3 big concerns for the Milwaukee Bucks come playoff time
By Max Griffith
The Milwaukee Bucks will need to shorten their rotation
The regular season often provides a “trial” of sorts for a head coach when they decide on their playoff rotation. Head coach Mike Budenholzer has shown that he likes to use a deep rotation since he started coaching in Milwaukee. Usually, he turns down the notch in the postseason and shortens up the rotation a bit. I think the rotation should already be shorter as it is, but it has not been a huge problem in the regular season. People often confuse things when “shortening the rotation” is talked about, it can mean completely benching a player or upgrading your starters’ minutes.
Giannis, Khris, and Jrue should all be in the 37-plus range. They all currently play under 32 minutes per game, so there could be some improvement there. One of these guys missing anything more than a quarter in a game could be a huge problem for Milwaukee.
In past years, Budenholzer has done a pretty decent job managing his star’s playoffs minutes. Another thing I would like to see coach do is not play as many players as he has been in this year’s regular season. Guys like Wesley Matthews and Jevon Carter should see limited minutes at the most.
They could be great for Milwaukee as spark plug defenders if they are playing the appropriate minutes. Jordan Nwora and DeAndre’ Bembry could also fall under this category. Matthews averages just 4.8 points per game on 38 percent from the field and 32 percent from 3. Matthews offers decent defense on the other end, but some of his increased minutes he is getting now could be spread around the team a little better.
The main players to come off the bench should be Pat Connaughton, Brook Lopez (if healthy), and Serge Ibaka. Those three guys should be in the 15-20 minutes per game range. The main point here is that Budenholzer realizes that he doesn’t necessarily have to play a lot of players for us to win.
Next. 3 big takeaways from Milwaukee Bucks sweeping tough 3 game stretch. dark
The Bucks have 15 games remaining to address these concerns and cement themselves as title favorites.