The Suns are appreciating their training staff’s handiwork lately, with an emphasis on the “hand” part.
When Miles Plumlee saw fellow big man Alex Len sporting a splint on his hand Tuesday morning, he didn’t think much of it until asked by the media afterwards.
“I saw maybe he jammed his finger or something [on Monday],” Plumlee said. “I still don’t know. Do you guys know something I don’t know?”
When told the team had notified them earlier that day of a fractured pinky finger, Plumlee was caught off guard.
“He broke it again?” he said, surprised. “No way! I thought he just jammed it!”
There may be a reason Plumlee had minimal concerns in the first place. General Manager Ryan McDonough said on NBA TV that the 7-1 big man would probably return in the middle of the preseason. Head Coach Jeff Hornacek added after practice that Len would probably only sit out a week or so. The team’s official statement affirms those comments, stating he would be re-evaluated on Oct. 15.
As for Len himself, he also seemed upbeat despite a second minor setback heading into the regular season.
“As long as it’s not my feet or nothing like that, I’m fine,” he said. “It’s just a pinky, so I don’t get discouraged.
Meanwhile Anthony Tolliver continues to recover from his own fluke hand injury suffered during training camp. The sharp-shooting forward received three stitches in the area between his right pinky and ring fingers after snagging them in Plumlee’s jersey.
Tolliver, whose shooting in pickup games and training camp had drawn rave reviews from teammates, also figures to return to active duty soon.