Rick Scuteri-USA TODAY Sports
Alex Len is eventually expected to play a major impact in the Phoenix Suns‘ bid to get back to NBA playoff contention, but such an impact possibly won’t happen until next season.
The Suns and Len insist that his two surgeries will not have an impact on his rookie season, but it certainly would have been more preferable if Len had stayed completely healthy. A new rookie coming on the NBA scene has plenty of things to worry about even if he is healthy.
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The first surgery came at the end of his college season at Maryland to repair a partial stress fracture in his left ankle. There were signs of another potential fracture on his right ankle, and Len had surgery last month at the Suns’ request as a precautionary measure. Len needed to have a Summer League schedule, but obviously the surgeries prevented that.
However, Len and the Suns are convinced that the 7-foot-1 center will be good as new and he should be ready to go when camp opens in late September.
When he’s healthy, Len will give the Suns an excellent inside force that should improve the team’s defense dramatically. He has the skills to provide the Suns the points at critical times, but it’s his rebounding might that they especially like. The question is when.
The Suns will eventually benefit from the fact that Len is a good athlete for someone his size. He is a strong shot blocker and rebounder, and he is an effective passer from the post. The knock on him in college was that he was inconsistent. It may take him awhile to become a consistent player in the NBA, but he could be dominant once he finds that consistency.
