Milwaukee Bucks: Takeaways from 107-95 win over Philadelphia 76ers

Bench thriving with extended minutes

As Pruntymania sweeps through the Bucks fandom, there are valid reasons to suggest caution in celebrating too much just yet.

A Philadelphia 76ers team without Joel Embiid and J.J. Redick doesn’t remove any reservations about the quality of opposition that Prunty’s 4-0 start has come up against, but that’s not to say that there aren’t some developing trends that Milwaukee’s fans really should be really excited about.

One of which, and arguably the most notable difference from Jason Kidd so far, is the very well-defined shape of the rotation and the considerable opportunities it gives to Milwaukee’s bench.

Prunty’s roster management has been top class so far, as not only is he reducing the troublesome minutes load of the team’s stars, but he’s also giving the Bucks’ rotation players a greater chance to shine too.

While Kidd favored going really deep into his bench and often only giving those second unit players short and sporadic opportunities at random intervals in the game, Prunty’s rotations have been built steadily around nine players at any given time with the exception of overtime.

With so many of those bench players getting greater run, the positive results have come quickly. Over the last four games, 10 Bucks are averaging at least 15 minutes per game, with eight of those averaging above 20 minutes per game too.

Prunty is giving the bench a chance to find their rhythm that they weren’t previously afforded, and having spent the majority of the season dead last in bench points per game, the Bucks’ second unit scored 38 points on Monday to follow up their 37 point outing against Chicago on Sunday.

Sterling Brown and Matthew Dellavedova are obvious beneficiaries of that adjustment — more on them later — but nobody has benefited more than 40-year-old Jason Terry in the early stages of Prunty’s tenure.

Coming off the bench doesn’t necessarily make it easy for players to find their rhythm and contribute immediately, but Prunty’s rotation management is giving the second unit a greater chance to settle into the game.