Gentry: ‘I’ll be shocked if (Lopez) doesn’t play’

[Bufalay]

PHOENIX — For the past month and a half, the Suns have stuck with a wait-and-see approach with Robin Lopez.

Even at the beginning of his back injury there was no proclamation that he’d be shut down for 4-6 weeks, he just wasn’t going to accompany the team on its late-season Eastern road trip, which made me think originally he’d return for that April 7 showdown against San Antonio.

Then he was ruled out for the rest of the regular season, then he was ruled out for the first round and then he was ruled out for the beginning of the San Antonio series, although by this point it was kind of a day-by-day thing.

As time went on, Lopez continued to get positive reviews from his weekly checkups with a back specialist, and as the playoffs wore on he started working out with the team and then even practicing. He had no more hurdles to clear, yet the Suns still weren’t confident about sending him out there against Tim Duncan.

Finally, this week the Suns have changed their tune. Lopez is expected to be in the lineup for Monday’s Game 1 of the Western Conference Finals against the Lakers.

“I think he’s gotten better,” said head coach Alvin Gentry. “He continues to improve. It’s one of those situations where we basically have four more days. We’ll see where it leads us from there. I think he’s gotten better, and I’ll be shocked if he doesn’t play, but we’ll see what happens the next four days.”

How effective Lopez will be and how many minutes he will play is a completely different story. The seven-foot center has been shut down because of a bulging disk in his back that led to some nerve issues in his right leg.

The Suns have been cautious with him for a reason. We’re talking about their 22-year-old center of the future, and a back injury could be a career-altering ailment. Lopez said last week that once he returns he will not be at risk of re-injuring the back, which is why the Suns have made sure he’s right before throwing him into the fire.

Because he is theoretically fully rehabilitated, it’s possibly he won’t just be a shell of himself like Brandon Roy was when coming back early. However, no matter how much the Suns try to simulate it this week, Game 1 (if he does indeed play in it) will be Lopez’s first action since March. There will be some rust, particularly since he’s going up against guys like Pau Gasol and Andrew Bynum.

Still, at one point I did not think the Suns could beat the Spurs without Lopez (how wrong that was), but I really don’t think the Suns can beat the Lakers without a positive contribution from Robin. The Lakers are just too big, and even 15 (if not 20) minutes of Robin banging on them and taking up space inside would be huge for Phoenix.

Of course, he could suffer a setback and not come back at all, but as things stand now it looks like Lopez will play a role in the Western Conference Finals.

“He probably would have played if we had games to play now,” Gentry said. “Fortunately for us we have a week between the games, and I think he’ll be ready to play. That’s just my guess.”

Nash banged up, but good to go

Although he still looked like a boxer who went the distance at practice Wednesday, Steve Nash said there’s “nothing” his eye injury has prevented him from doing, “everything is fine” and that “oh yeah” he’d be playing if the Western Conference Finals started tonight.

Said head coach Alvin Gentry, “I told somebody you’ve got to listen to Barry Melrose. He’s Canadian, it doesn’t matter. Facial lacerations don’t count in Canada. He says if you don’t play in a sporting event because of a facial laceration then you lose your citizenship in Canada. Steve is fine. He’s banged up, he’s got a black eye, but it’s not anything unusual coming out of a series with San Antonio. He’ll be ready to go, and he’ll be ready to play.”

I think that means don’t expect Nash on the Game 1 injury report.

http://valleyofthesuns.com/2010/05/...theSuns+(Valley+of+the+Suns)&utm_content=ESPN

 

[JCSunsfan]

Its good that the Suns are being cautious here. Its good pr for players and the injury can have serious side effects. Its just this type of injury that cut short Ralph Sampson's career.

 

[DevonCardsFan]

Nice even if he is Rusty I'm sure Lopez can do more then Collins. But inactivity will make the guy rusty I'm sure.

 

[dodie53]

play him if he's healthy,
he can contribute more than Collins for sure.

 

[AfroSuns]

I like how they took their time before re-inserting him in the line-up. I remember reading somewhere how Lopez was grumpy during the Spurs series, perhaps feeling he is ready to go. You know that with Amare's and Hill's experience with injury, they are not going to mortgage his future, which is a good decision.

 

[Divide Et Impera]

Match Lopez on Gasol, Amare on Bynum, hide JRich on Odom and put Hill on Bryant. That's how I would run it....

We need you, RoLo!!!!

 

[coachNick]

The Suns have some match ups they can exploit - but will that be good enough to overcome the Lakers size? Check out my video blog for a complete preview of the series: bballbreakdown.com

 

[ninous26]

Match Lopez on Gasol, Amare on Bynum, hide JRich on Odom and put Hill on Bryant. That's how I would run it....

We need you, RoLo!!!!

This is exactly how I'd have it too.

Gasol>Lopez
Amare>Bynum
Odom and Jrich both have their advantages so thats even IMO
Bryant>Hill
Nash>Fisher

Suns bench> Laker bench.


This is gonna be close.. I hope the suns smoke these guys. BEAT L.A!

 

[Ode to Ocho]

Phoenix Suns secret weapon: Side Show Bob

 

[ninous26]

huh?

