Behind the Bucks Pass
Fansided

Jason Kidd’s Lineup Experimentations Continue For The Milwaukee Bucks

By Ti Windisch

Nov 6, 2015; New York, NY, USA; Milwaukee Bucks head coach Jason Kidd draws up a play for Milwaukee Bucks center Greg Monroe (15) against the New York Knicks during the fourth quarter at Madison Square Garden. The Bucks defeated the Knicks 99-92. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports
Nov 6, 2015; New York, NY, USA; Milwaukee Bucks head coach Jason Kidd draws up a play for Milwaukee Bucks center Greg Monroe (15) against the New York Knicks during the fourth quarter at Madison Square Garden. The Bucks defeated the Knicks 99-92. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports /
facebooktwitterreddit

Jason Kidd continues to experiment on his Milwaukee Bucks team, this time benching both Greg Monroe and Michael Carter-Williams against the Boston Celtics.

The Milwaukee Bucks defeated the Boston Celtics in a true nail-biter on Tuesday night, winning by just one point in literally the last possible second.

That alone is noteworthy enough, considering how bad the Bucks have looked recently. What made the victory even more interesting, though, was the starting lineup that Jason Kidd sent out.

O.J. Mayo, Khris Middleton, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Jabari Parker, and Miles Plumlee. No Greg Monroe or Michael Carter-Williams.

Considering the rumor that circulated earlier this month about Carter-Williams and Monroe being floated around in trade talks, the early reaction to the lineup change was that a trade must be in the midst of taking place.

Related Story: What Could The Bucks Get For Greg Monroe?

That rumor was quickly quashed by Kidd himself, who also made it quite clear that this move was also not a strategic bench strengthening based on Boston’s sturdy depth.

That quote does however make it sound like moves will be made at the deadline. There’s no reason to find out if Miles Plumlee and O.J. Mayo can start unless they’ll have to this season, considering both are on the final year of their contracts right now.

Or, this could just be another “little changeup” from Kidd. This is far from the first time Kidd has wantonly brought a starter off of the bench. Aside from Khris Middleton, no player has started all of the games they’ve played for the Bucks.

Antetokounmpo and Monroe have been sixth men in one game apiece, while Parker has came off of the bench four times and Carter-Williams has been a relief player for some 11 games this season.

More from Bucks News

Even dating back to Giannis’ at-the-time mystery benching last season, Jason Kidd has shown over and over again that one of his favorite methods to refocus his team is sending a player to the bench for a game.

And as noisy as those moves are, they have had virtually no effect on the Milwaukee Bucks this season. In games where none of the regular starters came off of the bench the Bucks are 16-25, having won 39 percent of their games.

In the 12 games in which one or more of the starters were used in a bench role Milwaukee is 5-7, having won 42 percent of their games.

A three percent increase in win percentage is hardly ground breaking, particularly considering the smaller sample size may even skew those numbers in favor of the lineup changes a little disproportionately, It’s certainly fair to say that Kidd’s lineup changes have effectively done nothing to the Bucks this year. Aside from giving anyone covering the team a nice little pregame panic attack, that is.

Those outside of the team likely won’t know until Thursday night, but it will be interesting to see if Monroe and Carter-Williams moonlight as relief players once more.

Even if keeping Mayo’s hamstrings “warm” is no longer a prerogative, Jerryd Bayless could just as easily be the starting point guard against the Wizards.

And if John Henson is healthy by then, will he be the starter? His back might need to stay warm, after all.

More from Behind the Buck Pass

Plumlee and Monroe are also both options, of course. There aren’t enough minutes to go around for all three of these guys, despite how good they’ve all been.

That might lead to Milwaukee just resting Henson again Thursday, and finding a new home for either Plumlee or Monroe before the Bucks suit up again. Both of them have been mentioned in trade rumors at some point this season, and both could have value to several teams.

Next: Larry Sanders Considers NBA Return

Whatever happens over the next several days, it will be no surprise to see Jason Kidd continue to tinker with his team as long as he’s the bench boss in Milwaukee.

Home/Bucks News