- For a stretch of last year, Luis Scola was far and away the Houston Rockets’ best player, even if the Houston Rockets weren’t necessarily that great. This further deepened Houston’s already passionate Scola-mania, culminating in his (contextually) gigantic five-year-deal with the Rockets. What can a 30-year-old power forward who has certainly already peaked out and just received a huge contract bring in terms of intensity? As it turns out, 17 points in the 1st quarter is the exact amount. Scola opened Argentina’s preliminary round matchup with Angola with a roar, going 11-19 in the game and single-handedly keeping his country’s team undefeated. While the Rockets’ own caveman’s dominance was undeniable, The Painted Area recognized a theme regarding Scola and his international superstar treatment that I’m sure Rockets fans would love to see imported from Istanbul: “Luis Scola got back to his efficient ways with a 31-point, 9 rebound effort on 11-of-19 shooting. Scola did most of his damage as the roll man. He hit 3-4 pick/pop foul-line jumpers. To say Scola gets superstar calls from FIBA refs is an understatement. He’s definitely a physical guy, but he gets some calls other pedestrian players don’t. I only counted two buckets off post-ups, but both were tough makes. One was a banker in traffic plus the foul. Then he added a sweet up/under move finished with his left hand that gave ARG a 69-66 lead late.”
- Apparently, in the world of San Antonio Spurs fandom, all foreign big men are compared to that elusive lost holy grail, Luis Scola (man, people sure seem to love Luis Scola). How did Brazilian 7-footer Tiago Splitter stack up in his battle against Team USA and its collection of bigs he will have never have to guard in the NBA because they aren’t bigs? Unanimously, Spurs Nation resounded with a “Meh.” Still, the previously linked Jesse Blanchard of 48 Minutes of Hell thinks that Splitter is fine just the way he is (well, plus 30 pounds) and that he’ll fit perfectly into the Spurs’ pick-and-roll-heavy offense: “Splitter did not really set solid screens so much as he simply ran towards his teammate and slipped a pick before any contact was actually made (it will be interesting to see if this translates into offensive fouls in the NBA). Nor did he display the freakish athleticism (he was blocked twice at the rim) or sweet jumper usually associated with prime pick and roll players.Where Tiago excelled was reading the defenses and finding seams. Combining good mobility with a high basketball IQ, it’s easy to see the Spurs utilizing Splitter in the same role Fabricio Oberto played. At worst, watching him and Manu Ginobili operate the pick and roll next season should be a joy.”
- Does it not seem like more and more often NBA players are just running into each other? What is that about? How many times does this happen at the Cheesecake Factory every day? I suppose, were you an NBA player, spotting a fellow filthy-rich giant might not be so hard. Maybe the change is not in how often this is occurring, but rather how many times idiots like myself plan to write about it.
- If you are the son of the most famous person alive and are currently enjoying some of the seedier, less-than-legal perks of said status, do not Tweet about it. Whoo. I’m so happy to get that off my chest because I couldn’t let this happen again… you know, to another one of the sons of the most famous man ever, ever. I’m looking out for you, Jeffrey.
- Yeesh. When you’re linking about the trouble MJ’s kids are getting into, I think you’re officially out of news. Today was a slow one, on both the Rockets and NBA front. Let’s try this again tomorrow, by when Ron Artest will hopefully have done something stupid/awesome/absurd/sublime.
