Robin Lopez Update: Back Injury Progress, Low Post Offense And Suns Season Prediction

Robin Lopez is a man of few words. He will never be mistaken for the verbosity of a Grant Hill or the existential explorations of a Steve Nash.

Like his game, Robin is concise, efficient and to the point.

Robin was gracious enough to stop in the hallway for a quick chat today after another voluntary workout session with his teammates.

"It feels good. I'm just kind of ready to get back in the swing of things after a long rest," the Suns starting center said about his back, which sidelined him for several weeks last season.

Earlier this week, teammate Jared Dudley opined that Robin wasn't yet back to 100 percent physically. Robin agreed.

"I wouldn't say 100, but definitely 90 or 95, knock on wood. I'm feeling good out there," he said before adding that, with plenty of time remaining, he expects to be at full speed when the season starts in late October.

Jared also said something about Robin that I happen to agree with completely (even before Jared said it). Dudley (and I) made the point that for the Suns to exceed expectations like last season and get back in contention in the West, it will take Robin Lopez having a fantastic year and helping to make up for some of Amare's offense in the paint.

Robin's response to that pressure was a mix of humble confidence.

"With the help of my teammates, I'm going to do what I can out there," he said. "I think it's going to be a real group effort, especially to replace Amare, but if we work together and work hard, I think we can do some special things."

As for his own work on developing his low post game, Robin added, "Definitely. I've been working with (assistant coach Bill Cartwright) on that quite a bit. It's definitely going to be a focus that I'm going to try and add to my game. (So far) It feels OK. It's really just being able to make reads fairly quickly."

There's no denying Robin's intensity and physical skills. He's shown over the course of the last two seasons that he's willing to put in the work to get better and has the ability to translate what he learns on the practice court into real game situations.

Let's hope he stays healthy and is able to give the Suns a full season and take one more step to being the best true center ever to play for the Suns.

No pressure.