What Can Larry Sanders Give The Milwaukee Bucks This Season?

The Milwaukee Bucks got just 23 games out of their starting center Larry Sanders last year. The 7-footer missed five weeks early in the 2013-14 NBA season with a torn thumb ligament suffered in a fight in a Milwaukee nightclub and then missed the remainder of the season due to a fractured orbital bone after being elbowed in the face by Houston’s James Harden.

On the back of a breakout 2012-13 NBA campaign in which Sanders averaged 9.8 points and 9.5 rebounds per game, the Milwaukee Bucks re-signed the 15th overall pick (2010 NBA Draft) to a multi-year contract. After he got his big pay day though, things started to go awry for the 24-year-old. Last season, in the 20-odd games he played, he averaged just 7.7 ppg and 7.2 rpg. While it was to be expected that he would take a bit of time to regain his form and touch, his games were not overly impressive.

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Coupled with his off-court issues, it looked as though the future for Sanders was shaky at best. Sure, he has a contract in place, but whether or not he lives up to that deal and whether or not he continues to play out his contract in Milwaukee is completely up to him. This season, looms as a make-or-break year for the young center with so much potential. He can either put the off-court fighting and drug incidents aside an get back to playing basketball at a high level, or he could end up as one of “those stories” — a player with unlimited potential that just failed to get it together.

Of course the Milwaukee Bucks franchise and its fans are really rooting for Sanders to recapture his 2012-13 form. Sanders can be a devastating defender, swatting shots with apparent ease. He guards the rim and protects the paint with the best of them and his length and athleticism are key components to the Bucks structure. He makes great position and rebounds the ball well, and was even making solid strides on offense.

This season, if uninterrupted, he could return to his damaging best. During his breakout campaign, he was second in the league in blocked shots (despite playing just 20 something minutes per contest) and could be a Defensive Player of the Year candidate — if he can get it all together.

This season, the Bucks are hoping that the red flags that plagued Sanders last season, are a thing of the past. Put behind him the bar fight, the injuries and the drug policy violation (and subsequent lobbying) and return to playing basketball. Milwaukee are wanting to bounce back from a league worst season and they have some very talented pieces to build around. Brandon Knight will be back running the point (unless Giannis Antetokounmpo actually becomes a near 7-foot point guard), Antetokounmpo will be the shooting guard and rookie Jabari Parker should hold down the 3 spot. Then John Henson, who had a stellar year in the absence of Sanders, will push Ersan Ilyasova for the starting power forward spot and, of course, Sanders will anchor the middle.

If healthy and focused, the Bucks could really turn things around quite quickly. Jason Kidd is now at the helm and will be looking to achieve positive results after leaving Brooklyn under bizarre circumstances and the franchise will be hoping for more than 15 wins this season. Part of the Bucks’ success relies on Sanders and just how focused and effective he can be.

If he can give the Bucks 10 ppg and 10 rpg while sending back a couple of shots per contest, the Bucks will be vastly improved.

Sanders has the ability to be a lynchpin for the Bucks. By protecting the paint and jump starting the transition game, the Bucks will be entertaining to watch — and might just grab a few more wins than last season.

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