Advertised as a shot-blocker coming out of college, we’d seen glimpses of Larry Sanders rejection abilities before Wednesday, but it’s safe to say he had his shot-blocker coming out party in Denver.  Sanders tossed eight Nuggets shot attempts in the opposite direction in Milwaukee’s 105-94 loss.  Last week, Scott Skiles noted the difference between blocking shots in college and in the NBA.

“He was a good shot blocker in college, but in large part because he just kind of stood by the basket, people came in and he blocked shots,” Skiles said.  “Up here you’re actually guarding a guy who can shoot, and not only shoot, but sometimes shoot threes at his position.  So you’ve got to be ready to move around and react to things that are happening and he’s gotten a lot better at those things.”

The improvements have shown quickly.  On Sanders’ third block, he stops a penetrating guard, picks up Chris Andersen in the lane and then helps over onto the driving Ty Lawson to get the block.  That’s exactly the kind of reaction defensively that will keep Sanders on the court.

A number of years ago, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar told Sports Illustrated’s Chris Ballard that shot-blocking was “a dying art.”  He said no one got excited about interior defense any more, but that was before this Bucks crew was assembled.  If Sanders can continue to log regular minutes at the power forward slot, the pairing of he and Andrew Bogut could prove to be one of the NBA’s most effective shot-blocking duos.  Bogut is second in the league in blocks per game and, if he qualified, Sanders would lead the league in block percentage at 8.6%. Read more…

If you don’t already know, the Bucks beat Golden State 129-125 and weird as it sounds, the win wasn’t the story.  Granted the story wouldn’t be the story if it weren’t for the win, but even so, the win wasn’t the story.  Things being what they are with this game, I’m bypassing my typical format in favor of a more freestyle feel.

I have never raced home to watch one quarter of a DVR’d basketball game that I attended.  I have never known a player was about to do something terrific.  I have never had over 50 Bucks related texts messages in a half hour.  I have never been so at a loss for words when describing what someone on the Bucks did.

But then again, I have never seen a Buck like Brandon Jennings. Read more…