And quite honestly, LMA is very possibly the second best player in the series. And that is why we will win this series. I cannot WAIT to play the Lakers in the second round.
I agree. Aldridge has had a couple of stellar games, but Scola has consistently been the second best player in this series. We have yet to really find an answer for him.
Scola plays so well (and patient!) within his game. He has had LMA confused, confounded, and concerned most of the series.
Scola gets a free pass because of that god damned chinese robot. If Yao wasn't so huge but also such a wuss that he can't get bumped around, then we wouldn't have to sammich him.
I think this is correct. Scola has better stats that Aldridge, so you could give him the nod, but I wouldn't be against a case being made for LMA either. Scola benefits from constant front and double teams of Yao, giving him clean look after clean look. Aldridge on the other hand is allowed to get double-teamed because Greg and Joel have proven to be a non-factor on offense this series. Roy has found a way to overcome doubles and multiple looks from the Rockets, so he gets the nod as the best player. However, Yao is the #1 focus of our defense, and the majority of Houston players are getting clean looks thanks to the attention we have to give to Yao, so it's hard to give anyone else a nod for the #2 ranking in this series. The Rockets would be dead in the water without Yao, but could manage to win a game without Scola.
Kobe, Paul, and Roy are the top 3 players in the Western Conference. It's a no brainer that he'd be the best player in this series. Billups and Parker round out the top 5 IMO.
Well, Chris Paul has not exactly played scintillating basketball. The only reason I would hesitate to say LMA is #2 is that he has not been consistent. They showed the stats: averaging 23 points in the wins, 13 in the losses. (Or was it 26 in wins? something like that) Clearly LMA is the Blazers' X factor. Roy is Roy. The role players play roles. When LMA has a good game they win.
I think it's important to reflect at this time that if we would have done what was expected of us in 2006 and taken Rudy Gay, Brandon Roy would be a Rocket right now. Instead KP sniffed it out, took Randy Foye and forced the T-Wolves to deal with us instead of Houston. And that, my friends, is the ultimate version of the Pritch-slap.
Not a knock on Scola (game wise.. I will knock his persona all I want) but Blake has made Scola look like an All Star this series.. with Our perimeter constantly getting blown by, Aldridge has had no choice but to move over and cut off the penetration.. leaving Scola wide open for those mid Range Jumpers.. which he is very good at.. if that would lessen (the penetration) then Aldridge would be better positioned to defend that shot. But I will admit Scola has played very well when Aldridge has been on him tight.. displaying an impressive amount of ball fakes to get his shot off down low.
1-Yao has been the best player in this series. The Rockets are up 3-2 and have a chance to close out at home. If the Rockets weren't so inept at getting him the ball, Yao would be making an even bigger impact on the game. 2-Roy has been the best Blazer. He's the only one that gets in the paint. If he could ever buy a fuckin call as he gets slammed to the ground, maybe this would be a different series. 3-Aldridge has been better than Yao. As BW just said, Scola has been so good because he's been wide open and has been money with that midrange shot.
EH? 1- Yao is the best player in this series, but 3- Aldridge has been better than Yao, and 2- Roy has been the best blazer??? I'm confused.
1. Roy, by a lot. 2. Yao, because we've had to warp our entire defense around stopping him - but, it's worked, he hasn't produced like the Rockets want/need. everyone else, meh. Scola's a role player and he knows it, but hey he a fantastic role player. His point production is a biproduct of the Rocket offense. He shot poorly on contested shots. He's smart and stopped taking them. Apparently, our rotation improved in the second half. LMA has had some good games, some bad games. He still has too much Travis-itis where he takes more difficult shots than he needs to. He improved on that last game a little.
If you asked Aaron Brooks, he'd probably say Aaron Brooks is the best player in this series. If you asked Ron Artest, he'd probably say Ron Artest is the best player in this series. Which is why Yao isn't the best player in this series. He's the best player on the court for either team, but the Rockets just can't use him effectively. It's like they've been handed a high powered rifle, and they figured out it makes an excellent billy club. It does--but if they ever figured out how to pull the trigger, we wouldn't stand a chance. So Brandon Roy is the best player in this series. He may only be a fine handgun, but at least we know how to aim him.
i'd say roy is number one but yao has been the second best player just for what he's done to our offense. for all the time and effort we have to put into guarding him, he's getting wide open looks for guys like scola. yao has been the best creator (point guard) in this series and lets not forget the 100% shooting night he had in game 1.
