Alex Len was back where he, his teammates and the coaching stuff hoped to see him: on the court.
The second-year big man was cleared to work out with the team just over a week after suffering a break in his right pinky finger. It's the same finger he injured in summer league, though the placement of it is different. Len wore a splint after the most recent injury, and it appears natural rest and recovery will be enough.
"He can start working out," Hornacek said. "It's kind of up to him how he feels with the brace on. They're going to pad it up so he doesn't get hit on it. Hopefully next week he can get in one of the games."
Len's recent finger troubles cut short a productive offseason, which in turn led to one of the most impressive individual performances in training camp and intrasquad pickup games. Hornacek, Goran Dragic, P.J. Tucker and General Manager Ryan McDonough all tabbed him as the stand-out player in those settings.
“We need big things from Miles this year. We need him to be active, continue to do what he did last year and improve on his post-up moves. That will help us tremendously.”
— Jeff Hornacek
Hornacek was nearly as saddened as Len over his recent turn of misfortune.
"For us, the hard part is Alex needs all the playing experience that he can possibly get," Hornacek said. "He’s had a great training camp. He worked really hard in the summer. It was a bad break."
With Len out, there has been a renewed focus on returning starting center Miles Plumlee to produce in the middle. After putting in time at summer league and with the U.S. Select Team, the third-year big man feels he may have started the preseason a little too eager to prove himself.
"I chomp at the bit a little bit, so I've got to be poised and slow down," Plumlee said. "That's the biggest thing. Practice has gone well for me, so it's going to start showing up in the games."
"We need big things from Miles this year," Hornacek added. "We need him to be active, continue to do what he did last year and improve on his post-up moves. That will help us tremendously."