Mr. Pogo Stick Block Party

Larry Sanders is beasting of late. No, not Garry Shandling (who I'm sure has seen a spike in Google searches over the past week). I'm talking about Mr. Pogo Stick Block Party Larry Sanders who plays for the Milwaukee Bucks.


Sanders is bouncy. He's rangy. He's active. 

These are all very good things. Like the 8 points, 7 rebounds, 7 blocks, and 2 steals he had against the Hornets last night. Or the 18 points, 16 rebounds, and 5 blocks he had two nights before against Boston. And if you follow the NBA even a little bit, you've probably heard about his 10 point, 12 rebound, 10 block triple double against the Minnesota Timberwolves last week.

Unfortunately, he's been better for my fantasy team than he has been for the Bucks who went 1-2 in those games. That doesn't mean his play isn't encouraging.

Amazingly, the main difference between this season and his last two is that Sanders has finally let go of his love for his broken (though attractive looking) 17-foot jumpshot. Along with an improving learning curve of defensive positioning, Sanders has transformed himself this season by attacking the basket instead of choosing to shoot jumpers.

The results are a career-best 55 percent from the field and a vastly improved rebound rate (12.1) --especially on the defensive end (8.8, former career best was 5.5). He uses his length, is flea-like in his ability to get right back up after coming down, and seems to have magnetic fingers as the ball is overly attracted to his big hands. 

Over his last three games, Sanders is averaging 12 points, 11.6 rebounds, 7.3 blocks, 1.3 steals, and an assist for good measure on 57 percent from the field in 30 minutes a game.

And my fantasy team came back to win this week.