Robin's Door: Lopez Shows A Tiny Bit Too Much Passion (Shatters Glass Door)

by Seth Pollack on Dec 9, 2009 1:46 PM MST in Phoenix Suns News

Robin Lopez might want to save some of his "crazy" passion for his on the court play. Lopez stormed off the court after Suns practice and shattered a glass door while leaving the practice court. (Photo by Max Simbron)

We interrupt Steve Nash Internet Day to share this fun little story from Suns practice.

As I was standing with the collected media (all four of us) talking to Coach Gentry after Suns practice today our friend and local 7ft hot head stormed off the court after a game of 3 on 3 with the other bench players, walked up the stairs and flung open the glass door shown below.

Said door proceeded to yield to Robin's fury and shattered its glass all over the landing and the court below.

Needless to say, Coach Gentry was not a happy camper. While I suppose that technically what he said next can be considered "on the record", I will take the easy road and not repeat his words. Let's just say we can expect Robin to a) pay for the door b) not suit up tomorrow c) get quite an earful and d) be referred to Anger Management Classes.

Actually, I am not so sure about the last one but it might not be a bad idea.

Here's the audio. That sound you hear is Robin's reputation splintering into thousands of tiny pieces. Stay frosty.

Picture of Robin's Door follows:

Here's a closer picture from Sports 620 KTAR's Craig Grialou

[Note by Phoenix Stan, 12/09/09 2:06 PM MST ]

and here's Coro's take

azcentral.com blogs - Coro's Suns dish - PaulCoro - Lopez's temper strikes again
Coro's Suns dish: Suns center Robin Lopez's fiery practice demeanor was hot again today. After his team lost a three-on-three game, Lopez slammed open the practice court's door so hard that the glass shattered upon hitting the wall behind the door.

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Good for Frolo...

I’m not condoning shattering expensive doors or anything but it’s good to see some fire in these bench guys. I’ve kicked my share of doors/walls/chairs/people (ok, not so much that last one) out of frustration and these guys should be a little frustrated having dropped 4 of the last 5. It shows that he’s got a competitive side after all (which I’ve questioned in the past).

By the way, that audio is GREAT! Good work Stan,

by watdogg10 on Dec 9, 2009 1:55 PM MST reply actions 1 recs

Definitely.

I was in a league two years ago, it was the playoffs, and it seemed like we were perpetually three to five points down. And even though the other team was clearly the better team, one of their players decided it’d be hilarious if he fouled me, trash talked to the nth degree (some of the stuff he said cannot be repeated), and continued that cycle all game.

The refs weren’t calling the fouls, I decided to take the higher road and not play his trash talking game, until I had had enough. I did my best Robert Horry impression (I am ashamed to admit it), and while he was bring the ball up the court, near the scorers table sideline, I shoved him. Thing is, there wasn’t a padded front to hit first. It was a bench made of metal folding chairs. The rest is history, but I totally understand being so competitive that you do irrational things.

After that, I felt so embarrassed (not to mention infuriated that I let it get to me and had to watch the rest of the game from the opposite side of the gym…I got tossed, but I still wanted to see how the game played out), that I made sure that I kept my intense competitiveness to a sane level. I didn’t want to garner the reputation of crazy Ron Ron or Cheap Shot Bob.

Bright Side of the Sun, where Suns basketball never looked so good.

by Trevor Paxton on Dec 9, 2009 8:43 PM MST up reply actions

I kinda dig it actually.

by underxthebridge on Dec 9, 2009 2:04 PM MST reply actions

Not suit up tomorrow?

Are you talking about for practice? Or are you saying he might not suit up for Friday’s game? If he’s not playing Friday over the door that’s a little ridiculous. Make him pay/fine him for it but a suspension?

http://seasonsofdiscontent.com/

by Scott Howard on Dec 9, 2009 2:16 PM MST reply actions

any reaction was "heat of the moment"

so lets just wait and see how it plays out….

I get that it’s good for the guy to have passion but he’s a pro. This is a BS move and the Suns, rightly, are not going to put up with it.

Not to mention that his temper is clearly impacting his game. He needs to find the balance between playing with heart and passion and going nuts. This might be a wake up call for him. Hopefully.

He needs to relax and play his game. Lou plays hard. Jared plays hard. But those guys don’t go crazy with it either.

