The report analyzes two different ways interior big men can make an impact on the defensive end: lowering the shooting efficiency of opponents and lowering the shooting frequency of opponents close to the basket. The importance of reducing shooting percentages is obvious. Reducing shooting frequency close to the basket is important because that means teams are taking worse shots (mid-range jumpers and three-pointers).

You want keep people from from shooting from that red-orange-yellow on the bottom.

In reducing shooting efficiency near the basket, Sanders is the second best defensive big man in the league just behind Roy Hibbert. NBA shooters make 49.7% of their shots when one of the big men in the study was five feet within the basket. When Sanders is five feet away from the basket, shooting percentages drop to 38.4%.

In terms of reducing frequency of shots near the basket, Sanders is among the worst in the study. Opponents take 61.9% of their shots near the basket when Sanders is five feet from the basket. This accounts for Sanders high number of blocks. He has more opportunities to block opponent’s shots than someone who discourages a lot of attempts near the basket like Dwight Howard. A lot of this measurement is based off of reputation: if Sanders can keep preventing points in the paint, less players will want to shoot near the basket when he’s in the game. But Sanders can still do a lot to prevent shots near the basket.

Sanders was the top performer in an advanced statistic created by the study: proximal FG%. Proximal FG% measures how well opponents shoot when a defender is within five feet of their shot. When Sanders is within five feet of someone’s shot, the opponent shoots 34.9%. The average proximal FG% is 45.6%

Drew Gooden and Ekpe Udoh were also part of the study. Udoh, like Sanders, performed well in reducing the field goal percentages of shooters near him, but a high amount of attempts are near the basket when he is around. Gooden is terrible at all things defense.

You can read the report in full detail here.

Note: Storify loads slowly, so give it some time. And you may want to refresh your page very few minutes to get the latest stuff. If you get a Service Unavailable warning, just refresh again.

“Growing up, I thought I wanted to play basketball for a living, but now that’s just something to pay the bills,” said the player, “what really fulfills me on a deep personal level is lying about where I want to play basketball.”

The player explained that his favorite thing to do was letting reporters go to voicemail. “I always thought I was a bad liar because my mom always caught me, but no matter what I say, these guys just take it at face value.”

“At first, I just did it for attention, but after lying about that first rumor, my confidence was so high, I took thirty shots the next game,” said the player.

Later, while signing an autograph for a child, he looked the kid right in eye, and genuinely smiled as he lied about staying with the hometown team forever.

SHEBOYGAN, WI – After an exasperating night caps-lock screaming at fans and bloggers, local man Frank “Basquiat of the Trade Machine” Conlon, 32, completed a labyrinthine trade scenario that would make the Milwaukee Bucks a championship contender, leave all trade partners satisfied, and throw shade at his haters.

“I was having real problems trying to move Monta Ellis, but then it dawned on me, ‘trade exception, bro,’” said Conlon as he badgered the Bucks twitter account for GM John Hammond’s contact information.

The hypothetical trade was the end result of a four-hour argument originating on Twitter.

“No one had an answer when I unveiled this masterpiece and asked ‘who would say no to this trade?’” said Conlon, “I celebrated by sending people some really hostile messages.”

When asked who would say no to that trade, Conlon’s wife replied, “Houston.”

At press time, Conlon has not received any NBA front office job offers.

Photo by Joe Murphy/NBAE via Getty Images

The defensive identity of the Milwaukee Bucks was supposed to die when Andrew Bogut left and Monta Ellis arrived. A high-tempo offense led by Ellis and Brandon Jennings was supposed to be the identity of the Bucks for the foreseeable future.

Last season, that idea looked viable. The Bucks were an above average offense that was fairly exciting. This year, that plan has been a complete failure. The Bucks are among the dregs of the NBA in offensive efficiency. They can’t score 100 points per 100 possessions. The average NBA team scores 102 points per 100 possessions.

What has kept the Bucks in playoff contention is defense. It’s the defense is that’s going to save this team.  And with a minor tweak, this team could deliver the promise that the 2009-10 defense showed.

Three-point shooting

There are two key principles to an elite Scott Skiles defense. The most important principle and the number one reason why the Bucks defense is good again is that the Bucks limit three point attempts. In 2009-10, the Bucks allowed only 15.6 three point attempts per game – only the San Antonio Spurs allowed less. In 2010-11, the Bucks only allowed 16 three point attempts per game – good again for top five defenses in least three point attempts allowed. When the wheels fell off last year, the Bucks finished in the bottom 10 for threes allowed with 18.9 a game.  This year, the Bucks are only allowing 17.2 three point attempts per game – good for third best in the league.

