In his last four games, Houston Rockets forward Luis Scola is averaging 21.7ppg and 16rpg.
In the ten games since the trade of Carl Landry, Scola is averaging 17.5ppg and 11.3rpg.
Not including the night against Orlando when he only played 16 minutes, Scola is averaging 19.4ppg and 12.2rpg during that period.
The chart below compares Scola’s production over this time frame to his season and career averages. I have also included his per 36-minute averages as a frame of reference.
Luis Scola’s main fault is having the rotten luck of being born in the wrong decade of history. Were he 24, rather than 30, he could undoubtedly expect an offer this summer somewhere in the range of what Anderson Varejao took home.
But because his athletic prime was wasted toiling in an inferior league, held hostage by the presence of the greatest big man of our decade, I can’t see Scola being offered more than $6million annually.
The greater question concerns his status with the Houston Rockets. If such production is the norm, and at a still relatively cheap price, with the emergence of Jordan Hill, would the Rockets not best be served by simply bringing back Scola to anchor the position?
I’m not sure it’s that simple. It’s true that Scola is one of the best role players in the game; he will also remain one of the greatest bargains. At the same time, the team is still one impact player away from true contention. With the emergence of Aaron Brooks and acquisition of Kevin Martin, an upgrade at power forward makes the most sense.
Scola’s production is undeniable, but it comes through filling a role. There is a considerable difference between scoring 17ppg off hustle/open looks/single coverage postups and scoring at a similar rate against double teams. To take the quantum leap, this team needs a player who will produce through the latter means, opening up opportunities for other players, and helping them match up against elite competition when half-court sets stagnate in the playoffs. Yao Ming alone will not suffice.
By mere odds, its probable that the team strikes out in free agency this summer. In that event, retaining Scola would be a no-brainer decision. Still, exploring upgrade possibilities should be the preferred course of action.
I certainly wouldn't complain about holding on to that guy, his hustle is interminable, and he's really refined his pet moves to an art, as well as being a graduate of the Battier school of defense. Seeing that he and Yao are getting up in years NBA-wise, and we all know Yao's proneness to injury, an ideal solution would be to retain them both and try to acquire another major post piece. It fully deplete's both their energy to play much more than 30 minutes in a game, you coulda wrung a gallon out of Scola's jersey at the end… Read more »
I was afraid you were going to say that, Rahat. I hope my wife doesn't find out that her boyfriend is trade bait.
Rahat I love your articles but I think I have to disagree with your assessment of where our team needs an upgrade. I think we have capable post players but that our problem is actually at point. With aging players and a point-guard that runs/plays shoot-first, we're putting a lot of wear and tear on our bigs without them even really getting set in the post or touching the ball. I think Brooks is good at what he does, but that if we could upgrade at point guard and move him, and have him and Lowry off the bench (depending… Read more »
I agree with Rice. If I had a choice of upgrading the 4 or the 1, I'd choose the 1. Scolandry was great. Now that we see the potential of Hill, we might be set at that position for a few years to come. (Scola seems to be quite durable, btw.) Brooks might one day become a consistent elite scorer. But he will never be an elite playmaker. If we can get a star PG with Lowry backing up, we can be contending. That said, the choice is probably not there to choose. It looks like elite PFs (Bosh, Stoudamire)… Read more »
I am conflicted with the idea of trying to upgrade from Scola, his numbers compare with many of the so-called stars like Duncan. When Yao is back, he will be double-teamed, leaving someone open while he is on the floor. If he isn't double-teamed, he will have high scoring games. The tandem of Yao and Scola looks great to me. As to comments about Brooks, why would he be considered to not be able to be coached to be more assist-oriented? He has matured a lot this year, let's give him a chance to continue getting better. We already have… Read more »
haha. she might be surprised to find that he's a lot of people's boyfriend
pretty interesting, in combination with the comments on my other posts, it seems most of you guys would prefer an upgrade at the 1 rather than the 4. i should have touched on this above. what complicates matters is that it's not just a case of scola vs. brooks – you have to factor in lowry (and his pay raise) and the potential of hill. then of course, scola has his age working against him – are we building a team to just win a title while yao is still around or are we building long term? i think everyone… Read more »
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With no Yao and McGrady coming into the season Scola and Brooks were supposed to have breakout years. Landry ended up having the breakout year, but Brooks and Scola were asked to be more aggressive and shoot more. Early in the year when Brooks hit twenty we won the majority of the games. So he is being told shoot be more aggressive with not much offense around him. Until Martin, he was the only one in the starting five that could keep taking his defender off the dribble to score or find someone open. With hopefully a healthy Yao and… Read more »
How do you feel about Brooks rahat? Do you think that he is already peaking? I'd rather upgrade a backup behind him and Lowry, someone with size and defensive skills. I hate to see any of the regulars going much over 30 minutes a game, and think that we have the depth to avoid that next year. If Bosh, Paul, or some other obvious upgrade wants to come to Houston and it can be done without gutting the team, that's fine. Houston is a great place to play, and Texas has no income tax. That might just attract a Bosh… Read more »
Funny you mention that thirdcoast, I love how Scola doesn't dunk. A true 'smarts' player, two points is two points. Can Bosh play with a big man like Yao? Who is the center for the raptors?
