Hornets/Bucks Postgame

[Baddy Chuck]

There were definitely two blocks in the 4th that Larry went for that he wasn't going to alter and was never going to block that led to putbacks.

Weren't both of them Anthony Davis who wasn't even Larry's guy though?

[BUCKnation]

There were definitely two blocks in the 4th that Larry went for that he wasn't going to alter and was never going to block that led to putbacks.

Weren't both of them Anthony Davis who wasn't even Larry's guy though?

Anderson. Same thing though.

[skones]

The whole game I was thinking Dunleavy in how he kept us in it, so I am staying with him.

Question: My son just moved to Milwaukee, and he has satelite TV. He said he couldn't get the game last night. How can he start getting the game? He lives in St Francis.

I could always cut him a deal with ATT Uverse.

[RiotPunch]

This was an awesome game to be at. The BC was as loud as I've heard it in a long time, and the brand of basketball we played was very fun to watch.

[Max Green]

I remember those plays, what happened was it looked like Udoh was beat on the play, forcing Larry to step up and help except Udoh was able to recover and both Udoh and Sanders ended up being caught in the air going for the block and whoever Sanders man was would get the rebound and either tip it in or get a quick dunk.

[SpursNBucks]

It's a pretty well-known fact that the correlation between blocked shots and team defense is surprisingly weak, and it's because a lot of prolific shot-blockers are either over-aggressive in leaving their man and/or leaving their feet, and also because a lot of them are the long, lean, wiry type who can block a lot of shots with their help defense but also have trouble holding defensive position in their one-on-one matchups against strong post players. I love what Larry has been doing, but count me squarely in the camp that thinks there's plenty of room for improvement. I tend to value guys like Udoh just as much, if not more, than guys like Sanders when it comes to defense.

Good point- I watched the second half again with just analyzing Sanders and Udoh:

Sanders Positives- obviously one of the best shot blockers in the NBA. What some people might not get is even when he isn't blocking shots he intimidates opposing offenses from taking it to the rim and alters shots when they do try. Negatives- unless he slams the ball in close he can be a big liability offense - missed several of those in this game. He's hard to watch at the free throw line. Also, (to the point above) the blocks come at a price- not boxing out or getting caught too far out of position on defense too often. That said, I love the guy's game right now and I think the positives outweigh the negatives - but they do come at a price.

Udoh positives- Really understands positioning. When he doesn't get a rebound his boxing out causes the players around him (like Sanders) to get the rebound. He also blocks shots at a high rate -I believe last year he was in the top 5 or 10 /minute blocks. He has a little offensive game inside and good hands- good free throw shooter. Negatives-Can get a little flat footed at times-isn't the quickest athlete. Will get criticized by box score watchers for not getting more rebounds/minute. He hasn't developed the offensive game some thought he could when he entered the NBA.

[ampd]

Also, (to the point above) the blocks come at a price- not boxing out or getting caught too far out of position on defense too often.

You guys are still way overstating this. It comes at the "price" of being the best defensive rebounding team in the NBA.

[jeremyd236]

Also, (to the point above) the blocks come at a price- not boxing out or getting caught too far out of position on defense too often.

You guys are still way overstating this. It comes at the "price" of being the best defensive rebounding team in the NBA.

This logic makes absolutely no sense. We're the best defensive rebounding team in the league, so it doesn't matter that Sanders goes for blocks he can't get, only to leave guys wide open for buckets in the fourth quarter?

With that mindset, no team in the league would try to improve on anything they're one of the best at. I just rewatched the fourth quarter too. He had one in transition he tried to block from behind and had no chance of getting (didn't box out Davis, put-back dunk), and two with Anderson he should have boxed out. That's 3 buckets in the fourth quarter. But of course, it doesn't matter because we won right?

The point isn't that he sucks or anything like that - it's just not blindly saying we're the best rebounding team so who cares if he doesn't box his guy out. That's one of the dumbest things I've ever heard. Help defense does not equate to flying out there and slapping the backboard every single time a guy gets close to the lane, and it's something he should improve on whether we're first or last in the league in rebounding.

[LUKE23]

You guys are still way overstating this. It comes at the "price" of being the best defensive rebounding team in the NBA.

Yep. No idea what some people are talking about.

[SpursNBucks]

Also, (to the point above) the blocks come at a price- not boxing out or getting caught too far out of position on defense too often.

You guys are still way overstating this. It comes at the "price" of being the best defensive rebounding team in the NBA.

This logic makes absolutely no sense. We're the best defensive rebounding team in the league, so it doesn't matter that Sanders goes for blocks he can't get, only to leave guys wide open for buckets in the fourth quarter?

With that mindset, no team in the league would try to improve on anything they're one of the best at. I just rewatched the fourth quarter too. He had one in transition he tried to block from behind and had no chance of getting (didn't box out Davis, put-back dunk), and two with Anderson he should have boxed out. That's 3 buckets in the fourth quarter. But of course, it doesn't matter because we won right?

The point isn't that he sucks or anything like that - it's just not blindly saying we're the best rebounding team so who cares if he doesn't box his guy out. That's one of the dumbest things I've ever heard. Help defense does not equate to flying out there and slapping the backboard every single time a guy gets close to the lane, and it's something he should improve on whether we're first or last in the league in rebounding.

I was going to respond, but not much more to add. To say Larry doesn't need to improve some parts of his defensive game because of the team's currently is tops in defensive rebounding is kind of ......

[GHOSTofSIKMA]

Other great moments from last night......

On Larry's great block, he kept the ball in play and then snatched the rebound on it away from Ersan.

Buddha put up a 15/8 line with one great block in only 20 minutes. Whether he starts or not is sort of irrelevant since Larry finishes. We'd need 20 minutes of backup center anyways. To get this type of production from our "backup" center is pretty good.

Dunleavy with 9 rebounds. He seems to have found his home in our up tempo game.

sammy/ larry center duo.......

42 mpg
16.8 ppg
13.3 rpg
3.5 bpg
.644 fg%
.667 ft%

only complaint i have is theyre only 0-1 from 3pt. that needs to improve.

[LUKE23]

The last thing you want to do is try and change how Sanders plays. Nobody is saying he doesn't need to improve. But you're never going to change the kind of player he is in terms of how he attacks the game. And that's fine, since he's a stud defender.

[randy84]

One thing I would like to give Skiles props for, is that he mixed in Henson when it was still a close contest. I hope he continues to carve out small amounts of minutes for Henson during the flow of the game and not just in garbage time. I think this will help the rookie learn.

[ampd]

The last thing you want to do is try and change how Sanders plays. Nobody is saying he doesn't need to improve. But you're never going to change the kind of player he is in terms of how he attacks the game. And that's fine, since he's a stud defender.

Right. I never said he shouldn't work on his game.

What I have said is that if he was doing this at an incredible rate or even a rate worth mentioning honestly, Larry Sanders himself would not be 10th in the NBA in DRR, and the Bucks would not be 1st in the league at it. I stand by that.

[bullox]

The whole game I was thinking Dunleavy in how he kept us in it, so I am staying with him.

Question: My son just moved to Milwaukee, and he has satelite TV. He said he couldn't get the game last night. How can he start getting the game? He lives in St Francis.

I could always cut him a deal with ATT Uverse.

Or instead of trying to sell the guy something, you could direct him to his customer service.