Milwaukee Bucks Roundtable: Reacting to Jason Kidd’s firing, what’s next

What are your expectations for the remainder of the season with Joe Prunty in charge?

Sewell: Quite simply, the Bucks need to make the playoffs while keeping their 2018 first round draft pick. Losing that pick and/or missing the playoffs would be a monumental disaster. The Bucks have Giannis Antetokounmpo who is easily a top-five player right now. It was unfathomable at the start of the season that Bucks wouldn’t be challenging for a top four spot.

Now halfway through the season, they’re fighting just to stay in the eighth spot. On top of that, losing their first round pick this coming offseason would also be a huge blow as a team so close to paying luxury tax desperately needs to find cheap talent in the draft. Losing that pick in the first year to Phoenix would be both disastrous and embarrassing.

Riley: Expectations are hard to set in stone, but what I’d desire is an easier question to answer.

I don’t really expect monumental changes from what Jason Kidd had established before, as Prunty was a big part of Jason Kidd’s regime. However, some things I believe all Bucks fans would like to see from Prunty are some changes to the team’s hyper-aggressive blitzing defense. Reduce that to a more conservative approach with some doubles sprinkled in. You could see late in the game against Phoenix, that one of these doubles stymied Devin Booker. Picking and choosing when and who to double can be more effective.

Hopefully, Prunty can make some tweaks to the team’s halfcourt offense. More designed plays, and a little less iso to get the players better looks. The last, and maybe most important thing would be to reduce the heavy minutes of Giannis Antetokounmpo, and Khris Middleton to keep them fresh.

Henriksen: I’m with Ryan on the issue of minutes. Beyond that, I think the full expectations of the season are still in play for Prunty’s Bucks. I don’t know if it will be a credit to Prunty or a reflection of Kidd’s shortcomings, but I expect the Bucks to finish fifth or better in the East, and make it out of the first round.

Windisch: I would like to see better-managed rotations, especially with Giannis taking basically a week off because of his knee, with guys like Sterling Brown and Sean Kilpatrick getting more minutes to balance out the rotation. Also, more of the moderate, not-so trap heavy defense like the Phoenix game brought would be good. This roster was built to switch, so let’s see some switching.

Katti: During his previous head coaching stint in Jason Kidd’s absence within the 2015-16 season, Joe Prunty did not change many things from what Kidd had done with the team. However, the team is completely his own now, especially given the firings of assistant coaches Eric Hughes and Tim Grgurich.

With that said, I expect Joe Prunty to stabilize the roster in ways Jason Kidd could not. The minutes of Giannis and Khris Middleton should reduce, and the rotations should be more consistent. Prunty should also reinstate Tony Snell into the starting lineup because the move would make the bench more reliable, and make the starters one of the top squads in the league once again.

Ahlmann: In terms of big picture expectations, I don’t think anything should change. The goal should be to win a playoff series. Rohan hit the nail on the head in terms of stabilizing the roster too. I think if anything more should be asked of Prunty, it’s to instill a level of normalcy and stabilization back into this roster and its rotations. There should not be questions about Brown playing over Brogdon because he was the first player seen on the bench, or general inconsistencies when it came to rotations and minutes played on this team.

Polglaze: Given the current state of the team, the goals should be to secure a playoff spot (while keeping their draft pick) and at the very least force a competitive first-round series. As far as coaching, I would like to see Prunty make some creative tweaks to the offense, while normalizing the rotations and minutes of players. Toning down the aggressiveness of the defense would be a smart move, but is not something I would expect.

Polewski: My expectations are lower than a snake’s belly in a wagon rut. That is not to say I do not have faith in Prunty. He has gotten to where he is thanks to hard work and deserves a shot at the helm. It all hinges on his relationships and the respect he gathers from the other coaching staff and players. They are all saying the right things now but time will tell if he has the team’s ear. With Jabari coming back, there is always something to be excited about.

Treske: I won’t rehash what Ryan, Ti and Rohan have talked about regarding rotations, Giannis and Khris’ workload, and overall tweaks regarding the team’s defensive tactics, but I’m definitely in favor for all those of points.

But as far as expectations go, I really don’t have any benchmark that the team must meet, aside from just making the playoffs at this point. Given we only have a game to go off of since Prunty has been installed as the team’s interim coach, we’ll all be tuned in to how the team reacts to having this seismic change happen in the middle of the season and see if ultimately changes things for the better, both in terms of the standings and in morale.

McGee: With the talent they have, the Bucks should still make the playoffs. Beyond that, it’s very difficult to have any expectations.

Positive changes would be welcomed, and I certainly expect to see heavier bench minutes, but most importantly I’d like to see a Bucks team that plays with some freedom, and looks like they’re actually enjoying being together.

Even if the Bucks just fall into the playoffs, if Prunty can build up morale and come up with a more consistent gameplan, Milwaukee’s talent is sufficient to give them a chance of scaring any Eastern Conference team in the postseason.