Milwaukee Bucks Summer League: Tobias Harris and John Henson Set the Pace: - Behind The Bucks Pass - A Milwaukee Bucks Blog (blog)

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July 18, 2012; Las Vegas, NV, USA; Milwaukee Bucks forward Tobias Harris (15) takes the ball down court during the game against the Washington Wizards at Cox Pavilion. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-US PRESSWIRE

With Doron Lamb and Larry Sanders getting the night off and with the rest of the assembled free agents showing clearly why they were available for a summer audition, there wasn’t much to watch tonight in the Bucks’ 77-68 over the D-League Select Team except for John Henson and Tobias Harris.

They did not disappoint.

Tobias took control of the game with an assortment of strong finishes in transition, off the dribble, and in the post.  He registered a double-double in the first half and finished with 21 points, 12 rebounds, and 3 assists.  He uses his athletic ability well to buy an extra split-second in the air for squaring up and his touch on shots is truly exquisite.

He did turn the ball over seven times, a number that hopefully goes down in an offense where less of his ballhandling is required.

Harris also fills the wing on the fast break extremely well.  If the Bucks go to an up-tempo style this year with Jennings and Ellis, then Tobias is the clear choice to be the finisher at the rim.  If only he could reverse course and defend the fast break as quickly…

Henson finished with 15 points on 6-for-14 shooting, to go with eight rebounds and foul blocks.  Henson is now eighth and rising on NBA.com’s rookie ladder.  In addition to being able to block shots in the lane, he also showed that he can get out and alter jump shots as well.  He did foul a jump shooter in the game. But even if it goes against a basketball maxim to foul on a jumper, Henson’s ability to burst out and swallow up the sightlines of a marksman may be worth exploring, even if it comes at the cost of a foul or two.

Speaking of fouling, Henson blocked those four shots while only fouling three times.  He doesn’t bite on head fakes in the post, and as a result, he won’t pick up a pile of unnecessary fouls.

Larry Sanders and Doron Lamb had the night off.  Starting in Lamb’s place, Tarence Kinsey played better than most of the Bucks’ free-agent guards this week, scoring 14 points to go with two rebounds and two steals.

Video:

Tweets of the night:

Final verdict: 

Tobias Harris and John Henson are good enough to carve up a team of D-Leaguers, even when they have a few for teammates.  The two have shown enough to disprove that they can’t play, but we will have to wait until they share the court with real NBA players for them to prove that they can play.

Notes:

Journal Sentinel: The Bucks and the BMO Harris Bradley Center are close to a six-year lease agreement, which probably not coincidentally, is also the length of the naming rights deal that the arena group sealed back in May.

Twitter: Two writers for HoopsWorld reported that the Bucks execs were taking a look at Jermaine O’Neal (and Melvin Ely) out in Las Vegas at Impact Basketball’s training facility.

Bucks.com: Alex Boeder’s outstanding interview with Bucks Director of Scouting Billy McKinney.

Tags: Bucks, D-League, Doron Lamb, Featured, John Henson, Larry Sanders, Milwaukee Bucks, NBA D-League Select, Popular, Tobias Harris