This isn't an excuse for obvious lack of defensive effort on some plays, but Scola is put out there as a post threat, so he does need stay out of foul trouble.
With all due respect, posts like this kill me, but don't feel bad, because on this board you are far from alone. I've said it before many times, Luis Scola is not overpaid! Luis gets a lot of praise from the broadcast crews and coaches around the league, and last night by the NBATV crew (I watch every Rockets game on LP, sometimes twice), but you'd never know it here. Take the game last night. For someone who didn't watch it, and just looked at the boxscore Clutch has on the front page, you'd think that Scola and Boozer played each other even. Not true. Scola was kicking his sorry arse. That first quarter run that the Rockets had that gave them a big early lead? Scola making Boozer look silly. Boozer is pulled by Thibodeau, then McHale takes out Scola, and the Bulls come roaring back. Scola was being so effective that Thibs put the very athletic freakin' 6'11" Joakim Noah on him, because Boozer was helpless. With Patterson on Boozer, Boozer was more effective. How is that possible? I thought Patterson was the better defender? What about those saying that Scola couldn't play defense to save his life? Thibs is one of the best defensive coaches in the business. Perhaps he knows more about basketball than some of the critics who love to hammer Luis. Nah... not possible! All Scola did was score 18 while shooting better than 50%, grabbed 12 boards, led the team in assists with 6, snagged 2 steals, and had 3 blocked shots. The kicker? Boozer is making $5 million dollars more this season than Luis. Scola overpaid? Scola too "old?" Utter bull****. I just wish Clutch still had that image of Luis on the front page, the one with his stats for the last six games prior to Chicago. I'd post it here. Scola has been on a roll! And you wanted to deal him for a protected first round pick? Don't make me laugh.
agree with you Deckard, Scola is almost a bargain when you see some contracts given around the league for players that have not half of his skills. so yes he will not make flashy dunks or block shots above the rim, but players with both his midrange jumper and his low post game are not common imo.
Thanks! That was pretty funny... I had to refresh the stats to get the complete Chicago game. :-D- Luis had a heck of a good month in March, with 33mpg, 54% shooting, 7.2 boards, 2.8 dimes, only 2 turnovers (something he struggled with earlier in the season, because of the coaching change, IMO), and 17.4 ppg for the month. Every player has a bad game from time to time, but Scola is seeing a lot more double teams. He's had to adjust to that, as well as McHale. Now? The Ice Cream Man is back!
Top NBA Power Forwards. Scola isn't in this class, nor is he paid like he is. 1.Dirk Nowitzki 19 Mill 2.Chris Bosh 16 Mill 3.Kevin Love Gonna be Max 4.Kevin Garnett 21 Mill 5.Pau Gasol 19 Mill 6.Zach Randolph 15 Mil 7.Blake Griffin Gonna be Max 8.Serge Ibaka Gonna be Max 9.Tim Duncan 21 Mill This next tier of guys are on scola's level more or less IMO. I list their salary this year. I also list their career Reb per 36 mins for those of you that think Luis is a massive rebounding liability. 10.LaMarcus Aldridge 13 Mill 7.8 Reb 11.Amare Stoudamire 18 Mill 9.2 Reb 12.Carlos Boozer 14 Mill 11.1 Reb 13.Josh Smith 13 Mill 8.4 Reb 14.Paul Milsap 7 Mil 9.4 Reb (Utah used the sneaky Lowry tactic to lowball) 15.Luis Scola 9 Mill 9.3 Reb 16.Kris Humphires 8 Mill 11.0 Reb 17.Elton Brand 17 Mill 9.3 Reb 18.David Lee 12 Mill 10.9 Reb Certainly not overpaid, market value at worst, probably underpaid.
I watched every game as well. You know what surprises me and didn't get noticed by many people? Scola actually improved his defense! I think his coming back to PF position and Mchale's emphasis on defense took him off. I can clearly remember how he was able to bang with Griffin pound by pound pretty well. Last night Boozer try to back down scola and ended up pushed away having to pass off to a TO. Scola still can't block shots, but his solid rebounding, hustle and improved post defense really impressed me lately.
I think Morey adding Camby, in particular, will help Scola be more effective on the court. I agree that he's not a shot blocker, but he managed 3 rejections last night! Luis has a rare game where he does well in that department, from time to time. Probably a freak accident. ;-)-
I'm shocked at the statline, considering every time I looked up at the TV Scola was getting totally owned by Noah. But, Noah does that to a lot of people in the post.
