Wednesday, September 8th, 2010 at 9:00 am  |  75 responses

Luis Scola’s Dominance of World Championship Continues

by Marcel Mutoni / @marcel_mutoni

Kevin Durant has gotten all of the pub for his performance during the World Championship, but the tourney’s best player has actually been Luis Scola. And yesterday against Brazil, Scola proved once again why he’s the top dog.

The Houston Rockets’ forward led Argentina to a thrilling 93-89 win against regional rival Brazil, pouring in 37 points and inspiring teammates with gutty, relentless play:

Scola, the Houston Rockets forward who came in as the tournament’s leader with 29 points per game, scored 10 of Argentina’s final 12 over the last three-plus minutes. “I know that my team is going to look for me at the end of the game,” Scola said. “It’s nothing to really think about, you just have to play your game.”

Playing without San Antonio Spurs star Manu Ginobili and the Philadelphia 76ers’ Andres Nocioni, the Argentines were in danger Tuesday of elimination before the semifinals for the first time since missing the 2000 Olympics. But Scola wouldn’t let them. “He’s so thirsty, playing basketball, never tired of running and fighting for the ball, that we’ve got to follow him,” center Fabricio Oberto said.

The man who signed Scola to a contract extension this summer, GM Daryl Morey, certainly noticed the performance: “Scola goes into video game god mode to finish off Brazil. Wow.”

Your move, Kevin Durant.

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  • http://www.euroleague.net/competition/players/showplayer?clubcode=oly&pcode=AQU GIANNIS BOUROUSIS

    i intentionally wrote the names of Pierce&Duncan to add some ‘fresh blood’ to my kindergarden, meaning : guys that never see the games but still comment on them (ok, jukaitavoris will always be ‘the cream of the class’ but you can always add new members to keep him company). Pierce was not only the best player at that u.s team but also it is a same that his name was implicated with that travesty (Baron was one of the main responsibles), the guy was one of the top-3 players at that tournament (along with MANU and Dejan) a really great one. Duncan was the best big (along with Pau and Scola) in the olympics, but he suffered the torture of playing together with my 2 favorite cartoons….(he was also voted in the best team of the touenamertn if im not mistaken).the fact that he didn’t like it ,doesn’t mean that he was not one of the best. Welcome on board ALLENP !!!!(sorry)

  • NicktheQuick

    Always interesting how when many of the international players play for the countries they look so good but when they play for their NBA teams, they seem to take a backseat, of course with the exception of Dirk and Nash back in the day. Even Zaza Pachulia looks like TD when playing for his native Georgia. Pau is a beast with Spain. Then there is Darko…

  • http://www.euroleague.net/competition/players/showplayer?clubcode=oly&pcode=AQU GIANNIS BOUROUSIS

    i take a 2 hour break, i will answer anything ONLY if it is at a “Darkjukaitavoris” level of ridiculusness.

  • http://www.fiba.com Darksaber

    NicktheQuick: Interesting observation. Maybe cause the coaches give them sligtly altered roles in the team setup? Like Scola being more of a closer with in the national team but less so with the Rockets. Mid Millenium Tony Parker also comes to mind.

  • http://www.fiba.com Darksaber

    and the scholar flees…

  • http://slamonline.com Kap

    NicktheQuick: Are you saying Pau is only a beast when playing for Spain?

  • http://sfdjklf.com Jukai

    Even though he’s crazy, ‘Darkjukaitavoris’ made me laugh

  • http://twitter.com/HarryByrdMan44 LA Huey

    “Darkjukaitavoris” certainly sounds European. Explains why he seems to be enamored with you all.

  • http://thetroyblog.com Teddy-the-Bear

    Personally, I think the brothers Andrew Bynum and Paul Millsap would make the best 2-on-2 team.

  • http://sfdjklf.com Jukai

    NicktheQuick & Darksaber: FIBA rules are different, and the flow of the game is different. Vast changes in 3-second rules, lower game times and a spread out system of offenses means that a caller uses FAR less energy to play a game… and therefore, players can be less athletic and more skillful to dominate a game.
    Hell, zone defenses themselves mean people expand less energy defending a player. Less speed is spent when cutting cause the defenses are drawn, and jump shots are preferred. So, you know. Easy explanation.

