Why Luis Scola and Carl Landry are One of the Best PF Rotations in the NBA

The Rockets are fully amidst the playoff picture in the Western Conference, something many analysts, and so called "experts," claimed wouldn't be the case. People are still trying to find the answers to how the Rockets continue to win without both Tracy McGrady or Yao Ming.

The defense? That can't be it, the Rockets numbers are down across the board from previous seasons. So then the answer becomes consensus, the often overused cliche "the sum of all parts is greater than one individual." The Rockets win by teamwork, team rebounding, and everyone having each other's back.

Heart and desire for the ball are qualities you can't teach. The Rockets have those qualities and execute that game-plan better than any other team in the league. But no matter how much a team effort is involved, a team has a star player, and one whom a team can rely on consistently every game. And that's the power forward rotation Rocket fans have come to know as, "Scolandry."

We all know about Pau Gasol, and Lamar Odom, or Carlos Boozer and Paul Millsap, but what about Luis Scola and Carl Landry? Could they have a legitimate argument towards being one of the top power forward rotations in the league? When I mean, "the top," I'm specifically referring to one of the top three to five rotations in the entire league.

With tonight's game against the Kings, Carl Landry scored 20 off the bench in what is slowly becoming a routine game for him - making him one of the top Sixth Man candidates in the league. Scola did his thing in the post grabbing yet another double double with 22 points, and 12 rebounds. Their season stats are as follows:

Luis Scola: 15.1 points per game, 9.9 rebounds per game on 51 percent from the floor.

Carl Landry: 15.1 points per game, 5.6 rebounds per game on 55 percent from the floor.

Put them up against the other top power forward rotations in the league; they'd compare favorably, in fact, likely be the most impressive.

30.2 points per game, 15.5 rebounds per game = Scola/Landry
28.1 points per game, 16.9 rebounds per game = Duncan/McDyess
33.3 points per game, 13.7 rebounds per game = Dirk/Humphries
23.1 points per game, 10.7 rebounds per game = KG / Sheed
28.0 points per game, 17.0 rebounds per game = Boozer / Millsap

31.4 points per game, 16.6 rebounds per game = Bosh/Johnson

Again, this is just a statistical breakdown, not the entire package, otherwise, KG and Sheed are obviously much better than the stats would indicate, especially when you factor in defensive impact. While on the other hand, combos like Bosh and Amir, or Boozer and Millsap lack defensively.

It's hard to judge, because for Dallas, Toronto, and San Antonio, it's more the impact of the superstar player, rather than a concerted one-two punch at PF. Obviously, you'd take Duncan, Bosh, Dirk, and KG over Scola, thus not making it much a comparison, but, how about over Boozer and Millsap?

They certainly play harder, which is no slight against Boozer and Millsap. Are slightly more efficient (though it's roughly equal, certainly not an advantage for either), slightly better defensively, and have been scoring at a higher offensive output this season.

In fact, Scola and Landry, both are shooting over 51% from the field, and are a more efficient duo than any of the others listed above, not counting Chris Bosh and Amir Johnson. Landry has become the Rockets go to player in the fourth quarter, and Scola after a rough start has been the Rockets most consistent player.

Defensively, they aren't special, but they've proven they can rebound the ball, and their "go get it nature," makes them at least average on that end of the floor, with their physicality, and in Landry's case, athleticism. 

They may not possess the same name value, but it's time for Scola and Landry's name to be heard. The Rockets win with a team effort, but there's no doubt who's leading the charge, and that's one of the best power forward rotations in the league, Carl Landry and Luis Scola.

Comments are always welcome, topic is definitely up for debate.