The Dark Knight (Amare) Without His Robin (Lopez)

by Seth Pollack on Mar 29, 2010 4:41 PM MST in Phoenix Suns Commentary

Batman_and_robin_medium

(Photo by Max Simbron. Dialog via DC Comics)

My plan was to wait a few more games and run the "Batman without his Robin" numbers but then I slapped my face into my palm and remembered....we already have those numbers!

And they aren't good....

Without Robin as his side-kick, Amare will have to shoulder a LOT of additional crime fighting responsibilities. Check it*

Amare is taking 2.2 more shots per game and scoring 4.4 more points game with his partner in destruction
The Dark Knight's FG% actually dropped by 2.1% but the cause is interesting and not Robin-related. His eFG% at the rim actually increased from a steady mid-60's through February to mid-70's in March. The big decline came from the 10-15ft with an eFG% drop from mid 50's to low 30's from mid-range
Amare's rebounding jumped .6 per game with ALL of that coming on the offensive glass
The Suns as a team increased a net 5.4 points per 100 possessions with Robin as a starter
The team rebounding went from -4.8 in Offensive Rebounding Rate to a plus 2.7 which is a swing of 7.5

So yeah...without Robin, this Batman is going to struggle to make up the difference. The paint will be without its Enforcer. The boards will be a crap shoot when playing bigger teams. Even the offense will struggle more and be more dependent on perimeter shooting.

I am absolutely convinced that having Robin Lopez in the starting line-up and playing at a high level is a HUGE reason why the team turned around. Without him, it will be difficult to get out of the first round of the playoffs.

GET WELL SOON, ROBIN! The Justice League Needs You!

* Data provided by HoopData.com and Basketball-reference.com

Tweet Comment 33 comments | 0 recs |

Do you like this story?

Comments

ok, so this post is a little better than mine (Life without Robin)

by like 1000. That’s why they pay you the big bucks.

Great job!

Twitter: @dahking
Too late to change the stupid twitter name. Did it as a joke to my teenager, but now I'm hooked on the news-feed aspect of twitter.

by Alex Laugan on Mar 29, 2010 4:56 PM MST reply actions

It's amazing how quickly Robin developed

We finally unearth a legitimate center, and end up almost immediately cursing our luck again.
Is Big Jake Tsikiladoofusness still playing?

by RMason on Mar 29, 2010 5:17 PM MST reply actions 1 recs

I have to rec your post for its hilarious mockery of Jake Tsakalidis’s name—Jake Tsikiladoofus. Sounds like you confused him with Nikoloz Tzikitishvili[sp??—argh!].

by 8472species on Mar 29, 2010 7:03 PM MST up reply actions

Maybe he needs to break a few doors...

It might help his recovery some how?

POW!

by AcucracK on Mar 29, 2010 5:18 PM MST reply actions

lol nice pic but seriously

We need Amare to focus on offensive glass, which will boost his offense. Hopefully he can continue to take less jump shots and take it to the hoops more aggresively as he has done in the last few games

The rest of the team needs to step it up with defensive rebounds, especially the long ones from missed three.

And seriously, we need Robin to continue to be our bruiser down low or Amare may become a magnet for fouls, if not injuries…

by magenta on Mar 29, 2010 7:53 PM MST reply actions

Robin is our tank and Amare our dps king

Please refer to Dota for what I mean.

by magenta on Mar 29, 2010 7:55 PM MST reply actions

wow...

by evnara on Mar 29, 2010 8:18 PM MST up reply actions

exactly...

WoW nerds… haha

by SunsFTW on Mar 30, 2010 7:01 AM MST up reply actions

batman and robin themed post=AWESOME

at first i thought: of course, amare plays better when he is at his more natural 4 position. but then i thought: shouldnt he do better offensively when he’s playing the 5 position since there will be matchup problems? now im confused. i dont know exactly why, but amare has put up pretty big numbers when he had a decent 5 beside him like shaq and robin…

Banzai!

by Suns' Sensei on Mar 29, 2010 8:13 PM MST reply actions

but those Suns teams

got killed on the glass and in the paint…that’s why I was really coming to like this team. Still the best offense PLUS rebounding and paint D

PLEASE COME BACK ROBIN

Blogging Suns Basketball . twitter: @sethpo

by Seth Pollack on Mar 29, 2010 9:46 PM MST up reply actions

i agree. perplexing to me is all. it would be nice to be able to draft another young athletic big who can defend in the upcoming draft. you can never have enough big men. count yourself lucky if they make it through all 82 plus the playoffs.

