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The Milwaukee Bucks Banged-Up Bench Will Be Tested

By Ti Windisch

Feb 25, 2016; Boston, MA, USA; Milwaukee Bucks center Greg Monroe (left) and guard Michael Carter-Williams (5) and forward Jabari Parker (12) react during the second of a game against the Boston Celtics half at TD Garden. Mandatory Credit: Mark L. Baer-USA TODAY Sports
Feb 25, 2016; Boston, MA, USA; Milwaukee Bucks center Greg Monroe (left) and guard Michael Carter-Williams (5) and forward Jabari Parker (12) react during the second of a game against the Boston Celtics half at TD Garden. Mandatory Credit: Mark L. Baer-USA TODAY Sports /
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The Milwaukee Bucks need to rely on their starting five more than ever as injuries take their toll on Milwaukee’s bench.

The Milwaukee Bucks haven’t been a very good team all season. Injuries have been a problem all along, but even when the team was relatively healthy the wins weren’t rolling in for the Bucks.

Things will be very tough in Milwaukee from here on out, thanks to those injuries the team has suffered. Greivis Vasquez may be plotting a return, but he has yet to actually re-emerge in a game.

Jerryd Bayless and John Henson are both “feeling better”, but Jason Kidd doesn’t seem them returning to action for a while according to Charles Gardner.

And most recently of all, the Bucks just lost their newest member, Steve Novak, for the remainder of the season. For those keeping score at home, that’s four Bucks that won’t be suiting up for at least a few more games.

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That brings Milwaukee down to 11 players. There’s the starting five, which is currently made up of O.J. Mayo, Khris Middleton, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Jabari Parker, and Miles Plumlee.

Then there are the sometimes-starters on the Bucks bench who will continue to play a lot of minutes: Greg Monroe and Michael Carter-Williams.

Then there’s the other guys: Rashad Vaughn, Tyler Ennis, Johnny O’Bryant, and Damien Inglis, who was just recalled from the D-League. These three all play less than 14 minutes per game, and out of the four of them only Vaughn has gotten much run recently.

Ennis hasn’t logged 10 minutes in a single game since early January, and O’Bryant has played 10 minutes between his last three appearances for the Bucks after being a significant role player earlier in the season. Inglis has been in the D-League, and thus away from the team completely.

One or more of that group will need to see more minutes in the coming weeks. Having the Bucks starters consistently play 40 minutes in games is simply too taxing.

Mandatory Credit: Benny Sieu-USA TODAY Sports
Mandatory Credit: Benny Sieu-USA TODAY Sports /

Khris Middleton can do a lot on offense, but it’s unrealistic to ask him to carry the team for 82 straight games and to log some 36-plus minutes per game. Even asking Middleton, Antetokounmpo, and Parker to share the entire load is too much.

O’Bryant, Ennis, and Vaughn all should be given some more run in the coming weeks. None of those three players has shown any sort of star potential thus far this season, but they’ve all been at least serviceable.

Inglis could do with some more minutes too, although if the other three are unproven he’s almost unheard of.

Giving them playing time now serves the dual purpose of giving them further chances to prove that they’re legitimate NBA players while also giving the franchise guys a chance to catch their breath every now and again.

When/if guys like Bayless, Henson, and Vasquez make it back to action, then the Bucks can afford to leave Ennis and O’Bryant at the end of the bench should they so choose. But for now, it’s time to let the Young Bucks run. All of them, not just the ones that have already proven themselves.

The Milwaukee Bucks won’t have to worry about more than 82 games this season, but there’s still a limit to how far you can push players. The Chicago Bulls are a prime example of what can happen when a group of players is pushed too far for too long.

Jan 5, 2016; Chicago, IL, USA; Chicago Bulls guard Derrick Rose (1) reacts to a call against him during the second half of an NBA game against the Milwaukee Bucks at United Center. The Bulls won 117-106. Mandatory Credit: Kamil Krzaczynski-USA TODAY Sports
Jan 5, 2016; Chicago, IL, USA; Chicago Bulls guard Derrick Rose (1) reacts to a call against him during the second half of an NBA game against the Milwaukee Bucks at United Center. The Bulls won 117-106. Mandatory Credit: Kamil Krzaczynski-USA TODAY Sports /

Jimmy Butler and Derrick Rose both carried the Bulls nearly single-handedly for stretches of time. Rose hasn’t played more than 51 games since 2011, and Butler hasn’t played over 67 games since 2013.

Both players are currently on Chicago’s injury report, with Butler out for a few weeks and Rose questionable to play in the Bulls next game.

Rose played around 37 minutes per game in three straight seasons before his first major injury. Butler has led the league in minutes played in the last two seasons, and looks to miss at least 17 games in both of them.

There’s a reasons that Stephen Curry has managed to stay so healthy recently. Despite leading the NBA in scoring, Curry is outside of the top 20 players in terms of minutes played and minutes played per game this season. No players on the Golden State Warriors is on either of those lists, because that team understands how important rest is.

The same is true for the San Antonio Spurs. The best franchises know that long-term health is more important than a slight drop-off in team performance from a player catching a few more minutes of rest per game.

The logic makes sense. After all, what’s better: having Khris Middleton healthy for 80 games and playing 34 minutes per game, or having him healthy for 60 games but playing 38.5 minutes per game?

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Those numbers aren’t arbitrary, by the way. Stephen Curry is currently averaging just under 34 minutes per game, and he’s missed two games all season. Middleton has averaged 38.5 minutes per game since the All-Star break, which would lead the NBA.

Jimmy Butler is the closest to that mark over the entire season. He’s missed a full 10 games already, and he’ll be out for at least a week or two more.

The Bucks need to utilize their bench, even if it’s not the best bench in the world. Resting players is important to team success both in the short and long term. That’s something that smart franchises realize, and part of the reason the Spurs and Warriors are so good.

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There’s no reason to risk the long-term health of Middleton, Antetokounmpo, and Parker, especially in a season where nothing major is at stake. Everyone in Milwaukee wants to see those guys play, but nobody wants to see them get hurt.

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