I have to disagree with everything you said here. I don't want to trade Scola until we have someone that can replace him in the low post. He's the only player on the team that gives us any kind of consistent low post offense. I don't know why you think a team would give us a lotto pick for Scola. Teams that have lotto picks are usually bad teams that want to rebuild with young players. Teams that would probably like to have Scola are teams that are already pretty good, but they need one final piece to make a run for a title. I think the Rockets are much closer to being a really good team than being a really bad team. The Rockets already have Donatas Motiejūnas and other first round picks in the pipeline. I think having a veteran player like Scola on the team is a good thing. I don't think the Scola contract is bad at all, I think it is a good contract for the Rocksts. When you look at the consistent production Scola gives us year after year, I think he is a bargain. I would much rather have Scola and his contract over players like Boozer, Pau Gasol, or Amare Stoudemire.
Were you asleep during the first quarter, when Scola was "totally owning" Boozer? Yes, Noah was far more effective guarding Luis, but he didn't "totally own" him. Boozer was helpless, but Boozer does that with a lot of people.
I think about Juan Howard and it makes me thrilled to have Scola. He brings it every game like Chuck did he may have a few down games but we all have down days. It will be hard to find some one that plays hard all the time like Scola does. Those that wish Scola traded or gone should think back to the before Scola days when or Power Forward really sucked
I think you can surmise from my post that I didn't happen to catch the moments when he made Boozer look like the tool that he is. I don't think Scola made a single bucket with Noah on him within 15 feet of the basket. That's no knock on Scola, either.
I'm glad McHale has been wise enough to play Patterson down the stretch, Scola for all his effort simply cannot compete with NBA PFs on the defensive side. He just doesn't have the skill set.
I have to say that after dogging Scola for most of the season he's stepped up his game at times. He's gotten aggressive in the post. He's bullying defenders and actually doing work instead of dribbling until he turns it over as much. This is vintage Scola but he can't last all 4 quarters or at least in the 4th quarter of games.
I'll throw myself out there as someone who would be just peachy if we traded Scola for a first. The argument out there seems to be that for his production his price is perfectly reasonable, and that what he brings to our offense in terms of a post game is irreplaceable. To those comments I would make the following points: 1. What post game? For those not paying attention, McHale's style of play has made it very difficult for Scola to be even consistent in the post, much less dominant. This year Scola has gotten most of his points off of less efficient 12-to-20 foot jump shots, and his TS% (53) and PER (15.8) have declined as a result, despite a near constant usage rate. When I have watched Scola try out his post moves this year on an iso, the results have been much nearer to what he did against Noah than what he did against Boozer. The fact of the matter is that what little athleticism he did possess is now declining like a sinking ship, and no amount of trickery will be able to shake the more agile defenders. Maybe a few young players will still bite, but the book is out on Scola. 2. While he remains an offensive plus to our team, his defensive shortcomings are starting to overwhelm everything else. I'll admit that, in the games I've watched the past weeks since Lowry's been out, he has upped his play on this side of the ball some. More blocks, 3 in that Chicago game (was that a career high?), more rebounds, and just fewer instances where Scola's man just out-and-out torches us. Nevertheless, like the rest of his game, his decline in athleticism is only exacerbating what was already a weakness for him. It sticks out even more when you compare him to his back-up Patterson, who I would argue is an above average defender at this point (even in spite of his down year offensively which I think we can all agree he is going through). 3. No one will ever question Luis' heart. He will try and never give up. But with each passing game, I feel like his complete lack of athletic ability is eating into this element of his game and giving all of us a big fat crutch on which to excuse Luis for his inability to come through when it matters. Nothing epitomizes it more than that play where Chris Paul beat him out for the jump ball towards the end of the New Orleans game. I don't care how bad the ref threw it, a PF needs to beat Chris Paul for a jump ball. Pull a Karl Malone, kick him in the nuts, pull a Chris Paul, punch him in the nuts, whatever you do just cause Chris Paul to go into one of his b****y little hissy fits because that's what he does when he's on the court and not getting his way. Now that Jerry Sloan is out of the league, nothing gives me more pleasure than to see Chris Paul whine and lose. And when Scola couldn't even do something as simple as beat out a guy 9 inches shorter than him on a jump ball in an important moment in the game, then well that's when I start to call a certain person's physical deficiencies so bad that they might consider not being in the NBA in a couple years. In short, I will admit Scola has done everything he could to get the most out of himself. But the time comes for everyone; just look at Hakeem after 1997. Patterson is going to improve beyond his sophomore slump, and I will continue to support his bid to start given what I have seen of him and his game these past two years. The salary of each player isn't a factor I even consider until the very end. I just think it's a smart basketball move to groom a guy who I think has a very high ceiling to take over the starting PF spot on the Rockets.
I agree with this sentiment. Yes, Scola has looked better lately. Yes, we should still trade him if we get a reasonable offer. Scola is getting older and will continue to decline. He's had a lackluster season and a few good games in a row does not change that. His defense is putrid and that's on full display whenever we play a good PF, which is often in the West. I like him, he's much more professional than Martin. But trading him to a contender would help him and us at the same time.
Just came to say I told you so. In a thread from earlier this season calling Scola washed up, I pointed out that he's done this before -- starting slow and then heating up at the end of the season. He's doing it again.
