8 tidbits from Suns' stay in Orlando ... so far
Phoenix plays its first of three scrimmages Thursday vs. Utah.
The Suns have been inside the NBA’s Orlando restart “bubble” for almost two weeks, and play their first scrimmage Thursday vs. Utah. That means a return to post-practice media availabilities, through Zoom videoconferences that we’ve all become accustomed to during the coronavirus pandemic.
Here are some interesting tidbits picked up along the way. If a player or topic is not covered here, stay tuned. A full piece might still be in the works as we move closer to the eight seeding games.
1. Though nothing replaces reporting in person, the Zoom sessions have gone relatively smoothly. But the most awkward part, for both sides, is when coach Monty Williams is asked almost daily for a roster update on who is (or is not) in Orlando and/or available to practice.
We got a bit of clarity Monday, when the NBA released the official team rosters for the restart. Two-way player Tariq Owens was the only Suns player missing. But a player’s inclusion on that list does not necessarily mean they are currently in Orlando (or out of quarantine).
The players we have not yet spoken to during a media availability, or seen on official team photos or video footage, are Ricky Rubio, Aron Baynes, Elie Okobo and Jalen Lecque. And we have started getting repeat appearances on Zoom, with Deandre Ayton, Dario Saric and Cam Payne each going twice.
That’s all led to creativity when asking — and answering — questions.
The Arizona Republic’s Duane Rankin recently asked how Rubio and Baynes have looked in practice, and Williams gave a very generic answer about how everybody looks about the same. Instead of asking about specific players, I framed a question over the weekend around if Williams expected to have a full roster available for either the scrimmages or the seeding games.
“I’m not gonna talk about who’s here or who’s not here,” Williams said. “You guys can do your own analysis based on who’s tweeting and (posting on social media). My hope is that we’re just playing at a high level.
“It’s a tough one for me because, medically, I can’t talk about stuff. That’s where I just have to leave it. You guys know me, you know I don’t ever want to be rude to you guys. I understand you have a job to do, but there’s a limit on what I can talk about.”
The lack of transparency is not unique to the Suns, and is partially a product of the lack of on-the-ground, independent reporters inside the bubble watching practices. But it will become much more difficult for coaches to be vague when scrimmages are televised later this week.
Rubio and Baynes, of course, have the biggest roles of the Phoenix players we have not yet seen from Orlando. That could mean Ty Jerome, Jevon Carter and newcomer Payne have gotten a lot of point-guard work with the first and second units … and that Okobo and Lecque are missing out on important reps. We also could see Saric and Frank Kaminsky playing center, a spot they slid into while Ayton and Baynes were out at various points throughout the season.
Monday’s best news: The NBA announced no players in the bubble have tested positive for coronavirus since July 13. The setup is working so far.
2. A scan of the Suns’ restart media guide also revealed that assistant coaches Larry Greer and Steve Blake are no longer on the staff.
When asked, Williams did not specify whether either coach was let go or stepped down, though he did allude “there are times where guys have to make decisions that are best for them and their families.”
Williams said both coaches were “invaluable” in helping lay a foundation during this staff’s first season in Phoenix. Greer was a big organizer behind the scenes. Blake was in the early stages of transitioning from player to coach, and frequently worked on the court with the young guards.
“It’s a tough loss for us to not have those guys,” Williams said. “But those decisions have to be made and, as a leader, I have to respect what’s best for the organization and what’s best for individuals. I miss those guys. At the same time, I’ve been in this long enough to know we have to adapt.”
3. Though Ayton has attempted only three 3-pointers this season, he has long been playfully touting his ability to fire away from deep. And Williams has given the big man permission to let it fly … within reason.
“I’ve always told guys, if you work on something with intention, you should do it in the game,” Williams said. “So I want him to have confidence to do that. We’ve never held him back from shooting out there, because we feel like he can and will be able to do that
“But we don’t want him to ever forget about his ability to dominate the box, or when he’s diving in deep rolls and short rolls and that mid-range game.”
Ayton averaged 19 points, 12 rebounds and 1.9 assists over 30 games of a second NBA season that was characterized as unusual long before COVID-19 halted society. He is sometimes critiqued by outsiders for settling for turnaround mid-range jumpers, rather than consistently bullying inside. Ayton mentioned before departing for Orlando that he has also worked on facilitating and attacking from the middle of the paint.
“Whatever it takes to get a basket,” Ayton said. “That’s just my style of play.”