 

[Tyler]

huh?

Yea he doesnt seem too bright. I would guess he has never been to LA or even California. My guess is he lives somewhere in the midwest in his grandmas basement. Maybe he should go on the Australian virgin show. THen again, it wouldnt surprise me if nobody bid on him.

 

[Ode to Ocho]

Actually I'm a season ticket holder. My only regret is how fast this series is going to be over in.

 

[ninous26]

No wai?!?!?!? So what does having season tickets have to do with playoffs again?

 

[Tyler]

Actually I'm a season ticket holder. My only regret is how fast this series is going to be over in.

On the bright side you wont have to buy any more tickets this season.

 

[ninous26]

On the bright side you wont have to buy any more tickets this season.

Yeah, cause we all know that the Suns are going to SMASH THE LAKERS!!!

 

[Ode to Ocho]

Full of false bravado and hope. How Adorable.

 

[ninous26]

Yeah for you!! lol awwie

 

[Chaplin]

Full of false bravado and hope. How Adorable.

Pot meet kettle.

Congratulations on winning the title of "This Year's Most Annoying Laker Fan Trolling a Phoenix Suns Board!"

 

[boisesuns]

Pot meet kettle.

Congratulations on winning the title of "This Year's Most Annoying Laker Fan Trolling a Phoenix Suns Board!"

Let's save that title and see if there are other deserving candidates. I want to see where each one stands.

 

[chickenhead]

Full of false bravado and hope. How Adorable.

There's no need to be patronizing. Pretty sure you're not playing for either team.

 

[Chaplin]

There's no need to be patronizing. Pretty sure you're not playing for either team.

Every post he writes is patronizing. Get used to it until his inevitable banning.

 

[Covert Rain]

Match Lopez on Gasol, Amare on Bynum, hide JRich on Odom and put Hill on Bryant. That's how I would run it....

We need you, RoLo!!!!

That won't work. The Lakers go to Odom when he has a small guy on him. JRich will get posted on and shot over all day long. Not to mention Gasol is too fast for Robin. Robin is slow on his feet and Gasol can drive around him.

This series is going to be a match-up nightmare for the Suns because of the Lakers size.

Hill and JRich are going to switch up on Kobe to throw different looks at him. You can't keep JRich on Kobe all night because JRich will be too exhausted to play any offense. As stated above JRich is way to small to play Odom.

That Lakers team is going to be tough to guard for the Suns. We really need Lopez so that we can use Frye when Bynum goes too the bench and they put Odom in the game.

I just don't think Robin is fast enough to guard Odom or Gasol. Which means we are going to depend on Frye to man up this series or we are in trouble. Frye is going to have to guard either Odom or Gasol for long stretches during this series.

 

[Mainstreet]

Here is a tidbit from Paul Coro's blog at azcentral dated May 13th, 2010.

And the temper?

"Still there," Dudley said with eyes widened. "It's still there. That's good, though. You want your bigs to have a temper. I don't mind him fouling and messing someone up. That's a part of the game. You want your bigs like that."

He is supposed to be an interior intimidator, after all. At the same time, he has taken down a practice court playoff banner in frustration and had to be chastised by the staff for blowing his lid during practice action. He is extremely competitive. The broken-door incident came after losing a two-on-two game.

Barring an unforeseen setback, Lopez will start Game 1 on Monday.

I hope all works out and Lopez returns against the Lakers in game 1. I like players that hate losing.

http://www.azcentral.com/sports/Blog/PaulCoro/83339

 

[D-Dogg]

This is exactly how I'd have it too.

Gasol>Lopez
Amare>Bynum
Odom and Jrich both have their advantages so thats even IMO
Bryant>Hill
Nash>Fisher

Suns bench> Laker bench.


This is gonna be close.. I hope the suns smoke these guys. BEAT L.A!

Where is Artest in your mix?

Artest will be guarding JRich, Kobe on Hill, Bynum on Lopez I'd guess, Pau and Amare. When Frye comes in, LO will spell Bynum and guard him for the stretch out to the 3 point line.

 

[JCSunsfan]

That won't work. The Lakers go to Odom when he has a small guy on him. JRich will get posted on and shot over all day long. Not to mention Gasol is too fast for Robin. Robin is slow on his feet and Gasol can drive around him.

This series is going to be a match-up nightmare for the Suns because of the Lakers size.

Hill and JRich are going to switch up on Kobe to throw different looks at him. You can't keep JRich on Kobe all night because JRich will be too exhausted to play any offense. As stated above JRich is way to small to play Odom.

That Lakers team is going to be tough to guard for the Suns. We really need Lopez so that we can use Frye when Bynum goes too the bench and they put Odom in the game.

I just don't think Robin is fast enough to guard Odom or Gasol. Which means we are going to depend on Frye to man up this series or we are in trouble. Frye is going to have to guard either Odom or Gasol for long stretches during this series.

In the past, Amare has matched up defensively pretty well against Gasol (I am thinking of the Memphis sweep). Amare is going to have to step up and play D in this series.

Even if they take advantage of a height mismatch with Odom, his production has been inconsistent. Make Odom shoot. If we get into a shooting contest with the Lakers, we will win that.