Len fractures finger

[BC867]

It all comes down to one word -- depend.

You can either depend on a ballplayer to stay healthy most of the time or, as with Len and Bledsoe, you can't.

Alibis don't give you steady minutes throughout a season -- from pre- to post-.

Alibis are explanations of failure.

That is why I have been sitting back, chuckling at all this talk about 60+ wins.

We are going to have a good record . . . some of the time.

 

[Phrazbit]

4 breaks in one year is a reason for concern. There is nothing that can be done about it. Anyone who thinks it is nothing is fooling themselves. Miles Plumlee has played much more time, at a more intense rate, and has none of the issues. You have to wonder if there was a nutrition deficiency when he was younger or something.

I doubt it. His parents had money to pay for gymnastic instruction and he has been in the Ukrainian national basketball system since he was 13. And while the Ukraine is not an ideal place to grow up, its still a better standard of living that just about every African nation we've gotten NBA players from.

 

[AzStevenCal]

It all comes down to one word -- depend.

You can either depend on a ballplayer to stay healthy most of the time or, as with Len and Bledsoe, you can't.

Alibis don't give you steady minutes throughout a season -- from pre- to post-.

Alibis are explanations of failure.

That is why I have been sitting back, chuckling at all this talk about 60+ wins.

We are going to have a good record . . . some of the time.

There has been plenty of talk about 60+ wins but I don't think anyone is suggesting it will happen. To the best of my recollection, no one here has predicted more than 54 or 55 wins.

Steve

 

[BC867]

There has been plenty of talk about 60+ wins ...

Steve

And that's what I've been chuckling at.

We're not in that league.

 

[KloD]

It's ridiculous not to be concerned with his seemingly constant injury status.
It's also ridiculous to be over concerned with pinky injuries.

I think most would agree.. my concern is his inability to get consistent time on the court, practice or game. l'm sure he'll heal from this quickly and we can all hope he finds a way to avoid these injuries.

 

[Chaplin]

Yup... I'm done with this conversation now. Way to kill any conversation with a Completely BS post considering NONE of us said the above. We just said his injuries are worrisome and now you come back with that hyperbolic crap?

Stupid and unnecessary.

Then answer the question! You have a very valid complaint, but you've done nothing to address how to proceed.

That's correct, nobodyy said the above. None of you said anything except he's brittle--which may be true, but it feels like that thought needs to be completed by trying to come up with a solution to what you obviously think is a problem. If you think re-aggravating a previous fracture is symptomatic of being injury-prone, fine. I can't really disagree with that except to say this current break appears to be a freak accident and wouldn't be strictly defined as part of an injury-prone player.

 

[AzStevenCal]

And that's what I've been chuckling at.

We're not in that league.

You don't think we're in the league of teams that can win 54 games? Vegas doesn't either, so we'll see.

Steve

 

[Errntknght]

4 breaks in one year is a reason for concern. There is nothing that can be done about it. Anyone who thinks it is nothing is fooling themselves. Miles Plumlee has played much more time, at a more intense rate, and has none of the issues. You have to wonder if there was a nutrition deficiency when he was younger or something.

I think there's a good chance his nutrition is playing a role. It needn't be from childhood - bones are constantly undergoing mantainence and it could be a current nutrient deficiency that's at the root. Shortly after we drafted him his girlfriend said the he was enamored with Burger King and was eating all his meals there, then she added that she was getting him to branch out a bit and eat at Boston Chicken some of the time. That does not sound like a good way to get a well balanced diet. Four bone breaks in a year and a half should set off an alarm in someone's head - call in a nutritionist.

 

[Phrazbit]

I think there's a good chance his nutrition is playing a role. It needn't be from childhood - bones are constantly undergoing mantainence and it could be a current nutrient deficiency that's at the root. Shortly after we drafted him his girlfriend said the he was enamored with Burger King and was eating all his meals there, then she added that she was getting him to branch out a bit and eat at Boston Chicken some of the time. That does not sound like a good way to get a well balanced diet. Four bone breaks in a year and a half should set off an alarm in someone's head - call in a nutritionist.

I'm sure they've been talking about his diet since his second ankle fracture. I doubt this is about nutrition. A human body is not designed to grow that huge. Bone issues, joint issues, back issues, these are all very common in dudes that end up being enormous like Len is, sure there are the rare guys who end up that huge and were blessed with the structure to handle all that height and weight, but a lot are not. Hopefully Len is not just an injury case but if he is he would hardly be the first 7 foot tall dude to have bone problems wreck his career.

As to Chap's question about what we should do about it. Wait and see? There is nothing else we really can do, but of course we're going to talk about it. Releasing him is pointless, trading him would likely yield zero return. So we just have to wait and hope that the early indicators of his career are false ones.

 

[elindholm]

Then answer the question! You have a very valid complaint, but you've done nothing to address how to proceed.

Well, there have been some on this board who have said, "The Suns shouldn't pursue Center X, because he'd interfere with Len's development." Most likely, the front office never fell victim to that kind of thinking, but if they ever did, they need to stop. The only one interfering with Len's development is Len. If there's a chance to get another center prospect, do it, and let Len's development fall where it may.

 

[Errntknght]

I'm sure they've been talking about his diet since his second ankle fracture. I doubt this is about nutrition. A human body is not designed to grow that huge. Bone issues, joint issues, back issues, these are all very common in dudes that end up being enormous like Len is, sure there are the rare guys who end up that huge and were blessed with the structure to handle all that height and weight, but a lot are not. Hopefully Len is not just an injury case but if he is he would hardly be the first 7 foot tall dude to have bone problems wreck his career.

Hopefully you are right about his diet but the finger breaks are not due to his size so I still have doubts. Stress fractures can be dealt with by muscle conditioning, which I'm sure the training staff knows all about but impact fractures are another story.

 

[devilalum]

If the Suns were in the middle of a playoff push he'd tape'em together and play. Makes since to wait and try and get it healed before real games.

 

[Cheesebeef]

I'm sure they've been talking about his diet since his second ankle fracture. I doubt this is about nutrition. A human body is not designed to grow that huge. Bone issues, joint issues, back issues, these are all very common in dudes that end up being enormous like Len is, sure there are the rare guys who end up that huge and were blessed with the structure to handle all that height and weight, but a lot are not. Hopefully Len is not just an injury case but if he is he would hardly be the first 7 foot tall dude to have bone problems wreck his career.

As to Chap's question about what we should do about it. Wait and see? There is nothing else we really can do, but of course we're going to talk about it. Releasing him is pointless, trading him would likely yield zero return. So we just have to wait and hope that the early indicators of his career are false ones.

bingo.

but depending on him and assuming the position is fine/bringing in someone might hinder his development shouldn't be part of any equation moving forward.

 

[sunsfan88]

Steven Adams is dominating right now.

****.

 

[Chaplin]

Coro just tweeted that Len is back on the court practicing with his fingers taped.