Banzai!

by Suns' Sensei on Mar 29, 2010 9:55 PM MST up reply actions

see there's Earl Clark's role in the coming years

I see him as a nice compliment to Amare and Robin. Sometimes playing with them at SF, sometimes spelling Amare at PF.

Twitter: @dahking
Too late to change the stupid twitter name. Did it as a joke to my teenager, but now I'm hooked on the news-feed aspect of twitter.

by Alex Laugan on Mar 30, 2010 6:46 AM MST up reply actions

I know it is a tough comparison.

But I blew out a lower lumbar disc about a year ago and I was on the couch for about a week (taking about 35 minutes to get off the couch for any reason) with a steady dose of elephant size pain killers. After week 2 I was stretching and doing minor exercises and by week three I was moving perfectly fine. Week 4 I was shooting the ball around and week 5 I was back in the line up with my usual group of guys on the court at Rose Moffard.

Lol I know it’s a bad comparison but if I can come back more or less on my own in that time frame I feel pretty good that with those guys tending to Robin he can be back in time to help us out. Especially since it seems to me from what I have read he is still mobile.

TO THE NBA - " Yeah, you have created a rift within me ; Now there have been ; several complications ; that have left me feeling nothing ; I might say, you were ; wrong to take it from me ; Left me feeling nothing " - Disturbed, "Numb"

by antiw0rm on Mar 30, 2010 7:41 AM MST up reply actions

glass half empty

“Everybody responds differently to back issues,” Kerr said. “On the bright side, the long term is he should be fine and maybe even this year.”

by dCoye on Mar 29, 2010 8:22 PM MST reply actions

Milwaukee

I am concerned about the Milwaukee game. Bogut is really playing well. Unless Frye draws him away from the basket, I can see Andrew getting 17/17 or something like that.

April 29, 2008 Total Eclipse of the Sun. Is the sky falling?

by Hawk42 on Mar 29, 2010 9:19 PM MST reply actions

Luckily for us

Bogut’s been slumping his past 10 games or so

by jburning on Mar 29, 2010 10:00 PM MST up reply actions

Channing Frye

will have him licking his chops

April 29, 2008 Total Eclipse of the Sun. Is the sky falling?

by Hawk42 on Mar 30, 2010 6:27 AM MST up reply actions

I can see Bogut going 17/17

but that won’t necessarily spell a win for Bucks. If Jennings goes for 20/10 as well though, that’s trouble.

Twitter: @dahking
Too late to change the stupid twitter name. Did it as a joke to my teenager, but now I'm hooked on the news-feed aspect of twitter.

by Alex Laugan on Mar 30, 2010 6:47 AM MST up reply actions

NETS BEAT SPURS

by yanyanman2 on Mar 29, 2010 9:20 PM MST reply actions

we better watch out

with nobody to check BLopez, we are vulnerable.

April 29, 2008 Total Eclipse of the Sun. Is the sky falling?

by Hawk42 on Mar 30, 2010 6:30 AM MST up reply actions

actually, I think this improves our chances of beating the Nets

1) gives the team a good argument not to let up]
2) gives the Nets a break from the pressure of 10 wins, and from beating a superior team.

Let’s face it, the Nets have still only won 10 games all year. Can they really put together 2 consecutive solid 48-minute games?