4. When asked Friday about areas his team needed to improve, Williams pinpointed defensive communication on pick-and-roll coverages and while switching. The coach attributes much of that to players continuing to build up their conditioning following the nearly four months off.
“When guys are thinking about being tired, they may not communicate as well,” Williams said. “That’s probably the one thing that is not where it needs to be.”
Still, Williams is pleased with his team’s competitive effort, saying he has sometimes cut practice drills short or eliminated them completely because of that energy exerted. Every few days, the Suns’ sports science staff provides Williams with a graphic that measures the team’s overall “load,” and Williams also asks players “to be straight with me about their soreness.”
“If I feel like guys are at a soreness level of 7, 8, 9, I don’t want that,” Williams said. “So I may pull it back a little bit. I think we’re all trying to find the sweet spot as it relates to conditioning, because we’ve never been in this environment before.
“So I just listen. I use a little bit of my gut, but I’m also aware that guys have to get to certain thresholds of conditioning before you can get into game shape. … There’s a lot of balls I’m juggling and a lot of information that I’m taking in to try to get to that place.”
5. Saturday was a reminder of the arc of Mikal Bridges’ season.
The second-year wing referenced a blunt conversation between him and Williams in Memphis early on, when he was not playing as much as expected. Later, he fixed a hitch in his shot. Now, with Kelly Oubre Jr. likely out for at least part of this restart, Bridges is expected to continue starting at small forward and have the flexibility to shift to shooting guard and power forward.
“You just started to see this guy who was not only playing better, but he just had so much more confidence on the floor,” Williams said. “We hope that he becomes that guy with the starting group. That’s something that I‘ve thought about a lot. Not quite sure how that’s gonna work out, but I believe he has every intangible and talent and quality to be a glue guy in that starting lineup.”
Added Bridges: “He wanted me to work a little bit harder. So it kind of got my head to, after practice, off days, come in and keep working, and then I got to the position I was at before the season ended.”
Bridges scored in double figures in six of the Suns’ final seven games before the hiatus, including a 21-point, 10-rebound performance in a win over the Bucks on March 8.
6. The past few days have felt like the latter stages of a typical training camp. At least once, everybody on the Zoom calls has been asked some version of, “How excited are you to play against someone other than yourselves?”
Spoiler alert: They’re excited.
But Williams has relished the time to reconvene and practice.
“It’s a great time to develop players, develop your schemes, learn,” Williams said. “ … The time we had before Orlando, and this time here, has been money in the bank.”
7. We know Ayton and Devin Booker have a sweet video-game setup in their hotel rooms. We’ve seen the video of a group of players getting ultra-competitive at Spikeball.
But another popular leisure activity among the Suns has been … fishing?
Williams has already been out on the water behind the Suns’ hotel. Ayton said he’d like to partake. Ditto for Bridges, though he needs “a day or two to mentally prepare myself.”
“I’ve caught a few bass back there,” Williams said. “It’s cool to talk to the people who fish back there and figure out what they use as bait. I love using artificial bait to catch large-mouth bass. I’ve had a good time, just taking a break from watching film and meetings.”
8. Williams has continued to provide perspective on life and society.
On John Lewis’ death:“If you’ve ever heard him speak, his voice is one of those voices that sticks with you. And the things that he said with that voice, it inspired you. To be able to listen to someone who’s been through so much and done so much for other people, being an African-American activist in the true sense of the word. He wasn’t just for African-Americans. He was for all people, and that’s something that inspires me. He realized the plight of African-Americans in this country, but he also understood that we’re only going to be the best country that we can be when all people are treated with human dignity that we all deserve.”
On his role in the ongoing social-justice movement:“Outside of the personal relationships that I‘ve been blessed to be a part of, this is probably right there as far as the most important things that I’ve been a part of (as a coach). When I look at the history of the country, when I look at the history of my family, when I look at where we are and where we need to go, the platform that we have to talk about the ills and wrongs of our society are of utmost importance.”
On the daily variance of practice times:“It’s a great way for us to navigate uncertainty. It’s something that we’ve discussed as a team. We always preach this is a ‘get to’ and not a ‘got to.’ We get to be in the gym. If you think about where people are in our social structure — as it relates to first responders, people who are marching and protesting peacefully for equality and social justice — when you compare what we’re dealing with to that, this is such a blessing and a gift to be able to be in the gym and practice and play basketball and coach basketball. I think our guys understand that.”
Excellent piece, as per the usual. So happy to have Monty as the HC of the Suns. Dude just casually drops graceful perspective at will.