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must be very difficult to pass the ball to the finisher in the pick&roll
I really disagree with that. Scola has been put in great condition in Houston : a lot of playtime available and a coach who sticked with him when Scola played bad.
The only rookie treatment he got has been that his teammates didn't give him the ball in the first couple of weeks of the season. After this two weeks, I don't think he wasn't forgot on the offensive end. Scola has almost been in a perfect scenario in Houston.
From what I've seen, Scola is mainly a finisher with Houston. If Scola wants to have a bigger role, he must been able to create scoring opportunities for him or his teammate. You had to wonder why that didn't happen for the moment : is it because Scola isn't able to create opportunities or is it because Rockets don't do let him that ?
Future will tell but being a creator is way harder than being a finisher.
must be very difficult to pass the ball to the finisher in the pick&roll
I told you www.spurstalk.com/forums/showpost.php?p=2166403&postcount=121 all for nothing.
It's my turn to disagree.
First, he didn't have a lot of playing time like you're saying. And a important part of it at the beginning of the season was in garbage time (you mentioned it several times if I remember well).
The coach who sticked with him, to quote you, is the one who didn't put him on the court in important moments and who didn't involve him in the offense as a factor. And that coach isn't here anymore by the way.
fans and journalists were complaining about that in houston and some were asking for Luis to start.
From what you've seen, Scola would mostly be a finisher. I'm surprised to read that from you Bruno who knew Scola way before he came in the US.
I've seen his game yesterday vs the bobcats and you could see he has a reliable midrange shoot, that shoot he already had in Europe.
His high post jumper could become money. It's very interesting in a game where pic'nroll has became very used and is allowing to create opportunities as you said.
besides, talking about creation, with his teamates starting to be confident in him, when he has the ball in his hand, he can distribute some intersting passes, not necesseraly assists but "creating" passes.
i agree with you
bruno must be a little tired of scola like jay and others
he's cool though
Adelman is the the coach who stick with him and AFAIK he is still Rockets coach.
You also have to put things in perspective. Scola is a rookie for a team that tried to be in the payoffs. It's quite logical that he doesn't get 35 mpg or plays in the crunch.
If you aren't sold by what I've said, just look at the numbers :
http://www.nba.com/statistics/player...DD=All%20Teams
Only 7 rookies have played ore than Scola. 5 of them were the top 5 picks of the draft (ouside Oden). 5 of them play for crappy teams.
I stick with what I've said. Scola is in a great situation in Houston.
What was Scola outside the NBA doesn't matter. It is what he does in the NBA that matters.
Right now and during games I've watched, Scola was mainly a finisher. His teammates were creating opportunities for him and he was finishing with a drive, a midrange jumper or with a layup.
To me, it's not sure that he can become the one who can create scoring opportunities for himself or for others. If he can't, Scola won't be an offensive force in the nba.
Man whoever that can put the ball into the hole can play next to TD, TP and Manu, remeber of Nazr, Rasho, etc.
yeah they stunk and got shipped out.emeber of Nazr, Rasho, etc.
Scola and the Rockets play the Spurs next. Watch out we are bringing Bonzi with us and the return of T-Mac!
If TMac is back, the Spurs should win.
Wow...33 pages of absolute nonesense.
I guess this is what reading the tabliods must be like
Scola was a loss for the spurs. He's pretty legit within 15 to 17 feet from the basket. But look at it this way. It's too bad to have too many argentinian in the team. If ever, they compete in the olympics and in other international tournaments three of their members would be starting the season exhausted from the games.
Splitter ins't that bad. He maybe a diamond in the rough, but I see a lot of potentials in him. Unlike Scola , he is more fundamentally sound. He can be pretty consistent regardless of who is guarding him. Scola may have a good night every once in a while, but definitely not the type that you can bet your franchise on. Splitter is a small window to the future, However uncertain that maybe.
Over all, I support the spurs' decision. It's a judgment call, and I trust them. Why doesn't anybody question the spurs about choosing ginobili (52nd draftee in the second round) literally unknown during that time. The decision to draft the unknown and young Tony parker? The contract to sign stephen jackson when he was booted out of new jersey (and nearly out of the NBA), to sign in the aging robert horry.
Honestly...the spurs is one of the winnest team in the NBA, they appear in the playoffs almost every year. Always one of the top four teams after the regular season. The people over there is pretty sure of what they are doing. God bless to you all!
Last edited by genomefreak13; 01-17-2008 at 02:27 AM.
Tiago and Ian will make everyone wonder what all this fuss was about.
Gotta admit after watching Scola for awhile now. He's not the most athletic guy out there. He's sorta slow but somehow he still gets to the basket and his shot falls. He's slow but precise. He does remind me of another slow basketball player that somehow got his shot to fall. Oh Scola isn't as good as that other player but somehow the way Scola moves reminds me of Larry Bird.
Scola is not as good as the left nutsack of Larry Bird. Please do not put these two guys in the same category. Utter nonsense.
He more close to the player of Seattle Sonic Collison.
look the last shot at the end
Yeah yeah Bird or Collison. They were both big white guys who were slow as all get out. But Bird had some moves and was deadly with his shot. Collison sucks but gets some rebounds. I'd say Scola was somewhere between the two. Doesn't seem to get much lift on his shots and doesn't jump that high.