Twitter: @dahking
Too late to change the stupid twitter name. Did it as a joke to my teenager, but now I'm hooked on the news-feed aspect of twitter.

by Alex Laugan on Mar 30, 2010 6:49 AM MST up reply actions

give Amundson mo' minutes

As far as I know, the best-rebounding Sun other than Stoudemire—certainly the hardest worker—is Lou Amundson. His size might be a problem, but to get more rebounds while Lopez is out, put Amundson in. I think it’s as simple as that. I know he doesn’t score, but a)does Jarron Collins, and b)who cares?—the Suns score enough.

by 8472species on Mar 29, 2010 9:30 PM MST reply actions

It most definitely is not as simple as that

by hcblankscreen on Mar 29, 2010 9:47 PM MST up reply actions

:) Why not?

by 8472species on Mar 29, 2010 10:48 PM MST up reply actions

I don't quite know why

But I can’t believe how many 1 rebound games he’s had recently. We all remember the 10-rebounds-in-15-minutes games (like against the Lakers), but it continues to surprise me how many times he doesn’t make a difference while he’s on the floor.

Maybe its matchups, maybe it’s what he ate before the game. I don’t know. Take the Minny game the other night for example. Shouldn’t he have pulled down a lot more boards? Al Jefferson and Kevin Love can’t jump over a quarter, yet Lou got less than a handful of rebounds to their 38 combined.

Twitter: @dahking
Too late to change the stupid twitter name. Did it as a joke to my teenager, but now I'm hooked on the news-feed aspect of twitter.

by Alex Laugan on Mar 30, 2010 6:52 AM MST up reply actions 1 recs

Then again...

Collins is much more likely to have a no factor game than Amundson. I like Frye of the bench and Collings I like him on the bench.

by jvvenez on Mar 30, 2010 1:29 PM MST up reply actions

The Real Problem is That

Channing Frye has been inserted back into the starting lineup. A swap of Lopez rebounding and toughness for Frye’ finesse (girly) game is not what the Suns need. This change will put the team right back to where they were when they were playing 500 ball earlier in the Season. Gentry needs to put Jarron Collins in the starting lineup and continue to bring Frye in with the second unit.
This team needs toughness, rebounding and solid defense. It gets none of those with Frye on the floor. Notice that when the Suns opponents make their push, Frye is always on the floor. The 3RD quarter of the recent Wolves game is a case in point. If you have the game recorded, watch it with an eye on Channing Frye. Al Jefferson simply took him to school. This just happens so often that I wonder why Gentry plays Frye so many minutes
I am well aware of Frye’s rebounds, points and block per game, my question to you is this: What is his defensive assignment’s stats?

by da suns on Mar 29, 2010 11:43 PM MST reply actions

Begging your pardon, but I thought Collins started that game, not Frye.

by 8472species on Mar 30, 2010 12:03 AM MST up reply actions

yep

Twitter: @dahking
Too late to change the stupid twitter name. Did it as a joke to my teenager, but now I'm hooked on the news-feed aspect of twitter.

by Alex Laugan on Mar 30, 2010 6:53 AM MST up reply actions

I agree with Frye of the bench

but Amundson should start instead of Collings until Lopez is back

by jvvenez on Mar 30, 2010 1:30 PM MST up reply actions

I expect gentry to try again with collins

I would be disapointed if he bench him after one game where he had bad luck with 2 quick fouls… AG must be aware of the concept which brought us here, well he put it in place and he already tried with collins… 15-20 minutes for him is doable, channing sticks with 2nd unit where usually top center of opposing team is resting and he is helping in scoring… he was finishing some games even with RoLo starting, so he can still if the game develops that way and no other big dude is killing us…

by zeze_999 on Mar 30, 2010 4:33 AM MST reply actions

You’re right. Distrusting a reserve after one poor performance is a trait of Mike D’Antoni.

by 8472species on Mar 30, 2010 6:30 AM MST up reply actions

Anyone else hear Amare's interview on Doug & Wolf this morning?

They asked him what he’d say to anyone who thought he was just playing hard so he could get a max contract, and Amare opened by saying “Anyone who would say that is retarded” and Doug and Wolf spent the next half an hour freaking out and saying Amare didn’t mean anything bad about people who are retarded and that maybe it was a poor choice of words, etc.

I can’t believe how big of pansies everyone in this world is. Do we really need to attack Amare because he used a phrase that I’m sure almost everyone in this world has used? It’s obvious he didn’t mean to slight mentally handicapped people. It REALLY annoyed me that D&G spent so much time covering their asses and Amare’s ass.

by jburning on Mar 30, 2010 8:24 AM MST reply actions