Robin Lopez has missed 14 games thanks to a left knee sprain but after three solid days of practice is set to return on Wednesday versus the Minnesota Timberwolves.
Coach Gentry said it was “more than likely” that Lopez would start for the Suns. A big reason for starting him, even if he only plays limited minutes overall due to conditioning, is to get him into the game while he’s still warm from pregame warm-ups.
Having Lopez start will allow Gentry to push Earl Barron to a more natural bench role and make it easier for Channing Frye to play more with the bench unit which helps spacing on the offensive end and defense on the other end.