INTREPID

Suns offense set up to highlight Scola

Oct 9, 2012, 1:29 AM | Updated: 2:35 am

October 8, 2012: Luis Scola brings ‘very good’ passing ability to offense

The Suns have four point guards on the roster, as it currently stands.

None of them had more assists in the intrasquad scrimmage Saturday than 6-foot-9 power forward Luis Scola.

Now, it was only one game and Goran Dragic, remember, was held out as a precaution as he continued to recover from a sprained ankle suffered prior to training camp.

However, Scola’s five-assist performance said more about the Suns and their new offense than simply him being the top player in that category.

The Suns, we know, are undergoing a changing of the guard—quite literally with Dragic replacing Steve Nash.

The offense is changing with the changing personnel.

While he won’t be the focal point of the offense, Scola—and his position at either high post spot, will be featured more so than in years past.

(Think Boris Diaw; the good Boris Diaw.)

“I’ve been playing this offense for quite a few years now,” he said referring to his time with the Houston Rockets. “It’s a good offense.”

Timing and spacing are key according to Scola.

“You have to be a willing passer and a good passer,” he said.

“With this offense, especially, (passing from the high post) is very important. If you don’t have that, then it’s a big problem because you almost have nothing.”

Head coach Alvin Gentry has always been impressed with Scola’s ability, even more so now that the two are on the same side.

“He’s a very good passer. He’s a very good high post passer,” Gentry said. “He has a real good feel of where guys are going to be (in the offense). He himself is very good at knowing when to cut and when not to.”

Scola said when he first entered the NBA, he looked to score first. Now the five-year veteran said he’s worked to become more well rounded out on the court.

He called the team’s first week under the new offense a work in progress.

“It was what it should be a week after the first practice,” he said. “It wasn’t great. There’s still a lot of work to, but we’re working on getting it better.”

After a week-long training camp in San Diego, the Suns returned to familiar ground at US Airways Center on Monday.

Dragic practiced fully for the first time and according to Gentry is expected to play some in the preseason opener Wednesday at Sacramento.

Shannon Brown and PJ Tucker bumped heads during practice. Brown needed seven stitches while Tucker was sporting a bandage over his right eye.

This has been a rough stretch for Tucker, who got poked in the eye during camp and is now wearing goggles.

Intrepid

Craig Grialou

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Suns offense set up to highlight Scola