In the first game after watching their team get battered and bruised by the Oklahoma City Thunder, Milwaukee Bucks fans chanted Larry Sanders' name after a hard foul on the New York Knicks' Tyson Chandler late in the third quarter of the Knicks' 111-107 victory Wednesday night.
Sanders smiled a bit on the block as the Squad Six-initiated cheer rattled around the Bradley Center.
The second-year player has seen spotty minutes throughout the season, but in the last five games the 6-foot, 11-inch forward has blocked 10 shots, come up with four steals and pulled down 23 rebounds and provided a much needed presence in the defensive interior.
"Personally, I would say that (I'm developing)," Sanders said. "I think with every game, with every situation I encounter, that little adversity, it just makes you that much more comfortable out there on my court. Also, in my second year, that helps a lot too, just playing more. I think it all ties together."
On offense, veteran Mike Dunleavy is making a Sixth Man of the Year case with his play the last month, during which the Bucks have gone 13-6. Since March 9, Dunleavy has established himself as the third scorer on the team behind Monta Ellis and Brandon Jennings, averaging 16.1 points per game in Bucks victories – well above his season average of 12.3 ppg.
The two once again played key roles in the Bucks near miss Wednesday, with Dunleavy scoring 19 points and Sanders blocking three shots.
The loss was damaging to the team's playoff hopes, not only dropping the Bucks to two full games behind the Knicks in the Eastern Conference playoff chase, but giving New York an important tie breaker.
Should the Bucks continue their recent stretch of play, this duo will need to continue to produce.
Jim Owczarski is an award-winning sports journalist and comes to Milwaukee by way of the Chicago Sun-Times Media Network.
A three-year Wisconsin resident who has considered Milwaukee a second home for the better part of seven years, he brings to the market experience covering nearly all major and college sports.
To this point in his career, he has been awarded six national Associated Press Sports Editors awards for investigative reporting, feature writing, breaking news and projects. He is also a four-time nominee for the prestigious Peter J. Lisagor Awards for Exemplary Journalism, presented by the Chicago Headline Club, and is a two-time winner for Best Sports Story. He has also won numerous other Illinois Press Association, Illinois Associated Press and Northern Illinois Newspaper Association awards.
Jim's career started in earnest as a North Central College (Naperville, Ill.) senior in 2002 when he received a Richter Fellowship to cover the Chicago White Sox in spring training. He was hired by the Naperville Sun in 2003 and moved on to the Aurora Beacon News in 2007 before joining OnMilwaukee.com.
In that time, he has covered the events, news and personalities that make up the PGA Tour, LPGA Tour, Major League Baseball, the National Football League, the National Hockey League, NCAA football, baseball and men's and women's basketball as well as boxing, mixed martial arts and various U.S. Olympic teams.
Golf aficionados who venture into Illinois have also read Jim in GOLF Chicago Magazine as well as the Chicago District Golfer and Illinois Golfer magazines.