Focus the anger and passion, young man and mostly I think he needs to stop putting so much pressure on himself. That’s my pop-psych opinion anyway

Blogging Suns Basketball . twitter: @phoenixstan

by Seth Pollack on Dec 9, 2009 2:21 PM MST up reply actions

I'm with Stan

To me, this is just another indication that Robin is immature and unable to control himself. It’s been evident that he’s got anger/control issues since I started following him closely at Summer League in the off-season. If it were an isolated incident, I’d say, “Whatever.” In his case, it fits into a larger pattern of demonstrating the inability to control his emotions which carries over into games and his decision-making therein.

Anger doesn’t necessarily equate with competitive fire. In fact, for Robin Lopez, I think it actually interferes with it.

Contributor: Bright Side of the Sun Twitter: @MikeLisboa

by Mike Lisboa on Dec 9, 2009 4:53 PM MST up reply actions

Agree

I think the guy needs to channel this emotion, and start becoming just a bit more professional.
I also agree he needs to step back, play his game and I believe the results will be better. He can become a important part of this team, and the Suns need this to happen.

by Grockcubs on Dec 9, 2009 6:12 PM MST up reply actions

I'm ok with it.

Pro or not, he’s human, and some people have a shorter fuse than others. Raja was like that, and I appreciate someone who plays hard and has a chip on his shoulder.

He’s young, so that can definitely be focused better. Maybe he just needs to play some video games to cool off.

by Max Simbron on Dec 9, 2009 2:23 PM MST reply actions

ok I read Coro's article,

and on further review, I not only am ok with this, I’m for it.

Lopez was angered today when he, Louis Amundson and Goran Dragic lost to Alando Tucker, Earl Clark and Jarron Collins.

Um… he, Lou and Goran are all top bench players. Alando, Earl, and Jarron are all garbage/blowout minutes guys. And they lost. That’s horrible.

by Max Simbron on Dec 9, 2009 2:26 PM MST reply actions

Hybrid here....

I’m with PHX Stan to an extent and with Max to an extent. I like to see a guy with some fire and passion. Guys get mad, it happens. Sometimes it happens at a bad time. We are all guilty of it. But it is embarrassing, in a way it shows up Gentry, and if it is true that is emotions are affecting his play, then yeah, he needs to pump the breaks, do a little yoga.

On the other hand it was a public thing and it’s not really productive all. So I can understand penalizing the guy.

Can we nickname him? Fropez doesn’t fit anymore. How about “scary” Lopez?

Blogging Suns Basketball. Twitter: @willcantrellphx

by Wil Cantrell on Dec 9, 2009 5:16 PM MST up reply actions

Nickname

Ben from Blzrs Edge suggested a new nickname as well…

I came up with psychLo

Blogging Suns Basketball . twitter: @phoenixstan

by Seth Pollack on Dec 9, 2009 5:43 PM MST up reply actions

Not good enough yet

You shouldnt be allowed to break stuff until you have game. So he needs to pay for the door and be a gopher for Alando, Earl and Jarron for a week.

by dCoye on Dec 9, 2009 6:33 PM MST up reply actions

Um… he, Lou and Goran are all top bench players.

Lou and Goran are the only top bench players. Lopez hasn’t proved anything aside from the fact that he has a fiery temper.

by Spit_Fire on Dec 10, 2009 5:46 AM MST up reply actions

LOL

Blazersedge.com || Twitter!

by Ben Golliver on Dec 9, 2009 2:36 PM MST reply actions

way to ruin Steve Nash day, Frolo

just kidding…

Robin’s clearly still immature, both as a person and as a basketball player….Give him some time, hopefully he’ll learn from his mistake.

by ArizonaCactus on Dec 9, 2009 3:34 PM MST reply actions

Lol

and Gentry’s reaction was “Hey!!” ? :P

Whats up doc?

by RottPhiler on Dec 9, 2009 5:40 PM MST reply actions

that's all of the reaction

before I edited the rest out :)

Blogging Suns Basketball . twitter: @phoenixstan

by Seth Pollack on Dec 9, 2009 5:44 PM MST up reply actions

Now why'd you go and do something like that?

Ha.

