Michael Redd shows promise in Suns debut
Jan 13, 2012, 11:30 PM | Updated: 11:46 pm
Michael Redd scored 12 points in his debut with the Suns
Thursday night, showing that he is ready to finally see
time on the court.
Redd joined the Suns as a free agent after spending 11
years with the Milwaukee Bucks. He struggled with injuries
— including ACL and MCL tears in his left knee — for the
last part of his time with the team.
He was called on to play after Grant Hill suffered a
bloody nose from an elbow by Cleveland’s Anderson Varajao
at the 9:43 mark of the first quarter.
“I didn’t know I was going to get called on that quick,”
Redd said. “When Dan [Majerle] said ‘Mike!’ I said, ‘You
talking to me?'”
Redd hit his first two shots—both 3s—and continued on to
score six more points for his 19 minutes of playing time.
Because it was his first night back, Redd still had to get
back up to speed —- literally.
“We just got to get him in conditioning; he’s struggling
conditioning-wise,” head coach Alvin Gentry told Arizona
Sports 620’s Doug and Wolf Friday. “The guy hadn’t played
a 5-on-5 competitive game in the last nine months. It’s
going to take a little time for that, but you can see that
he’s going to be able to add something to the offensive
part.”
Redd will stay active on the roster and play in Friday’s
game against the New Jersey Nets (2-9).
“It’ll be fun,” Redd said. “It’ll be a challenge.
Hopefully the body responds well.”
