Enes Kanter had just made an inside bucket to give Oklahoma City – which trailed by as many as 14 in the first half – a five-point lead early in the fourth quarter. An injured Kevin Durant was leading the cheers from the bench, while all the momentum the Suns had established for themselves had dissipated.
Desperate to stop the bleeding, Eric Bledsoe drove around a pick set by Alex Len and found league-leading shot-blocker Serge Ibaka waiting for him. The Suns’ point guard shoveled the ball over to Len, who had rolled to the front of the rim.
The 7-1 big man was already so close to Bledsoe in the paint that the pass didn’t take Ibaka completely out of the defensive picture. He and Thunder guard Andre Roberson converged, both jumping and extending to contest Len.
Neither could extend far enough or quick enough, however. Len went straight up with both hands and, despite not having enough room for a clean takeoff jump, shoveled a dunk in over both defenders.
Roughly two hours later, his head coach said what all coaches hope they can say of their players at the end of the night.
“You can’t ask for more from a guy,” Jeff Hornacek said of Len, who wound up with 12 points, 11 rebounds and three blocks in 38 minutes that night. “He’s probably feeling pretty tired right now.”
A year ago, perhaps even early this season, Len isn’t finishing that dunk over Ibaka. Then again, that was a couple dozen pounds and two promotions ago. His rise from prospect to role player to starting center has been rapid, but that’s a consequence of his equally fast progression.
Earlier in that same game against the Thunder, Len set another screen for Bledsoe. There was no angle for the pass this time, but Len held his position down low as the ball swung to Markieff Morris at the high post.
“Alex is one of our hardest workers in the weight room. He works extremely hard with the coaches. He watches a lot of video. He’s just really mature and is really a professional guy for a 21-year-old. I think you see the results of that.”
— Jeff Hornacek
Morris, who has developed a growing chemistry with his younger frontcourt teammate, whipped the ball to Len, who by this time had established deep position in the paint. Still, Len wasn’t comfortable going straight up against Kanter’s big frame and a helping Westbrook with his back still to the basket.
So Len countered with the kind of footwork he practices for hours with the Suns coaching staff: he faked a turn to his left, pivoted back to his right, spun and rose for a soft jumper right at the dotted half-circle in the paint.
The move was made on the fly, without a set play to set him up. That doesn’t mean it wasn’t prepared. Len is one of the most arduous film watchers on the team, a product of his fascniation with watching low-post professors like Tim Duncan and Kevin Garnett when he was young.
Once he identifies a couple key moves, Len then spends hours working on them with big man assistant coaches Mark West and Kenny Gattison, who defended the very best low-post players of the 1980s and 1990s – the heyday of traditional back-to-the-basket play.
“I think that really helped him become even more a student of the game,” Hornacek said. “Alex is one of our hardest workers in the weight room. He works extremely hard with the coaches. He watches a lot of video. He’s just really mature and is really a professional guy for a 21-year-old. I think you see the results of that.”
Len’s first priority is not to score. Even Hornacek admits that his low-post game trails his face-up repertoire – for now. At this point in his career, the 21-year-old Len is primarily a defender, screen-setter and finisher.
And, as Hornacek points out, that’s more than enough for his young charge to worry about.
“We ask him to do a lot,” he said of Len. “He’s trying to wrestle for offensive rebounds, and then we want him to sprint back and get in the lane to help clog it up.”
His work on the glass has provided a much-needed shot in the arm for the Suns, whose best rebounder had previously logged just over six boards per contest. Len’s playing time has gone hand-in-hand with his impact in the rebounding department, with a severe spike in both occurring once inserted in the starting lineup in mid-December.
Len’s rebound rate might be even higher, but he’s shown a willingness to completely box out elite board-crashers and let teammates zip in to scoop up the ball. On the other end, Len’s length frequently trumps similar box-out efforts by opponents.
His offensive rebounds are often the result of his initial offensive move: rolling straight to the rim after the pick. Those screens are usually set for Eric Bledsoe, who doesn’t hesitate to attack if he sees an opening. If the lay-up misses, Len is usually arriving just in time for a quick cleanup job.
“Offensively, you just see his confidence improving,” Hornacek said. “He’s really shot the ball well from mid-range. He’s rolling aggressively to the basket and our guards are finding him for lay-ups and dunks. He’s playing really well on both ends of the court right now.”
Phoenix knew Len had defensive potential, but the rate at which he blocks/contests shots (2.1 bpg as a starter) has impressed teammates and front office personnel, alike. Only 13 other players in NBA history have averaged at least two blocks per game at age 21 years or younger and 10 of them went on to be All-Stars.
Against the Spurs in January, Len found himself guarding his childhood idol (Duncan) the majority of the game. Early in the game, Duncan took an entry pass in the post, backed down, then swung across the key for the patented fall-away jumper he has made so often against Phoenix over the years.
Except this time, the Suns’ center blocked all of it.
Later in the third quarter, Duncan again went to work, this time staying with his strong hand for the jump-hook. Again, Len’s pterodactyl-like wingspan enabled him to deflect the attempt.
Len has always been one to contest shots, but the when and where of the art are still nuances he’s learning to master. West and Gattison have worked to show him when it is best to lay back and allow an awkward mid-range jumper, instead of leaving an opposing big man wide open under the rim.
It’s also been equally vital for Len to choose when to block and when to simply form a straight up wall with his considerable length. The Oklahoma City game was a great sign in that regard. Len picked up his fifth foul with nearly four minutes left in regulation – and stayed on the floor to finish what wound up being an overtime contest.
“He played it smart,” Hornacek said. “He jumped straight up and used his length. Sometimes they scored over him, but sometimes they missed it and he was still able to get the rebound.”
Before, Len would simply try to block every shot attempt within arm’s reach. That led to an alarming amount of early fouls, which robbed Phoenix of the rim protection they gain when he is on the floor.
Incredibly, Len has dramatically decreased his foul rate despite seeing his minutes skyrocket this season.
What’s next for Len? There are as many answers as there are options. Len has a deceivingly soft touch from mid-range, though he’s found himself rushing it more in games. He’s also shown flashes in the low post, though again, that’s the least developed aspect of his game right now.
Once he does master at least a foundation of low-post play, the Suns figure to have a dynamite two-way player in the middle.
“I think over time, the next step for Alex will be to add more of a back-to-the-basket game,” Hornacek said. “Usually that does come with experience and it also comes with strength…the trickier thing, especially when you’re young and a little lighter than a lot of the guys you’re playing against, is to put the ball on the floor with your back to the basket and a defender guarding you and to try to gain ground in the post.”
For now, Phoenix will settle for both the production and edge Len has brought to the frontcourt. Len hasn’t been afraid to finish assertively or use a hard, honest foul. When opponents take exception, he hasn’t backed down, and his messages have thus far been meaningful actions instead of empty words.
“On the court when teams attack him and try to go at him, he doesn’t really back down,” Hornacek said. “I think his teammates really like him and respect him due to that toughness and his aggressiveness.”
Toughness and aggressiveness at center? From a 21-year-old who didn’t pick up a basketball until he was a teenager?
The Suns will take it.