Milwaukee Bucks: Grades from 131-127 loss to Toronto Raptors

C. While the most fervent of Kidd’s critics will look to criticize the coach’s rotations after the fact in this game, the truth is they were pretty solid. Sure, they lacked the kind of reliable patterns that most teams use to build comfort and confidence for the players, but for example, giving Matthew Dellavedova heavily extended run based on how well he was making the team play was the correct decision. <p>What can’t be argued is that the coach fell short in a couple of significant ways at critical junctures of the game. Firstly, on the aforementioned Lowry three when Middleton left him to double DeRozan, the confusion caused by the coach’s scheme was evident. After the game, Middleton admitted that the instruction in that scenario is to trap DeRozan, but accepted responsibility as he said he trapped from the wrong side leaving Lowry open.</p> <p>Technically, that does leave that mistake on Middleton, but the reality is that by persisting with such an aggressive scheme, Kidd is accepting that his team are going to make a whole host of similar mistakes over the course of a season. There may not be another team in the league choosing to run a defense that demands as much of their players, and the result is always going to be costly mental lapses.</p> <p>While Lowry’s triple tied the game, the Bucks still had a chance to win the game with over three seconds left in regulation. The play that was drawn up was a shambles, though, as Malcolm Brogdon was unable to create any space to get a real chance at winning the game. The Bucks’ plays in these scenarios are regularly nothing short of disastrous.</p> <p>After the game, Kidd spoke about wanting to get the ball to Khris and Giannis in that scenario with Brogdon as the safety option for the inbounder. Unlike when you’re inbounding with a lead, a plan is still required for the safety option beyond preventing the turnover and getting the game to overtime. Unfortunately, it didn’t seem like there was one evident as Brogdon failed to get his shot off.</p> <p> </p>. Head Coach. Milwaukee Bucks. JASON KIDD