Robin Lopez Update

[Cheesebeef]

'Just one difference. Frye is a wing player and weak defensively. Jones is a legitimate Center.

Dwayne Jones may have legitimate center size, but he's not a legitimate NBA PLAYER.

Waiting 'til the playoffs is not the time to try new chemistry. Remember KT in the second game of the Spurs series?

Get Jones in there as backup now with three games to go.

I would have expected Alvin Gentry to do that.

you would expect Gentry to put a complete and utter scrub who hasn't been able to crack ANY NBA team for 77 games into the mix with four games to go? That makes as much sense as starting a diet tomorrow and going to KFC to get their new Double Down for lunch.

 

[BC867]

That makes as much sense as starting a diet tomorrow and going to KFC to get their new Double Down for lunch.

'Could get a broiled breast and wing with corn and a side salad. 'Pretty healthy meal from a fast food place.

Now about the scrub. It's almost playoff time. Power rules inside.

A role-playing rebounding defensive Center alongside Amare benefits the team. That's all he has to be.

But I realize it's not going to happen.

At least Frye made some good defensive plays and two important 3's at the end vs. the Rockets.

Let's see how far it takes us. I'll be rooting for the Suns, just as I have for four decades.

 

[Cheesebeef]

'Could get a broiled breast and wing with corn and a side salad. 'Pretty healthy meal from a fast food place.

Now about the scrub. It's almost playoff time. Power rules inside.

A role-playing rebounding defensive Center alongside Amare benefits the team. That's all he has to be.

But I realize it's not going to happen.

At least Frye made some good defensive plays and two important 3's at the end vs. the Rockets.

Let's see how far it takes us. I'll be rooting for the Suns, just as I have for four decades.

BC, don't get me wrong. I think we ultimately need size to win this thing in the future and Gentry realized that getting Lopez time and starting him once healthy. We just don't have the horses to do so right now and putting a donkey in there (which is what Jones is) and paint him up as a horse ain't gonna help us.

 

[cly2tw]

Lopez showed how we could play with Amare and Nash going forward, without wearing Nash out too early in the season: Feeding the paint. Lopez's catch of passes has improved a lot over the year and he is a big body who converts in close range. With the pressure Amare and Lopez put on opp.'s paint it opens up our 3pt shooting big time, while Nash needs not to dribble-drive too much to create good opportunities. In this sense, signing JOneal for MLE in the summer would appear the best move for us, next to shipping LB out.

 

[Cheesebeef]

Lopez showed how we could play with Amare and Nash going forward, without wearing Nash out too early in the season: Feeding the paint. Lopez's catch of passes has improved a lot over the year and he is a big body who converts in close range. With the pressure Amare and Lopez put on opp.'s paint it opens up our 3pt shooting big time, while Nash needs not to dribble-drive too much to create good opportunities. In this sense, signing JOneal for MLE in the summer would appear the best move for us, next to shipping LB out.

dude, you know the only thing Sarver will do over the summer is CUT payroll, not add to it. I expect Barbs to be sold off and maybe we get someone with the vet's minimum exception to play back up big. That's BEST case scenario IMO. Worst case... Amare leaves and we're just completely screwed for years.

 

[Mainstreet]

Gentry might be the best HC we've had here since Fitz. I'd like to pick his brain(as long as Nash wasn't in the room of course) .

This could turn out to be true. Only time will tell. The thing about Gentry is that he soaks up basketball coaching techniques like a sponge. Instead of discarding DA's system like Porter he added improvements like extensively using the bench and emphasizing defense. This shows a lot of smarts.

 

[Errntknght]

Chemistry, Shemistry... rebounding is more critical at this juncture. Heck, its hard to imagine him contributing less than Collins - or Frye, when his long range stroke is off. Giving him a look has no downside to it that I can see. The odds are he is a donkey, but if he proves to be a mule instead, he could help us in our desperate straits.

I don't have to remind you that Cheese dismissing an unknown player is a pretty darn good endorsement in itself...