  • http://slamonline.com Allenp

    Yo, that 2002 team was booty. I forgot who was on that roster. Did y’all know Raef Lafrentz and Ben Wallace made that team? WTH? And Andre Miller, yes that Andre Miller, took the most shots for the team with 73, while Paul Pierce took only 44.
    Pierce was killing though. To be honest, I didn’t pay attention to the World Championships at the time, but I remember Paul Pierce getting killed by the media for his performance, so I assumed he must have sucked. Turns out he was just a scapegoat.

  • http://sfdjklf.com Jukai

    I mean, the worlds reeaaaaaaaaaally aren’t that big of a deal when compared to the Olympics. Anyone telling you differently is lying. LOOK AT THE ROSTERS. The Olympic rosters are always far more stacked, and I’m not just talking about the US team.

  • NicktheQuick

    @Kap Pau is a great player with the Lakers but he is terrific with Spain. Not sure if it’s the chemistry or the familiarity of the players or just the system that really suites him. I guess it also comes down to reduced roles on an NBA team compared to top dog status on their national team.

  • http://slamonline.com Allenp

    It comes down to the rules and way the refs call the game in Fiba. Seriously. The game is built for certain types of cats, while the NBA game is built for a different breed.
    Gasol has admitted that prior to last season, he nver really concerned himself that much with rebounding or getting stronger, and that was fine in Europe. In the NBA, that doesn’t fly.

  • http://sfdjklf.com Jukai

    Allenp: on the other hand, a lot of players can find their nitch in the L without a jumpshot. Remember how minuscule Childress was in the Greek L before he got a decent shot? There really is a big difference between leagues.

  • http://slamonline.com Allenp

    Exactly. It all depends on what you like about ball.
    Then again, Childress was a sixth man in Atlanta and no great shakes at that, to be honest.
    If you don’t have a jumper, but are incredibly athletic, you can survive in the League if you have some smarts and good work ethic.
    When I watch the FIBA games I’m repeatedly struck by how the rules favor halfcourt offense, and the eras where refs let the rules slide typically create advantages for players who lack athletic ability. All those moving screen and zone defenses are a form of protection.
    It’s spun as a game built on “intelligence” or “skills” but after watching these international teams I feel like that’s bogus. They regularly make elementary mistakes on defense and offense. They take horrible shots. The amount of over dribbling and the lack of smart basketball is appalling. But, the way the rules are set up allow slower players to compete better. It’s kind of like the NCAA in a way.

  • http://sfdjklf.com Jukai

    I agree! I get the fundamental biz, more on the team level than anything… but I don’t get the “play smarter” then.
    So many turnovers and dumb fouls.
    I honestly have to blame the coaching. It’s just been bad!

  • http://www.dontevenreply.com total scrotal implosion

    Agree with allen about fiba, mostly white euros always say fiba is ‘smart’ basketball and nba is just athletic. As was stated, fiba players make insane mistakes. And yes, overall, the game is geared for less athletic players to have a larger impact than they would in the L. …. Oh and spurs traded scola for some greek dude and jackie butlers huge beard. I doubt they thought he would come over right then if at all. At least splitter has finally arrived

  • http://slamonline.com Allenp

    eras= areas

  • http://www.triplejunearthed.com/dacre Dacre

    I heart Slovenja ~ Goran is the business this year.

  • http://thetroyblog.com Teddy-the-Bear

    Luis Scola is the man. That is all.

  • NicktheQuick

    @ Allenp totally on point. The system a player plays in can either hide his weakness or enhance his strengths just as much as rules/refereeing can. Just like many UNC/Duke players look great within their system and with college refereeing but can’t play a lick in the NBA. The NBA put a premium on athleticism, either to defend (speed,jump,strength, timing, instincts) or to attack (run,shoot,drive,dunk) and they will single out less athletic players. College and Euro allows for less athletic players to succeed either by hiding their weakness through zone defenses, the use of continuity offenses, the officiating, etc. Depends on which game you’re a fan of.

  • rikson

    Plus the FIBA should set the 3point line to nba standard. The amount of threes taken per game is just ridiculous!

  • larrylegend

    Da brat mir doch einer den storch! anyone noticed rudy gay’s face during tur-slo? he didn’t seem to confident…

  • Franko

    Scola > Pau.

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