Alex Len and his future

[Sunsss]

I hope he's playing hurt. No matter what he does on offense, his rim protection shouldn't have declined this much.

14/15 = 16 games with at least 3 blocks. 2.5 per 36.
15/16 = 6 games with at least 3 blocks. 1.3 per 36.

[bwgood77]

How is Len 0-8? Wasn't he 1-8 last game? That's absurdly ridiculous for a 7 footer.

Thought I'd quote you in a more relevant thread but I totally agree.

I've always set expectations fairly low for Len because I wasn't as excited about the pick as many on this board and didn't want to think of him as a bust when he's not producing #5 pick numbers. He's still very young and can still turn the corner but man it's hard to stay excited about him when he still haven't figured out how to get easy buckets. You're not always gonna get easy buckets, I get that, but he still hasn't even seem to have found a go-to spot. Maybe it's playing with Chandler that's pushed him further from the basket and so forcing him to take more jumpers but it's still frustrating to watch him put up clunkers after clunkers.

Earlier in the year he was money from midrange around the FT line quite often. It's just strange because every so often he has a monster offensive game. I think with him it must be confidence which comes and goes.

[ImNotMcDiSwear]

Thomas Bryant sounds really intriguing right now...

There should still be plenty of centers on the board at #28 if we're prepared to move on from Alex. Don't know if I am. But Chandler has shown he still has some game left to play. With three more years under contract, moving Alex and starting with another project big from scratch is plausible. IDK. I'm worried.

[GMATCallahan]

I hope he's playing hurt. No matter what he does on offense, his rim protection shouldn't have declined this much.

14/15 = 16 games with at least 3 blocks. 2.5 per 36.
15/16 = 6 games with at least 3 blocks. 1.3 per 36.

Playing alongside Chandler and matching up with more power forwards, farther from the basket, would help explain some of that decline. Additionally, per-minute (per 36-minute, in this case) statistics are often misleading, because as players log more minutes, they often cannot sustain the same statistical pace. For instance, see what happened to Eric Bledsoe's steal rate after he joined the Suns and started playing major minutes. To be sure, his steal rate has remained high, but it has dropped from what would have been a league-leading sort of rate with the Clippers.

Of course, Len is hardly averaging more minutes per game this year than last, so his slight increase in minutes per contest fails to explain much. The pairing with Chandler, combined with the near across-the-board inconsistency of his game, would account for most of the decline.

[Sunsss]

I hope he's playing hurt. No matter what he does on offense, his rim protection shouldn't have declined this much.

14/15 = 16 games with at least 3 blocks. 2.5 per 36.
15/16 = 6 games with at least 3 blocks. 1.3 per 36.

Playing alongside Chandler and matching up with more power forwards, farther from the basket, would help explain some of that decline. Additionally, per-minute (per 36-minute, in this case) statistics are often misleading, because as players log more minutes, they often cannot sustain the same statistical pace. For instance, see what happened to Eric Bledsoe's steal rate after he joined the Suns and started playing major minutes. To be sure, his steal rate has remained high, but it has dropped from what would have been a league-leading sort of rate with the Clippers.

Of course, Len is hardly averaging more minutes per game this year than last, so his slight increase in minutes per contest fails to explain much. The pairing with Chandler, combined with the near across-the-board inconsistency of his game, would account for most of the decline.

He only started 16 games with Chandler and had 13 blocks in those games. Not much difference when he was playing less minutes earlier in the season.

I feel like he's giving up layups to guards more frequently than last season. Maybe he's shying away from fouls, maybe he's playing hurt to prove he's not injury prone. (he's missed just 4 games)

[rsavaj]

He's never going to be an offensive force, but if he can be a guy who averages 10/10/2 blocks, then I'll be very happy. He needs to get better around the rim. I don't really care if he ever develops a jumpshot. Honestly, he needs to watch a lot of footage of prime Chandler and try to emulate him.