Defense at the rim

The next principle is defense at the rim. The Bucks are top five in the league in opponents’ FG%at the rim (61.2%). In 2009-10, they allowed a FG% of 58.1 at the rim. Since 2009-10, the Bucks have always been near the top of the league in opponents’ FG% at the rim.

While the play of Larry Sanders has been a pleasant surprise and clearly helpful, he isn’t why the Bucks are so good near the rim. The Bucks have played good defense near the rim for years. It is part of the broader Skiles philosophy of everyone converging on the paint once the ball is in there nearly to the detriment of leaving shooters open. Where Sanders vast improvement has made the most impact is that the Bucks guards can now confidently pressure teams on the perimeter without getting burned.

Fix pick and roll defense

What’s holding back the Bucks defense from being just good to really good and maybe even great is the pick and roll defense. Here is a really simple fix found in how the 2009-10 big men approached the pick and roll and how Sanders approaches it.

Kurt Thomas and Andrew Bogut didn’t concede the paint. Sanders sags into the paint.

Kurt Thomas meets the PNR ballhandler at the free-throw line.

Andrew Bogut does the same.

When the pick was set, Sanders was at the top of the key, he’s sagged deep into the paint which puts him in bad position to contest the pick man, Tyler Zeller, who eventually hits the shot in this play.

Sanders needs to change his mindset from, “I’m going to get a block” to “I’m just going to completely stop this play before it even it gets started.” If he makes this really simple adjustment, the Bucks defense will be really spectacular.

This look into the Bucks defense only makes their offense so much more frustrating. There is a complete disconnect between the Bucks offensive and defensive strategies. The Bucks look to limit threes and FG% at the rim. The Bucks are near the bottom in the NBA in three-point attempts and put themselves in position to take horrendous shots at the rim. The fact that they can’t figure out what they try to limit on defense should be what they should do on offense is astounding. This isn’t an inefficient offense because for any other reason than stupidity.

Michael Redd was twice the player that Brandon Jennings and Monta Ellis currently are combined. Redd had a great understanding of what he could and couldn’t do. Redd couldn’t pass. So he didn’t pass. He couldn’t rebound, so he didn’t rebound. He couldn’t play defense, so he never even tried. But he could shoot. His understanding of himself created a plan and a purpose for each and every possession. Sure, that plan was just to make it rain (which at the end, totally chafed fans), but for one and half seasons, his mindset plus his skill lead to self-actualization. Michael Redd was a flawed basketball player, but he was the perfect Michael Redd.

Ellis and Jennings have no clue who they are as basketball players. They do things just because that’s what starters are supposed to do. Passing is good, so they pass. Threes are good, so they shoot threes. There is no plan from possession to possession and the offense is impotent because of it. They’ve never taken the time to think: am I capable of this? Is this a good idea? Am I any good? They scaled their usage to all-star levels and now they’re trying to find their efficiency. That’s not how that works. You find your efficiency, then you scale your usage up.

There may be an argument that the structure of the rest of the team demands much out of them. I’d argue that the structure of the team doesn’t demand all the stupid things they try. I’d also say that Redd’s teams had A LOT of weaknesses, but Redd played to his strengths, not the teams. Those teams were not good, but this isn’t an argument of results. It’s an argument about process. The only way the Bucks will ever have a good team is if the players know who they are and the team has fewer weaknesses.

I’d much rather go back to Michael Redd do his absolute best and fail than watch Monta Ellis and Brandon Jennings ruin my life.

Choose the Form of the Destroyer

Rajon Rondo is the perfect player for what I’m talking about. He has such a great understanding of what he can and can’t do that it’s almost a detriment to himself and his team. Dude deliberately passes up open lay-ups to get assists.

Since I was so mean to Ellis this entire preview, I will say that he’s an exceptional interior passer. However, Rondo is the best interior passer in the game. Celtics possessions don’t even start until Rondo is deep in the paint.

#FLEXING

I’m really upset that Drew Gooden is playing again. I’m not upset because he’s a bad basketball player – he’s serviceable, but goofy. I’m angry because I was really liking the idea of Gooden getting paid millions to watch NBA games courtside. He seemed to really enjoy himself – doing the “Flexing” celebration with Marquis Daniels and lecturing the rookies about the virtues of passing the ball into the stands.

Ekpe Udoh All-Star Watch

I’m looking forward to an eleven rebound effort for Udoh tonight. The Boston Celtics have just completely given up on rebounding. They’re 28^th in the league in true rebounding percentage and dead last in offensive rebounding percentage. Kevin Garnett is the only viable big man for the Celtics. Every other big man is generally bad. Jared Sullinger can’t jump, but Boston fans like him. Don’t listen to them. Boston fans are terrible people.

Prediction:

I mutter greater than 37 obscenities at Jennings and Ellis tonight.