Milwaukee Bucks: John Henson Is An Elite Rim Protector

John Henson is often lauded for his shot-blocking abilities, but he adds more than just empty stats to the Milwaukee Bucks defense.

Hassan Whiteside is an interesting case study of a defensive center. Whiteside is far and away the best shot-blocker in the NBA, but there are concerns about his actual value on defense.

Whiteside is a terror around the rim–or is he? Despite Whiteside’s 3.7 blocks per game, he finished the regular season 24th in opposing field goal percentage at the rim (counting only players who defended at least two shots at the rim per game).

While there’s certainly value to be had in blocking shots at the rim, is Whiteside really that good of a rim protector? Rudy Gobert certainly is. Gobert blocks 2.2 shots per game and defends the rim better than any other player.

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Gobert and Whiteside are often paired against each other in this argument, but what if there was a player who had the best of both worlds?

John Henson blocked 4.1 shots per 36 minutes last season, which places him behind only Whiteside (4.6 blocks per 36) among qualified players.

Henson allowed opponents to make just 42.3 percent of their attempts at the rim last year, which placed him third among qualified players (behind just Gobert and Kevin Seraphin.)

The only reason John Henson doesn’t receive the credit he deserves is that he doesn’t start games. Maybe he should.

Even in an injury marred season that saw him spend 218 of his 959 total minutes (22.7 percent) on the floor with either Miles Plumlee or Greg Monroe, Henson still managed to be one of the best defensive centers in the NBA.

Jan 4, 2016; Milwaukee, WI, USA; San Antonio Spurs guard Manu Ginobili (20) takes a shot against Milwaukee Bucks forward John Henson (31) in the third quarter at BMO Harris Bradley Center. Mandatory Credit: Benny Sieu-USA TODAY Sports /

Letting Henson start games and giving him more minutes without another big man crowding the paint would probably let him be even better on that end.

Milwaukee’s best defensive lineup last season came with Henson–and only Henson–playing center.

The first step to fixing Milwaukee’s defense might be a simple one. Just start John Henson. Milwaukee’s worst five defensive lineups last season came with Monroe at the defensive end.

The very worst and very best defensive lineups for the Bucks last year contained four of the same players: Michael Carter-Williams, Khris Middleton, Giannis Antetokounmpo and Jabari Parker. The only difference was swapping Monroe out for Henson.

The Henson version of that lineup would rank first among all NBA lineups to play at least 41 games together, with a defensive rating of 83.3. That number might not stay that low over an entire season, as the Henson-led starters played just 16 games together last season.

But it would certainly hold up better than the Monroe-led starters, who finished second-worst among all lineups. Only the Lakers had a worse defensive lineup last season.

The addition of Henson swings Milwaukee’s defense from the bottom of the NBA to the top. Starting him over Greg Monroe shouldn’t be a tough decision, especially considering the Henson lineup was 7.1 points per 100 possessions better on offense as well.

John Henson is likely the best defensive player on the Bucks. He led the team in defensive box plus/minus and defensive rating last season. He’s also one of the best rim protectors across the entire NBA.

Locking up a player like that for the next four years was a great move. Henson can anchor a Bucks defense that would swing from porous to airtight, should he be given the starting nod next season.

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Henson averaged 14.9 points, 8.3 rebounds, 2.0 assists and 4.1 blocks per 36 minutes last season. Those are starting-caliber numbers for a center.

Why on earth would the Milwaukee Bucks have any interest in bringing in Dwight Howard when they already have an elite defensive center in John Henson under contract? Howard is a splashy name, but he’s expensive and unnecessary in Milwaukee.

Seeing Henson go another year without getting a crack at being a full-time starter would be sad. He’s gifted on both ends of the floor and he’s a good locker room guy.

Next: Examining Free Agent Point Guards

He deserves a chance to prove to the entire NBA that he’s better than just about everybody at protecting the rim.

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