Remember Larry Sanders?
He's the lanky tube man who leveraged his rim protection skills to land a big contract extension with the Bucks and then proceeded to torpedo his reputation with a series of bad life choices. He's taken the defensive anchor thing a bit too far and settled at the bottom of the ocean. There's nowhere to go but up for Sanders after a nightmare season in 2013-14. There's a lot of work to be done, but Larry expressed his hunger to earn back the all-caps affection this upcoming season at Bucks media day:
"You learn from different situations on and off the court, and it's all about growth. Nothing grows without pain, nothing grows without struggle, you just kind of have to pick apart the lessons within the struggle."
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Remember John Henson? He's the heir to the tube man fortune who coasted through his first two NBA seasons on his natural talent and turned solid box score production into ghastly Real Plus-Minus ratings. He's blessed with excellent tools and intimidating traits, but the total package hasn't quite come together yet. GM John Hammond challenged Henson over the summer to hit the weight room and focus on nutrition, and Henson responded by reporting to camp with a bit more bulk and putting together an impressive preseason.
John Henson Per-Game 2014 Preseason Stats, via RealGM.com |
||||||||||||||
Team |
||||||||||||||
MIL |
6 |
23.7 |
0.628 |
0.400 |
2.17 |
3.00 |
2.50 |
4.33 |
6.83 |
1.17 |
0.67 |
1.00 |
10.00 |
Although it makes no sense, Henson and Sanders are miles apart in nearly every way—from on-court production to personality and reputation.
When it comes to whether Larry Sanders will become LARRY SANDERS! again or John Henson will emerge as a long-term fixture for the Bucks, all we can do is wait and see. Will Jason Kidd's defensive system put them in positions to succeed? Will Jabari Parker, Ersan Ilyasova, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Brandon Knight, and O.J. Mayo step up as scorers and keep both guys away from any serious offensive responsibilities? We discuss these issues and more on the latest episode of the Brew Hoop Podcast. Things get very basketball-y for a while. Then Frank rejects the new nickname I offer up for Mr. Henson.
If you need to catch up on the previous episodes, here's our discussion on Giannis Antetokounmpo:
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