After "the Greek Steve Nash", we now have "the Argentinian Larry Bird" .
heh, all you hatahs can go jump in the lake. Scola is still a Pimp no matter what!
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/sports/5465482.html
Jan. 17, 2008, 11:38PM
Rockets' Scola embraces American sights in rookie year
Yao Central with fan Ren Hsieh
The hotel rooms and arenas are basically the same, always the best. But no one can see the world from behind a locked door.
There is a whole world outside that calls to Luis Scola — people and places that this International Man of Curiosity seeks and embraces.
There are streets to walk and people to meet. There are sights to see and touch. There's a new world out there to be discovered.
This, Scola said, is how to adjust to a new country, a new team and life in the NBA. Others fight change. Scola looks for it and welcomes it.
"When you go to school, they teach you about countries, language, history," Scola said. "When you go to places, you learn in a better way. You see it. You touch it. I think it's great to get to know new places, to be around, get in touch with other cultures, learn from them, teach to them. It's just great. I love it."
There was a time when Scola holed up in hotel rooms, maybe escaped to the unreal world of a nightclub or restaurant for a few hours.
But the enthusiasm with which he plays needed to be part of the way he lives. He would not be the American tourist eating Big Macs on the Champs-Elysées or sitting in Starbucks in the Forbidden City. Long before he became an NBA rookie with the Rockets this season, he decided that rather than search for small bits of Argentina, he would grab Seattle or Chicago by the armful.
Scola spent a decade playing in Spain and taking vacations on the island of Minorca. He lives in Houston but calls Buenos Aires home. His place with the powerhouse Argentina national team has taken him to such diverse locales as Greece, Japan and Las Vegas. And as he makes his way to the 28 other NBA cities, he intends to see as much as possible of them.
"I left my country at 17 and have traveled around the world since then," Scola, 27, said. "I grew that way. It came with the profession. When I was younger, I would get to a place and just stay in the hotel or go to a nightclub. Now I got older, and I'm crazy about seeing places. I like the history of the places, but I also like to see the routine of the people of places, in restaurants or walking the streets or in a coffee place."
Landmarks not on agenda
Much like the Rockets' season, that has not always gone as planned. Both trips to New York (one to play the Nets in New Jersey) were all business. In Washington, there was no time to see the sights, and Scola missed the ones he could have seen.
"In New Jersey, he was really disappointed," said Shane Battier, who often accompanies Scola on his excursions. "He wanted to go to the Statue of Liberty. He wanted to walk around the streets of New York. He wanted to see the Empire State Building. In Washington, he was talking to our security guard, Harvey (Berrian), as we drove past the White House. And it's beautiful at night. I tapped him and said, 'Did you see the White House?' He said, 'Ohhhhhh no, I missed the White House.'
"Sometimes we'll take him out and let him see what a town has to offer. We took him to the Pike's Place Market in Seattle. He saw the salmon toss. In Chicago, we were in the heart of Michigan Avenue at Christmas time.
"I think players that play internationally from a very young age know that the best way to make the transition is to immerse themselves in the culture — to unpack your bags, so to speak, and live as the Romans live. Luis definitely has a zest for life."
Family eases transition
Eventually, Scola said, that will probably take him and his family — wife Pamela and sons Tiago and Thomas — home to Buenos Aires. As much as he has taken to differences, the adjustment has been easier because he has his family with him.
"There's an old saying that your country is your family, your friends, your house, your neighborhood," he said. "It's all you touch. It's true, but there is a bunch more that makes something a home.
"My family, my friends, that's what I miss most. But I lived 10 years in Spain. I miss people there, too. I'm sure when I leave Houston I'm going to miss Houston, too."
Until then, there is a great deal of journey left, particularly for someone who spent five years waiting for the NBA part to begin. Selected in the 2002 draft by the San Antonio Spurs, whom the Rockets will host Saturday night, Scola could not reach an agreement to leave Spanish power Tau Ceramica for a Spurs team with Tim Duncan entrenched at his position.
As the other stars of Argentina's national team made their way to the NBA, including Manu Ginobili and Fabricio Oberto with the Spurs, Scola waited until the July trade to the Rockets, becoming the sixth member of Argentina's team in the NBA.
"It is amazing how we got here, because Argentina is not really a basketball country," Scola said. "Being a basketball family in Argentina is very weird. We speak about basketball, but no one knows what we're talking about. I remember talking about Larry Bird and Magic Johnson. People look at you like, what are you talking about?
"When you are a kid, you play and dream about being champion of the world. I was always saying I would play for the national team and win the world championship for Argentina. We never even qualified for the Olympics back then. Then, 10 years later, we won the gold medal (in 2004). It's unbelievable."
Enjoys heavy schedule
Once Scola was in the NBA, the 82-game schedule just gave him more to embrace. The NBA is as his friends had told him. And if it is different from his previous experiences, that's all right, too.
"I really like it," Scola said. "People ask me about 82 games. I say I like it. It's always better to play than practice. You compete every day. That's what we are: compe ors."
But it is more than that. It is an exuberance for each experience, especially if it is new and different on the other side of those doors.
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Great article,thanks for sharing
Honest this year Spanoulis play better than Nash.After "the Greek Steve Nash", we now have "the Argentinian Larry Bird" .
Spanoulis sucks this year in Euroleague.
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