

 

Being a good player in the NBA is all about consistency. Just about every player that is in the league has the talent. If you played a conventional "scurb" 82 games/32 min a season, he will probably have 5-10 games where he produces above average stat-wise.

Jordan Hill's main problem (as Morey stated) is that he has about 1 in every 3~4 games that he makes a positive contribution to the team. In order to be a respectable rotational player, he has to make that 2 out of every 3 games.

When players become "past their prime", the most telling signs of regressing is when they can no longer produce on a consistent basis. If you look at Kobe in the past couple of years, he just can't bring it every time as he would like you to believe. Right now, he probably has a 5:1 ratio of good/bad performances. Ofcourse this trend is compounded by the lockout schedule.

What does this have to do with Scola? Sure, as others have mentioned, he could be a victim of a different system and such but bottom line is that he is definitely regressing in terms of consistency. The Luis of previous years was much more effective because his body was able to keep up with his hustle-mentality that made up for a lot of his non-remarkable athleticism and size for his spot. My guess is that Scola will continue to have this downward projection and become more of a Juwan Howard type (with more skill and 100000x more heart). The good news is that his good/bad ratio will probably not be a sudden dropoff because his game was never predicated on athleticism anyways.

That being said, we really need Patterson to step up and fill the natural gap caused by Scola's aging. So far, that hasn't been the case. He looks timid out there, maybe from the injury.

Anyways, Scola will probably have a great game against S.A. tonight. He is due for one.

 

I'm not too worried about the RPG, as Dalembert has helped quite a bit, and we're 5th in the NBA in rebounding differential (we were in the negatives the last two years).

As for Scola's scoring, lets compare this year to last year, on a per-game basis.

At the Rim
10-11: 2.8/4.5 [63.4% fg] (53% assisted)
11-12: 2.8/4.3 [64.6% fg] (60% assisted)
- Not any considerable difference here, as he's actually been (slightly) better this year.

Short/Intermediate (3-15 ft)
10-11: 2.5/5.9 [42.3% fg] (50% assisted)
11-12: 2.3/5.4 [42.5% fg] (47% assisted)
- Nothing drastic here either.

Mid range (16-23 feet)
10-11: 2.4/4.9 [48% fg] (93% assisted)
11-12: 1.8/5.0 [36% fg] (96% assisted)
- Big difference here, as Scola was one of the best in the league from this distance last year, and has been mediocre this year, at best.

Free Throws
10-11: 2.9/3.9 [73.9% ft]
11-12: 1.8/2.4 [75.0% ft]
- Just not getting to the line as much this year either.

So as you can see, the biggest issue has been his mid-range jumper, which has been noticeable in games as well. He's been getting a comparable number of looks and in a relatively similar manner.

 

I feel he hasn't adequately recovered from his knee injury. He plays for Argentina every year,and doesn't get rest.The schedule is harder on him. Not having Chuck around is a big factor. Patterson's up and down game adds to the problem.

 

Great post.

I think his shot will come around, but he needs to be more aggressive to draw some fouls. Though his lack of athleticism limits that.

 

Is 6-9 short for a power forward? I'm not so sure it is...

I would like to see the numbers that back up this information.