Milwaukee Bucks 2016-17 Season Review: Jason Kidd
The Worst of Kidd
My first concern about Jason Kidd is his wardrobe. Shown above with a black sport jacket and green plaid shirt. This could likely get him kicked out of the best dressed NBA coaches ballot.
Kidd did, however, redeem himself by adding a bow tie later in the year while paying homage to the late Michael H. Goldberg, executive director of the NBA coaches association.
All jokes aside, Kidd is one of the few coaches who is able to wear the the business casual look on a nightly basis, clearly better than Stan Van Gundy. I only ask Kidd refrain from the green plaid which landed as part of his miscues for the season.
On to the more serious business, despite all the positives the Bucks had for the season, the rotation issues that plagued the team stand out as a negative. It’s simple to understand the aim behind constantly juggling a lineup and trying to find what works best for your team, but this can come at the expense of rhythm and development for a player, not to mention team chemistry.
John Henson received 14 DNPs throughout the season. Finding your rhythm and getting a feel for team chemistry can be difficult if you are given sporadic game play, and in a poor season it certainly didn’t help the big man, despite Henson’s professional statement in his exit interview.
Henson is not the only player who received DNPs or limited minutes throughout the season. Mirza Teletovic played nine minutes or less in 16 games this season and Michael Beasley played in 12 such games where he logged at most nine minutes of action. The rotation during the year was often hard to follow, inconsistent and unpredictable.
Last but by no means least, the Bucks were still found lacking in the defensive areas with a defensive rating of 109.3, ranking 19th in the league. Defensive rotations, player minutes, chemistry, and an overly aggressive scheme could all be pointed to as potential factors where coach Kidd led the team astray.
While it was an improvement from the dismal defense of the 2015-16 season, that bar was too low to clear for it to merit meaningful praise.