Reply With Quote
Scola #@#$$%%! Thread!
I thought there should be a new one since the original one got too old.
BTW,last updates
The rockets haven't lost a single game since Scola is in the starting lineup
Scola is now on #1 spot for the ROY race.
12 boards in 23 mins vs. Atlanta.
Let the smackDown continue..........
Scola #@#$$%%! Thread!
http://www.sportingnews.com/yourturn...c.php?t=381279
Scola essential to Rockets' winning streak
E-MAIL PRINT COMMENTS 5 WATCH THIS TOPIC
Posted: March 12, 2008
Luis Scola learned he had become the Rockets' starting power forward at a shootaround in late January. "Coach told me to go over there with the whites (jerseys). If you wear a white jersey, you're a starter," Scola said during a phone conversation Wednesday.
No big thing. Tracy McGrady was due out that night with the flu, and coach Rick Adelman was looking for someone to help give the team a quick start. Out went Chuck Hayes, in came the energetic Argentinean.
Twenty games later, Scola is still starting and the Rockets have become a very big thing. They have had not lost since Scola joined the lineup at power forward. Their 83-75 victory at Atlanta Wednesday night stretched their winning streak to 20, matching the second-longest streak in NBA history (Bucks, 1971). Not bad for a team that began the new year 15-17 and wondering if it even would get into the playoff race.
Don't expect Scola to take much credit for his starting having much to do with the Rockets' winning streak, though. "It wasn't a big deal when I was a backup and everyone was asking me when I was going to start, so I can't make it a big deal now that I am starting," he says.
Scola, 27, credits the Rockets' rise to good defense (the Rockets are holding opponents to 41.3 percent shooting and 89.3 points during the streak entering Wednesday's game), sharing the ball ("When someone isn't hitting, we have been finding someone else to step in," he says.) and becoming accustomed to Adelman's system ("We had new players, a new coach and a new system," Scola says. "It was only a matter of time before we started coming together").
Scola may be an NBA rookie, but he is no stranger to success in pro hoops. He was MVP last summer at the Tournament of Americas, despite Argentina's loss to the U.S. in the championship. He was the leading scorer for gold medal-winning Argentina at the 2004 Olympics. He twice was named the Spanish League MVP during his seven seasons with Tau Ceramica.
Though this is his first year living in the United States, Scola has no trouble communicating in English. Check his answer to a question I asked him Wednesday morning, and you can see he has learned to handle potentially sticky questions from the media.
Me: "Which would mean more, winning the Finals or Olympic gold this summer?"
Scola: "I want to win both."
The way the Rockets are going since Scola became a starter, he certainly has an opportunity for at least one of the two.
Stan McNeal is a writer for Sporting News. E-mail him at [email protected]
when it is all said and done. Scola will be in the HOF
Is this the biggest mistake made by the Spurs FO?
Oh my god, I don't know what is more annoying... trolls of other teams ing about the Spurs or Spurs Fans ing about the Scola Trade.
1. Scola is better off being in Houston
2. Scola would never get much playing time with the Spurs.
3. Scola is not a #1 Roy candidate - Horford and Durant are still more likely candidates.
He's good, but he's not godlike... so get over it.
meh...this is a scola thread. Don't like it? don't click.
Durant is so overrated. He does not make his team better at ALL. Durant jacks up way too many shots.
To the Argie
The thread starter is NOT a Spurs fan. It is obvious - he is a fan of players from Argentina and nothing else. For six or seven months, probably 600 of those 662 posts are about this subject. I am sick of it. I am so sick of it, I almost wish Scola would step on someone's foot, get hurt and be out for the year so we would not have to see this crap anymore.
For the obnoxious Rockets fans on this site. Thanks for dumping Robert Horry about 12 years too soon so he could win a couple of more rings in SA.
The Rockets will regret not drafting Rudy Gay, who will shine as soon as he gets out of Memphis.
If the Scola deal is the worst thing the SAS FO does, I can live with that.
Just remember - 4>>>>2
At this point, replace all references to Chuck Norris online with Luis Scola.
Barbosa still hurts me
print it out and put on it on your door.
^^
Here you go...Feast.
Shows you how wired I am tonight.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn...031502066.html
Scola a Perfect Fit for Rockets
Argentine Solves Need at Power Forward, Propels Streak
By Michael Lee
Washington Post Staff Writer
When Houston Rockets General Manager Daryl Morey was compiling a list of power forwards to target last summer, he thought his team's chances of getting Luis Scola from San Antonio were about as likely as the Rockets somehow going on the second-longest winning streak in NBA history.