Bright Side of the Sun, where Suns basketball never looked so good.

by Trevor Paxton on Dec 9, 2009 8:45 PM MST up reply actions

NBA history lesson..

A whole bunch of men played with fire and barely controlled emotion in the era before David Stern turned the NBA into a sterile and sanitary version of what used to be a real sport.

In the old days, the NBA used to stand for No Boys Allowed, and the game was played in a hard, but fair manner, notwithstanding the occasional punch to the head from Robert Parish to Bill Laimbeer.

For the history buffs, I suggest you look up Jim Loscutoff, Dave Cowans or better still, Tom Meschery. Go on.. it’ll be fun.

"True glory consists of doing what deserves to be written, and writing what deserves to be read".

by Pliny the Elder on Dec 9, 2009 10:14 PM MST reply actions

The implicit question

The question here in the context of your comment is, “Is Robin a man or a boy?” I vote a resounding “boy” until otherwise informed by his on-court play. This wasn’t the act of a fired-up competitor, but that of a petulant loser. There’s a fine line betweeing temper tantrums and grown-up pissed, and Robin hasn’t shown me that he’s crossed it just yet.

Contributor: Bright Side of the Sun Twitter: @MikeLisboa

by Mike Lisboa on Dec 9, 2009 10:56 PM MST up reply actions

This is already the second time his temper flared up. If this happens for the 3rd time, I he gets to be shipped out to another team for a first round pick.

by Spit_Fire on Dec 10, 2009 5:50 AM MST up reply actions

OMG!!! Sideshow has a bad temper...

Earth stops rotating on it’s axis.. more news at 8.

You know what?? I wish some of the other players on this team had bad tempers, and would get just as frustrated when they lose or play badly.

I would love it if they would spend extra time, after practice, working together to solve some of the on-court issues we have.

I would love it if every time they stepped onto the court, they’d play with a huge chip on their shoulders, and put the fear of God himself into the opposition.

I would love it if the size of the fight was a little bigger in the Junkyard Dogs.

"True glory consists of doing what deserves to be written, and writing what deserves to be read".

by Pliny the Elder on Dec 11, 2009 9:17 AM MST up reply actions

this is different

In practice I’ve seen Lou kick a ball out of frustration. JRich yell about a “call”. Etc…all of that is good and normal competitive fire.

The problem with Robin is that he’s not lashing out in frustration at a situation. He’s lashing out at himself. He’s putting too much pressure on himself which can I would argue is having negative consequences on his performance.

What’s funny is seeing Robin and Earl on the same team. They are complete opposites in this regard. One needs more fire and the other less. Balance

Blogging Suns Basketball . twitter: @phoenixstan

by Seth Pollack on Dec 11, 2009 9:42 AM MST up reply actions

This is no different

Look… Larry Bird used to get into bar fights when he was a Celtic, Magic Johnson used to sleep around, a lot. Same with Jordan, Jerry West, Charles Oakley, Charles Barkley, Wilt and a whole host of others. Dave Cowans even had a breakdown and took a year off to be a cabbie.

and Dennis Rodman?? well, he was near suicidal, amongst a whole other set of mental issues.

otoh.. Shawn Bradley spent a year on a Mormon mission. Avery Johnson, Allan Houston and Charlie Ward were all well known Holy Rollers.

otoh.. Shawn Bradley spent a year on a Mormon mission. Avery Johnson, Allan Houston and Charlie Ward were all well known Holy Rollers.Let me ask you a simple rhetorical question.. out of the two groups of players, if you have to pick even one player, from which group would you choose? I’m willing to bet it’s not one of the choirboys….Not to suggest that Sideshow belongs in the same company as the first group, but as long as he paid for the door, and didn’t hurt anyone, I have no problem with whatever quirks of personality he might have, even if that quirk is anger.Next time you talk to Steve Kerr, why don’t you ask him how much of a violent sadist asshole MJ was in practice, and why in MJ’s case they call that quirk leadership??These things have nothing to do with basketball, in the grand scheme of things, and I would suggest that instead of getting on Sideshow’s case about it, and making a mountain out of a molehill, that Alvin and the training staff figure out a way to allow Robin to channel that anger in a productive way, on the court.

"True glory consists of doing what deserves to be written, and writing what deserves to be read".

by Pliny the Elder on Dec 11, 2009 6:57 PM MST up reply actions