 

[Chaplin]

Chemistry, Shemistry... rebounding is more critical at this juncture. Heck, its hard to imagine him contributing less than Collins - or Frye, when his long range stroke is off. Giving him a look has no downside to it that I can see. The odds are he is a donkey, but if he proves to be a mule instead, he could help us in our desperate straits.

I don't have to remind you that Cheese dismissing an unknown player is a pretty darn good endorsement in itself...

If the guys doesn't know how to play our style and doesn't know where to be to allow Amare space inside, how is that going to help? You just don't throw anybody in there and say, "rebound." Haven't you learned anything from seeing Jarron Collins in the starting lineup??

 

[AzStevenCal]

Chemistry, Shemistry... rebounding is more critical at this juncture. Heck, its hard to imagine him contributing less than Collins - or Frye, when his long range stroke is off. Giving him a look has no downside to it that I can see. The odds are he is a donkey, but if he proves to be a mule instead, he could help us in our desperate straits.

I don't have to remind you that Cheese dismissing an unknown player is a pretty darn good endorsement in itself...

I don't think any of us are crying for him to not get court time, we're just suggesting it's a bit early to rip Genty for not having used him yet. It's only been 3 games since he was signed. Also, the odds of an untested D league player actually being better than an NBA player already on the team aren't very good. I want to see him play on the off chance that he can be a suitable replacement for Robin but it's a long shot at best.

Right now it seems like anyone would be an improvement over Collins but he can't possibly be in NBA game shape with all the time he's spent on the bench. Perhaps they feel he can get back half a step with more playing time. Ahh, who am I kidding. I'd bench Collins, move Frye back to his role and give the DLeaguer a chance too. But here's the rub, I really believe that Gentry would/will do this unless he sees a good reason not to.

Steve

 

[slinslin]

This could turn out to be true. Only time will tell. The thing about Gentry is that he soaks up basketball coaching techniques like a sponge. Instead of discarding DA's system like Porter he added improvements like extensively using the bench and emphasizing defense. This shows a lot of smarts.

Ummm well those are the orders from Kerr, he better do that or he will end up like D'Antoni.

Gentry is hard to judge right now because you don't know how much influence management has. Who knows if it was Gentry really who decided to give Robin Lopez an opportunity or if management saw the team fall apart and told him to give the young guys more of an opportunity now.

 

[SactownSunsFan]

Today is the day - reevaluation.

Hopefully the news finds it's way down to us ASAP. It'd be nice to know if and/or when we may get RoLo back.

 

[JCSunsfan]

'Just one difference. Frye is a wing player and weak defensively. Jones is a legitimate Center.

Waiting 'til the playoffs is not the time to try new chemistry. Remember KT in the second game of the Spurs series?

Get Jones in there as backup now with three games to go.

I would have expected Alvin Gentry to do that.

Jones is not a legitimate anything. He has done absolutely nothing at the NBA level. He is a body for practice and insurance incase of some sort of bench clearing brawl or something.

 

[Cheesebeef]

Chemistry, Shemistry... rebounding is more critical at this juncture. Heck, its hard to imagine him contributing less than Collins - or Frye, when his long range stroke is off. Giving him a look has no downside to it that I can see. The odds are he is a donkey, but if he proves to be a mule instead, he could help us in our desperate straits.

I don't have to remind you that Cheese dismissing an unknown player is a pretty darn good endorsement in itself...

sheesh. not sure the cheap shot was needed... but am I know for dismissing d-league players who end up being good? When was the last time that happened?

and you see no downside to playing a guy who hasn't been able to stick on an NBA team for 4 years right in the middle of chasing down homecourt advantage which this team desperately needs? That makes very little sense to me.

 

[Mainstreet]

I wish the Suns had scooped up Tolliver from the D-League instead of GS.

 

[Cheesebeef]

BC, isn't the fact that Collins (who is really pretty atrocious and always has been) is getting any kind of minutes proof that Gentry gets that the team needs size in the game? I mean, he's a horrendous big man who's literally in there to be a body. I think Gentry gets it, he just doesn't have what he needs to implement it without Robin.