[lilfishi22]

He's never going to be an offensive force, but if he can be a guy who averages 10/10/2 blocks, then I'll be very happy. He needs to get better around the rim. I don't really care if he ever develops a jumpshot. Honestly, he needs to watch a lot of footage of prime Chandler and try to emulate him.

Which would be quite a shame because we drafted him hoping he would be above average on both ends of the court.

[Qwigglez]

I think Len is going through some mental blocks right now, but he can get back to shooting at least 50% if we had a decent PF who can keep the lane open.

[GMATCallahan]

He only started 16 games with Chandler and had 13 blocks in those games. Not much difference when he was playing less minutes earlier in the season.

I feel like he's giving up layups to guards more frequently than last season. Maybe he's shying away from fouls, maybe he's playing hurt to prove he's not injury prone. (he's missed just 4 games)

One would need to account for all of the minutes that Len has played with Chandler (beyond mutual starts), but you may well be correct that these other factors have played a greater role.

[GMATCallahan]

I think Len is going through some mental blocks right now, but he can get back to shooting at least 50% if we had a decent PF who can keep the lane open.

... the Suns do possess a couple of power forwards who can fill that role, of course; Phoenix is just opting not to start those lineups or give them major minutes.

Personally, I would like to see Leuer play more minutes. Although I do not necessarily view him as "the answer" at power forward, he is an intriguing player who could be relatively valuable if properly developed. He can shoot the three, but he can also do a bunch of other things reasonably well.

[GMATCallahan]

One of the reasons for the decline in Len's shot-blocking may rest in the Suns' defensive schemes. Even without Chandler on the court, Len seems to be engaging in a lot of high/hard trapping or switching when defending the pick-and-roll, thus taking him away from the basket on a consistent basis. Without tracking information or extensive film study, I cannot say if this strategy represents a significant alteration from last year, but it may well be occurring more frequently—due to a change in coaching edicts (to say nothing of a change in coaches).

Offensively, Len could really use a mentor such as Bill Walton, Kevin McHale, or Robert Parish to learn how to function fundamentally, optimally, and efficiently as a big man. Parish has long wanted to get back into the game as an assistant coach; why not give him an interview?

http://archive.boston.com/sports/basketball/2013/01/25/robert-parish-yearns-for-nba-coaching-job/2nHzPnNCisC5pEv5R2eqWP/story.html

[Damkac]

Imo priorities for center are:
1. Rim protection
2. Rebounding
3. Free throw shooting
4. Rest of the offense

Alex is already good rebounder and can make free throws. If he improve as rim protector I would be pleased with him even if he will never become above average scorer.

[Qwigglez]

Good analysis of Len's 2015-16 season.
http://www.brightsideofthesun.com/2016/4/27/11507014/Alex-Len-stays-healthy-takes-strides-in-year-3-Phoenix-Suns-report-card

[saintEscaton]

Gotta hand it to BSoS they always manage to find a silver lining to everything.

[ImNotMcDiSwear]

Gotta hand it to BSoS they always manage to find a silver lining to everything.

Kinda like the opposite of you!

[jcsunsfan]

Gotta hand it to BSoS they always manage to find a silver lining to everything.

Kinda like the opposite of you!

Behind every silver lining there is a huge dark cloud looming.

[Saberestar]

Phoenix Suns center Alex Len saves friend from drowning in Dominican Republic.
“I thought I was going to die,” Jay Johnson said. “He risked his life for me. Nobody knows how far gone I was.”

http://www.azcentral.com/story/sports/nba/suns/2016/05/06/phoenix-suns-center-alex-len-saves-friend-drowning-dominican-republic/83929572/

[sunskerr]

Phoenix Suns center Alex Len saves friend from drowning in Dominican Republic.
“I thought I was going to die,” Jay Johnson said. “He risked his life for me. Nobody knows how far gone I was.”

http://www.azcentral.com/story/sports/nba/suns/2016/05/06/phoenix-suns-center-alex-len-saves-friend-drowning-dominican-republic/83929572/

Wow that was an intense read. Glad everyone made it out ok.