HoopsVibe

‘That’s probably been the biggest mystery for our team,’ coach Alvin Gentry said when asked why Lopez’s progression has stopped. ‘In actuality, we really thought that he would probably be the second-most-important guy on our team, especially if he took a big leap. I’m not real sure if it’s the injury or what, but he hasn’t been able to give us the consistent play that we thought we’d be able to get from him. We could use it. It’s something that has hurt us a bit. We haven’t really had much inside play. Gortat gives us some. Other than that, we’ve been pretty much resigned to the fact that we’re a perimeter team. That hurts you when you’re going to rely on jump shots night in and night out, even as good of a shooting team as we are.’”

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HoopsVibe’s Very Quick Call: Robin Lopez, for the most part, has been an enigma for the Phoenix Suns.

He has the skill-set to be a solid player; however, his emotions and lack of confidence continue to hold him back.

Coach Alvin Gentry’s recent comments show that the Suns are finally running out of patience. Fortunately, they have a solution on the roster in Marcin Gortat.

The Polish post, acquired from the Orlando Magic in exchange for Hedo Turkoglu and Jason Richardson, does the things Lopez either can’t or won’t.

Gortat is active, physical, and productive. If this continues, he’ll replace Lopez in the Suns’ starting line-up.

And it can’t be soon enough. After all, the Suns, who sit at 10th in the Western Conference, are on the outside looking in at the playoffs.

So everybody must play their best. The Suns have no time for an enigma.

--Oly Sandor.

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