Alex Len doesn’t allow latest setback to slow his summer
Pressure builds quickly on NBA rookies. For Alex Len, it didn’t help that he began his rookie year recovering from one ankle surgery and then another.
His rehab kept him sidelined, and when he finally did begin playing, he wasn’t the nimble athlete who had taken to gymnastics before basketball. Frustration showed in games, when the typical rookie problems of over-aggressiveness compounded with Len being too slow to react to faster centers. Two or three quick fouls, and Len was out as soon as he’d been thrown in.
It probably wasn’t obvious how much pressure was on the young center. Even worse: it’s Len’s personality to believe work ethic yields results. He was pressing too hard, wanting results too soon after being hit with bad luck.
That was then. On media day, the most stark difference in Len was how he carried himself. It wasn’t the shy, string bean of a kid who last year could only recite the same things about his injury recovery.
At media day, Len looked comfortable, nearly excited.
“I think I had a pretty good summer overall,” Len said, forgetting about his finger injury that ended his Summer League experience early. “I did what I wanted to do this summer, get healthy, completely heal my ankles up so I can run and (I) worked a lot on my conditioning. We’re going to have a lot, six point guards, so there’s obviously going to be a lot of running. I’ve got to put on my running shoes.”
“These past weeks in pickup games, it’s as good as I’ve ever seen him play. You just see a different guy to me.”
Len had been playing pickup with his teammates heading into this week’s training camp in Flagstaff, and Suns staff members have liked what they’ve seen. General manager Ryan McDonough has put his faith in Len by holding the frontcourt steady with the expectations of internal development.
“(Last year) he wasn’t the guy we saw at Maryland who was very agile for a 7’1 guy,” McDonough said. “He was coming off two surgeries to his ankles. Between that and trying to gain strength, he was just at a disadvantage. Now you’re seeing both come back. The fact he’s healthy and ready to go today is something we’re very excited about.”
Len says he’s at 260 pounds, and he looks it. He took a trip to Japan to visit a friend this summer but away from the basketball court has spent time watching film with defensive coach Mike Longabardi. Like fellow center Miles Plumlee, Len wants to stay out of foul trouble. His issues last season were a combination of over-aggressiveness in making up for his lack of strength and reaching — his foot speed wasn’t where it had been prior to the ankle surgeries.
“I was a little slower, always a step behind,” Len said. “Some things I didn’t know. This year I feel much more prepared going into the season. I feel ready.”
Plumlee’s athleticism and strength put him on the USA Select Team that worked out with the eventual FIBA World Cup winning squad. But it’s Len who statistically returns as the team’s best rim protecting big man after allowing opponents to hit 49.1 percent of their shots at the rim in 2013-14 (as former Suns forward Channing Frye put it succinctly last year, opponents will find that Len is “tall as s***”).
Len’s 7’4 wingspan, as measured prior to the 2013 draft, lends well to the boards as well. He was the team’s best offensive rebounder last year with an offensive rebounding percentage of 12.1 — Tyson Chandler-esque tapouts went unaccounted for in those numbers.
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He should only improve his overall success this year with a little added strength, and a better base can also improve his low-post scoring efficiency, which sat at an ugly 0.64 points per possession, according to Synergy Sports. Offensively speaking, Len posted 0.1 points per possession on pick-and-roll plays, surprisingly high considering he often looked surprised to meet players at the rim who were capable of blocking his shot. Maybe it was more surprising because Len hardly showed off what was already a capable 15-foot shot when popping out to the high post.
Len watched a lot of Spain’s FIBA World Cup run this summer, and as disappointing as it was for the Spaniards to bow out before the quarterfinals, forward Pau Gasol thrived. He drew the attention of the Suns’ second-year center. Perhaps Phoenix will look to run the second unit offense through Len in the high post with Markieff Morris’ expected move to the starting lineup.
The Suns are putting a lot of responsibility on Len. He thinks he’s ready. Game day will give us the proof, but at the least, he’s carrying himself like it’s the truth.
“Alex is one of our hardest workers,” McDonough said. “Even after his pinky was injured he kept working, he kept riding the bike, he kept running. These past weeks in pickup games, it’s as good as I’ve ever seen him play. You just see a different guy to me.”