 

[Roca Dolla]

Lopez Injury Update

PHOENIX - The Phoenix Suns today made the following announcement:
Suns center Robin Lopez was seen today by specialist Dr. Christopher Huston of The Orthopedic Clinic Association (TOCA) in Phoenix. Lopez, who has missed the club's last eight games due to an injured back, did not receive an epidural and is progressing well. He will continue to undergo rehabilitation and will be re-evaluated in one week.
The second-year player was the Suns' first-round pick (15th overall) of the 2008 NBA Draft. The 7-0, 255-pound center has blossomed after being inserted into the Suns' starting lineup on Jan. 18, helping to lead the Suns to a 22-9 (.710) record in his starts. As a starter, Lopez has averaged 11.3 points, 6.3 rebounds and 1.1 blocks in 24.5 minutes.
For the season, the Stanford product is posting career-highs in points (8.4), rebounds (4.9), blocks (1.04) and minutes (19.3). His 58.8-percent field-goal accuracy (171/291) would rank third in the NBA if he reached the statistical minimum needed to qualify (min. 300 field goals made).

http://www.brightsideofthesun.com/2010/4/12/1417605/robin-lopez-back-injury-update#storyjump

 

[Chaplin]

Not receiving an epidural is a good sign.

 

[Griffin]

Are we to infer from this that Lopez will now miss the start of the first-round playoff series? He is to be re-evaluated in one week and game 1 is before that.

 

[Cheesebeef]

Are we to infer from this that Lopez will now miss the start of the first-round playoff series? He is to be re-evaluated in one week and game 1 is before that.

i think that's safe to assume. I mean, he's still going through another week or rehab before they even reeval him to see if he can start basketball activities and even then, he'll be pretty out of game shape best case he's cleared next week to start practicing again.

hopefully we get hot from 3 in the our series, or get a banged up Denver and then get Lopez back for the 2nd round. That what I see as best case scenario.

 

[Sunburn]

For God sakes, Just give Jones 3 minutes in the next game. He can't be any worse than Collins who can barely move. Collins is like a 6'11" tree with two branches, only is less athletic and can't hold his ground against a large gush of wind.

 

[Bufalay]

Reminds me a lot of the garbage updates we kept hearing before the 2006 playoffs about Kurt coming back from his injury. Of course, by the time he was ready it was too late.

 

[cly2tw]

What's the roster policy for playoffs? It used to be only 12, but after merging injury list into inactive players, I'm not sure whether a team could still carry 3 more on inactive list into playoffs.

Anyway, we need bigbody to be there early in the game, to avoid too many fouls on Amare. The other team will try to get him into foul trouble as the safest strategy to win, next to wearing Nash out. So, if we could carry 3 inactives, we should give Jones some minutes to get familiar with the game plans.

 

[BC867]

BC, isn't the fact that Collins (who is really pretty atrocious and always has been) is getting any kind of minutes proof that Gentry gets that the team needs size in the game? I mean, he's a horrendous big man who's literally in there to be a body. I think Gentry gets it, he just doesn't have what he needs to implement it without Robin.

I agree with everything you've said.

Then, for the same reason, I'd like to see Jones getting some time in these last few regular season games as a role-playing Center. And in the playoffs until Lopez is ready to return.

And if not, we'd have two legitimate Centers in the mix.

I believe very strongly, you all may disagree, that a good 12-man roster should have 3 legitimate Point Guards and 3 legitimate Centers, so if one at either position goes down, you still have two.

 

[mojorizen7]

Just let the kid rest & fully rehab for **** sake.
Looks like we finally get a legit young bigman and some of you want to risk a nasty back injury just so we can get out of the 1st rd?

 

[jagu]

Who would have thought Robin Lopez would be such a difference maker. When he was drafted it was almost unanimous that this guy was a bad pick lol.