Dec 22, 2012; Milwaukee, WI, USA; Milwaukee Bucks guard Doron Lamb (20) during the game against the Cleveland Cavaliers at the Bradley Center. Mandatory Credit: Benny Sieu-USA TODAY Sports

After the Bucks’ Saturday morning practice at the Cousins Center, new Bucks coach Jim Boylan announced in an post-practice interview that rookie guard Doron Lamb would be assigned to the Fort Wayne Mad Ants.  Doron, who had an increased role when Beno Udrih was out with an injury, has recently returned to the bench where he has routinely been placed on the inactive roster. Sending him to the NBA Developmental League should get Lamb some much needed playing time.

In recent years, the Bucks have used the Mad Ants sparingly – only assigning Larry Sanders in the 2010-11 season and Darington Hobson last season. It does, however, make sense for the Bucks to use Fort Wayne for Doron Lamb. He has been basically riding the bench in the last week, and it really doesn’t look like that will change given how productive Mike Dunleavy has been and how much the Bucks need a back-court defender like Marquis Daniels.

Doron is going to join a Mad Ants team that’s currently the hottest team in the NBA D-League after winning their seventh straight game Saturday against the Erie Bayhawks. They are, however, still sitting outside of the playoffs with a 10-10 record. The addition of former Cavaliers forward Luke Harangody, veteran Ron Howard’s smooth transition to the PG position, and the overall boost in production in the rest of the team has led the Mad Ants to their current hot streak.

During the holiday season, the Mad Ants traded their #1 overall pick JaJuan Johnson to the Canton Charge for Luke Harangody who has arguably become the best D-League player the moment he laced up his sneakers in Fort Wayne. Luke has not only added a scoring touch but just pure toughness to the team that was lacking before his arrival. Despite being 6’8, he can bang in the boards with men inches taller than him (averaging 14.4 RPG) but also go back and hit a mid-range shot (averaging 19 PPG.)

While Harangody is leading the front-court, veteran Mad Ant and D-League player Ron Howard has been the leader of Fort Wayne since the 2008-09 season. Now you might be familiar with Howard because he was with the Bucks training camp roster in the 2010-11 preseason thanks to a recommendation from Andrew Bogut. Throughout his career he was mainly a combo SG/SF but has since moved to the PG position after Fort Wayne sent Walker Russell to Erie. Howard has looked fantastic in his new position by really having a strong sense of where the rest of his four teammates are on the court. Despite being 30, he has one of the quickest 1st steps in the league which pulls in the defenders and allows Howard to kick it out Darryl Partin, Sadiel Rojas, Tony Mitchell and now potentially Doron Lamb.

Speaking of Lamb, he’ll most likely be joining Howard in the starting backcourt for Fort Wayne. Doron’s main issue so far this season has been his lackluster performance shooting from beyond the arc — the main reason the Bucks actually drafted  him. The potential of being on an NBA playoff contender will be off Doron when he starts his stint Wednesday against the Los Angeles D-Fenders. The Mad Ants do have some good young players like Darryl Partin and Sadiel Rojas, but they’ve actually been more productive as bench players this season.

It appears that Doron may only be with the Ants during their three-game West Coast trip next week which starts against the D-Fenders on Wednesday. In a local twist, Doron may be matched up against former Marquette Golden Eagle Jerel McNeal and the Jam on Friday.

Every single Mad Ant game (and every D-League game) is broadcast live and archived on YouTube, so it’ll be easier to keep track of Lamb as he tries his hand in the D-League.

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:

In my opinion, no one has played above expectations as much as John Henson – and I liked him going in

— Ed Isaacson (@nbadraftblog) July 20, 2012

GO LAKERS GO. RT @NBARumorCentral:”The Lakers have competition for free agent center Jermaine O’Neal — the Milwaukee Bucks.” — Preston Schmitt (@pdschmitt1) July 19, 2012

“Doh, I done gone and forget the ball!” – Tobias Harris

— Dan Sinclair (@dan_sinclair) July 20, 2012

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.