Alex Len and his future

[Marz11]

His improvement from not knowing where to stand in preseason is amazing.

Whoa whoa whoa. Everyone knows you don't learn anything by playing. All the education happens in practice. Or with the coaching staff. Or haven't you been reading the "Develop Our Young Players" thread?

For me it's both/and.

Yes practice is important but figuring it out in the reality of a game is just as important.

Confidence especially can't be improved in practice.

Archie's jump shot for example won't get better until he gets given game time to shoot through the fear every time he takes a jump shot. His jump shot in practice and the D-League looks completely different to NBA games.

[Damkac]

showed last night that he has great passing ability as well.

He was robbed of an assist. Stats shows only 2 when it should be 3

[bigfoot]

showed last night that he has great passing ability as well.

He was robbed of an assist. Stats shows only 2 when it should be 3

I watched a Suns highlight reel last night and saw at least 14 assists. The official boxscore showed only 12. The statistician for the game can be overly particular on an assist. I understand the one that works the Clippers game for Chris Paul is very generous in his definition of an assist.

[bigfoot]

Len top 5 in blocks per 48 minutes.

[bigfoot]

The Suns would have to modify their system to get Len additional touches.

Right now he is merely there cleaning up missed shots, receiving drop down passes within 3-4 feet.
He doesn't get or rarely gets any ISO plays down low... Suns could replicate Spurs or Grizzlies on how they get the ball to their big men inside and get the flow from in to out. But Len is still just adjusting..

Make him comfortable defensively first and then once he has proven he can avoid foul trouble start giving him ISO plays to see how he can create.

This ... Len needs to build a strong defensive base. If we give him extra touches many will result in offensive fouls which hurts our defense and rebounding. We need him in for the defense more than the offense. Next year I can see him getting more shots.

[MilotheSlayer]

I think in a few years he's going to be one of the better high post players in the league. He seems smart enough to turn and read the defense. Either hit a cutter, take his guy to the hoop, hit the 15ft jumper, or kick it out and set a pick. If we can get some of the touchy fouls that he ends up with, moving screens ect, I think he'll be one of the better centers in the west.

[grumpysaddle]

Len will lead the league in blocks per game every season once he gets his minutes up to 36 or so a game. He's got tons of room for improvement still and is already killing it inside.

[Saberestar]

Len will lead the league in blocks per game every season once he gets his minutes up to 36 or so a game. He's got tons of room for improvement still and is already killing it inside.

There are not centers that can play 36 minutes per game, 33-34 maximum. But I get your point, he is a tremendous shot blocker and improving every day.

[Qwigglez]

On Len-
Simmons: "He’s solid. He’s no [Jusuf] Nurkic, but he’s solid.

…"

What does he mean when he says that? Or was that a joke?
http://www.nba.com/suns/blog/simmons-lo ... -emergence

[ImNotMcDiSwear]

No reason to think it's a joke. Nurkic is bigger, which gives him an advantage on the boards and in the low post on both ends. He's also very talented. I think Len is ultimately the better defender because he can step out on wings and guards, and hopefully he ends up the better shooter. But these two will likely be doing battle for a long time.

[Cutter]

Would like to see him get a steady 30 mins a night even if it means playing through foul trouble. His rebounding can also be improved but defensively he's showing ton of promise.

Same here. I don't even care if he fouls out in 26-28 mins in a cpl games. At least he gets experience in those situations as well (playing while in foul trouble). The more he plays, the better he gets, and the more the teammates will look for him down low.

I'm all for Len getting as many minutes as he can handle. I wonder if they are simply being careful with his ankles and have him on a bit of a minutes cap for the year. He's an important piece and it's more about the long term with him than this season. Even in the perspective of this season they are probably trying to avoid the rookie wall since with the time missed last year this is really his first true crack at an NBA season.

This is the correct answer. I think the team doctors have him on a minute cap, and only allow him to occasionally go over the cap.

[batsmasher]

Just listened to the audio. Bill wasn't being entirely serious.

Nurkic trash talk is best trash talk though.

[Revived]

On Len-
Simmons: "He’s solid. He’s no [Jusuf] Nurkic, but he’s solid.

…"

What does he mean when he says that? Or was that a joke?
http://www.nba.com/suns/blog/simmons-lo ... -emergence

Nurkic is seen as the hot young player prospect right now that isn't named Anthony Davis.

[JMac1]

And it takes a while for the talking heads to get on the jock of an unsung player, especially a Suns' player. They don't want to go out on a limb by themselves and be proven wrong. So they go all in on a can't miss guy like Davis or the flavor of the month guy like Nurkic, because you won't be alone they are wrong. Len will have to be a super stud before that happens.

Len stays healthy and continues to grow. He is a starting center on a championship team, that's all we can ask for. His continued growth could attract a superstar in the future. We have to become very appealing destination to get that FA superstar.

[batsmasher]

Also, where are we at with Len's nickname? A rotoworld post yesterday called him "The Kraine". Anyone know where that's from? Suits pretty well seeing how freaking tall he is.

[Revived]

Surprising that he isn't even on this list, I expected him to be top 5

http://nyloncalculus.com/stats/rim-protection/

[WTFsunsFTW]

http://espn.go.com/nba/?topId=12137631
truehoop tv talks about improving sophomores, len is the final topic of the segment

[Frank Lee]

Also, where are we at with Len's nickname? A rotoworld post yesterday called him "The Kraine". Anyone know where that's from? Suits pretty well seeing how freaking tall he is.

Dear Batsmash,

He is from the Ukraine....

sincerely,

Capt Obvious

[Revived]

Would be nice if someone with Insider could post this article

http://insider.espn.go.com/nba/story/_/ ... e-rankings

Thanks in advance.

[batsmasher]

Also, where are we at with Len's nickname? A rotoworld post yesterday called him "The Kraine". Anyone know where that's from? Suits pretty well seeing how freaking tall he is.

Dear Batsmash,

He is from the Ukraine....

sincerely,

Capt Obvious

Nah I meant as in who created the nickname. I sort of like it.