"It was a long shot," Morey said in a recent phone interview.
But an unheralded, unexpected offseason trade with the defending champion Spurs has helped the Rockets (45-20) win an improbable 21 games in a row, move past San Antonio in the standings and put them in position to play for the best record in Western Conference this afternoon at Toyota Center against the Los Angeles Lakers. It's no coincidence that the Rockets' streak -- the longest since the 1971-72 Lakers won 33 in a row -- coincided with Scola's insertion as starting power forward.
"He was a steal," Cleveland Cavaliers forward LeBron James said. James played against Scola last summer in Las Vegas, when Scola was named most valuable player at the Tournament of the Americas after leading Argentina to a second-place finish without the assistance of NBA stars Manu GinÓbili and Andres Nocioni.
Scola, the leading scorer from Argentina's 2004 Olympic gold medal team and a two-time Spanish League most valuable player, had been the property of Houston's division rival since San Antonio took him in the second round of the 2002 draft. The Spurs didn't believe that Scola would fit in with their players -- they feared he might get in Tim Duncan's way, to be specific -- and were under pressure to deal him last summer. Otherwise, Scola was going to sign a long-term deal in Europe, and San Antonio would get nothing for him.
The Spurs came close to dealing Scola to Cleveland, but to Morey's surprise, they decided on the Rockets' offer of Vassilis Spanoulis, a second-round and cash for Scola and center Jackie Butler. The move gave San Antonio the financial flexibility to keep its championship team intact and add some auxiliary pieces. The Rockets finally solved their decade-long problems at power forward.
"It's hard to criticize what San Antonio is doing," Morey said. "They'll probably be the favorite to win the le."
For years, Scola held the reputation as the best player not in the NBA. But the first few months in Houston were a huge adjustment for the 27-year-old rookie. He had to learn a new city, a new culture and a new game. "It was a little hard in the beginning," Scola said after spending the previous seven seasons with TAU Cerámica. "I feel way better the last month and a half."
Rockets Coach Rick Adelman started Scola on Jan. 27 when center Yao Ming was forced to sit out with a respiratory problem. Scola had 18 points and six rebounds in a loss against the Utah Jazz. Yao returned to practice the next day, but Adelman moved power forward Chuck Hayes to the bench, hoping that Scola could provide a boost to the starting five.
The Rockets haven't lost since -- including the past nine since Yao was lost for the season with a broken left foot.
"I wish that Yao was here," Scola said in a phone interview. "But I think we have a team. Everybody is hitting shots. It's going to be hard to focus on somebody when we're playing the game."
Scola is averaging 11.8 points and 5.7 rebounds as a starter, and is making a late push for rookie of the year. He isn't flashy, and if not for his flowing black hair, Scola might not stand out. He makes small but significant plays, such as tapping a rebound to Dikembe Mutombo for a dunk or finding Tracy McGrady cutting backdoor for a layup. "He has a good basketball I.Q.," Rockets point guard Rafer Alston said. "He has experience. He's a team guy, loves to defend, loves to pass."
Scola's path to the NBA hasn't always gone as planned. He was preparing to take the ACT so that he could attend Temple, like Pepe Sanchez, his teammate on Argentina's national team. Instead, he chose to play in Spain at age 17.
After seeing his friend GinÓbili have success, Scola had hoped to play with him in San Antonio. Instead, he's in Houston.
"It was no problem for me. I understand [the Spurs] didn't have room for me," Scola said. "They give me this opportunity. If they didn't trade me, I may have to stay in Europe and I never play in NBA. They traded me and I'm really thankful for it."
i agree, he dribbles down the clock to much and takes alot of contested shots
Pop doesn't like playing rookies but I think if Scola hadn't been traded away, he'd be eating some of Fab's minutes by now.
I am also amazed about Dikembe Mutombo, how old is this guy 50? he still keep bloking people.
Mutumbo is 41 and he gave an interview the other day that his timing is improving even more with more playing time. The guy still averages 2.3 blocks per game or something. He blocked 4 shots in the Charlotte game..he is the ageless wonder.
There are currently 1 users browsing this thread. (0 members and 1 guests)
Posting Permissions
