The Toronto Raptors signed Luis Scola to fill the hole at the power forward position vacated by Amir Johnson. After a solid start in which he averaged 10.6 points and 5.9 rebounds through November and December, Scola has faded quickly. Scola, 35, was given a one-year deal with the hope he’d be a little-used stopgap, but after DeMarre Carroll‘s injury his role increased. It hasn’t gone well.
Scola has struggled while attempting to protect the rim, something in which Johnson was particularly adept during his time in Toronto. Scola has actually been one of the worst rim protectors in the league (via Nylon Calculus) with opponents shooting 57.7 percent at the rim this season, and next to Jonas Valanciunas the Raptors need defensive help.
The Raptors knew Scola would be a liability on defense, but they were hoping for more on the offensive end.
Scola is in his ninth season from Argentina and is averaging 8.7 points and 4.7 rebounds — both numbers below his career averages — on a slash line of .449/.401/.744.
He wasn’t supposed to play 21.5 minutes and start in 75 games, but he has and in doing so there has been a large sample size.
Scola’s always been a shooter and that hasn’t changed this season as a large portion of his plays have been spot ups (200 possessions, 28.9 percent frequency) but he’s actually been in the 53rd percentile in efficiency on such plays. It’s unfortunate that those are the stats he needs to brag about, but Scola’s been pitiful in the post (29th percentile in efficiency on 107 poss.) and at his worst when attempting to execute as the roll man (16th percentile in efficiency on 130 poss.) in the pick-and-roll.
Carroll’s return to action last week signals a possible decrease in Scola’s playing time, come the playoffs.