i've been of the opinion for some time that brooks has become a bit overrated. he's a nice player, but not really worthy of some of the plaudits that are being thrown around – it's really a little bit more of a case where a guy with a nice skillset is getting high usage opportunities. this probably wouldn't happen in a vacuum. with that said, i do think he can be the 3rd wheel on a title team. the problem is that you have to have a 1 and 2 better than what we have (yao and martin) for that… Read more »
I agree that Adelman's offense does not need a traditional PG. But any offense, especially if you want to go deep in the playoffs, needs a perimeter guy who can take over the game when the going gets tough. I don't see Brooks being that kind of player. And I could be wrong about Martin. He seems like a nice “quiet” kind of scorer, rather than some “take over” guy.
We really don't have anybody who can do that.
How many of those players are in the league? Kobe, Lebron and…?
“If it aint' broke … don't fix it” i think most rockets fans sense that our window is closing fast. what started 6 years ago with aspirations of greatness, turned into an ocean of resentment and sadly darryl morey was not at the helm when Tmac was initially picked up and surround him with more competent players, but you cant cry over spilled milk i suppose, so now everyone wants a big name, somehow thats going to win us a title, regardless of what kind of human being they are, as long as they can jump,shoot and run. so after… Read more »
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I see people are not too hot on AB around here. I will agree he has some skills to work on as being a good distributive point. What I'm wondering, Rahat, is what kind of effect does having two definite scoring threats in the backcourt (Brooks and Martin) have on a guy like Scola? I've noticed Scola's numbers skyrocket since Martin was brought in. Are these guys spreading the floor, demanding attention at the perimeter that they haven't before Martin came along, allowing our post guys more opportunities? If this is the case what are the implications of this situation… Read more »
Afterthought… Too great a sacrifice made in the name of signing Paul would, well, make us look like the Hornets, not bad, but not great.
I'm thinking that Scola's increased production is partially because the ball distributors aren't looking for Landry anymore and Scola is now given more opportunity. The same is true for his rebounding, he and Landry were often positioned for either to get the rebound.
No way do I want to see our team gutted to acquire a Chris Paul, or anyone else.
i have a post on this in the works, but i think what makes brooks and martin so dangerous is that they can both pretty much do everything – they both cut, can shoot off the dribble, shoot off the catch, and pass. some of these aspects of course they are better than the others (ie: brooks can pass but is bad for a pg at that.) i'll go more in depth on this in a post.
You guys are crazy!! I would personally pack the bags of Battier, Scola and Brooks(w/ the draft picks) to get CP3. With a Roster that would be CP3, K Mart, Ariza, Hill and Yao next year, I would cancel my current Rockets and Texans season tickets and buy courtside for the Rockets. Im 25.. This would be like 60% of my disposable income. haha. My point is.. is that would be the perfect fit for each of those guys. Hill would be catching alley-oops from Paul all game. You dont think KMart and Ariza would benefit from the open shots… Read more »
You guys are crazy!! I would personally pack the bags of Battier, Scola and Brooks(w/ the draft picks) to get CP3. With a Roster that would be CP3, K Mart, Ariza, Hill and Yao next year, I would cancel my current Rockets and Texans season tickets and buy courtside for the Rockets. Im 25.. This would be like 60% of my disposable income. haha. My point is.. is that would be the perfect fit for each of those guys. Hill would be catching alley-oops from Paul all game. You dont think KMart and Ariza would benefit from the open shots… Read more »
[…] a repeat of 2007 when Daryl Morey, primarily by trade, acquired three guys who are all producing borderline all-star numbers this […]
[…] March, I wrote that in the ten games to that point following the Landry trade, excluding one night when he only […]