Tischer is Finally A Sun

[George O'Brien]

Suns.com

Suns Sign Forward Lucas Tischer


Posted: Sept. 12, 2005
The Phoenix Suns today announced the signing of rookie free-agent forward Lucas Tischer, who was a member of the team’s summer league entry at the Reebok Vegas Summer League in July.

The 6-9, 230-pound native of Brazil averaged 6.0 points, 3.7 rebounds and shot a team-high .688 from the field (15-22 FG) in 13.7 minutes in six summer league games for the Suns.

Tischer, who was not selected in the 2005 NBA Draft, played the past two seasons in Brazil. In 2004-05, the 22-year-old averaged 9.2 points, 6.6 rebounds and 1.2 blocks in 21.1 minutes in 20 games for San Jose dos Pinhais.

He will attempt to become only the eighth Brazilian to play in the NBA, joining current players Nene (Denver Nuggets), Anderson Varejao (Cleveland Cavaliers), Rafael Araujo (Toronto Raptors) and his new teammate Suns guard Leandro Barbosa, along with former NBA players Rolando Ferreira (Portland, 1988-89), Joao Jose Vianna (Dallas, 1991-92) and San Antonio/New Orleans’ Alex Garcia (2003-05).

Tischer appears to be the kind of player the Development league was designed for. It will be interesting to see if he shows anything during the pre-season games.

 

[The Commish]

Good, now I can sleep much better knowing that Lucas is officially on our squad.

 

[Mainstreet]

Maybe it's just early in the morning (and not enough coffee) but I like what I see of the curent Suns team.

The primary reason for my optimism is that D'Antonni appears to have filled the roster with players he feels can play in his system. Most of the wing players are versatile and can play many positions and above all shoot. Diaw is an unproven shooter but I will give him the benefit of the doubt because he is young, very athletic and has tremendous upside/skills. Just what Diaw can do in the Suns system is unknown.

The ace in the whole for me is the Suns have some flexibility going forward if they are missing a link (like a backup PG or a 4/5) come mid-season with some bargaining chips (the trade exception and the two additional first round draft picks gained from Atlanta plus their own two first round picks) to make a trade happen if need be.

Except for Steve Nash clearly defined at PG, this team seems to be a team designed for putting the best five ballplayers on the floor at one time and letting them play. If I were another team, I would not like playing the Suns as they tend to morph right before your eyes.

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Tischer and Thompson appear good bets for the NBADL barring injuries. There appears to very little downside with Tischer (especially with a minimal investment). I don't think most people know enough about him to even evaluate him. However, just based upon his size and athletic ability, the Suns need to give him a good look. It will probably take at least two years to know if he is going to develop the ability to play in the NBA.

 

[elindholm]

The thing is, it was never a rule that a basketball team had to have a certain distribution of players on the floor at any one time. And yet, that's what everyone has done since the early days of the game. Maybe that's because it proves to be effective, while contrarian fooling around proves to be exploitable.

I think the team will be fine, but I'm really not a fan of this "five best players" rhetoric. It's just this season's euphemism for small ball, following "skill ball" of a year ago. Morphing from one organically flawed lineup to another isn't going to disturb any opponent, and changing the name isn't going to fool anybody.

I wish the Suns had a shot blocker, but oh well. I do expect their defensive rebounding to be better.

 

[George O'Brien]

I'm not sure this is a question of "five best players" but the "five best OFFENSIVE players" that concerns me. While I love having a lot of offense, I hate giving up easy baskets and that's what happens too often with small ball.

Sound defense starts with good technique and proper rotations, but none of it matters without a major expenditure of effort. Small ball requires even more effort than defending in a standard defense. Last season the Suns not only played small but played their guys really long minutes. The result was very inconsistent defense.

I am hopeful that the combination of more size and more depth will have an impact on making it harder on opponents to score. If it does, the Sun will be better than last year. If it doesn't, then losing JJ's offense will really hurt.

 

[Neo]

I see this as nothing but disappointing. Tischer will almost certainly take the place of Paul Shirley. He is a reserve PF that will never see the light of day but provides none of the entertainment that Shirley did.

 

[George O'Brien]

I see this as nothing but disappointing. Tischer will almost certainly take the place of Paul Shirley. He is a reserve PF that will never see the light of day but provides none of the entertainment that Shirley did.

Development League.

The Suns have three inside guys over the age of 30. This is a long term project.

 

[PakistaniRambo]

i agree with whoever said we need a shot blocker. i think we have enough rebounding and defensive specialists to hold us over for a while. But having a shot blocker, much like Hunter except more serviceable, would be great. Hunter was great at times against certain finesse players such as Garnett, but against a power guy he was either dominated or didn't even play.

so what would u guys rather have? A finesse shotblocker or a power player? D'Antoni obviously would rather have the latter.

 

[elindholm]

so what would u guys rather have? A finesse shotblocker or a power player? D'Antoni obviously would rather have the latter.

I don't think D'Antoni cares, as long as the player can make an open 15-footer. Thomas and Grant can, while Hunter can't.

 

[SirStefan32]

so what would u guys rather have? A finesse shotblocker or a power player? D'Antoni obviously would rather have the latter.

I don't think D'Antoni cares, as long as the player can make an open 15-footer. Thomas and Grant can, while Hunter can't.

Bingo!

 

[elindholm]

Jumanji!

 

[SirStefan32]

YAY!