The seemingly innocent neck strain that sidelined Taurean Prince for the last two games is worse than Bucks fans hoped. Now, ESPN's Shams Charania reports that Prince has suffered a herniated disc and will likely miss "a significant period of time." In a rotation already searching for answers at small forward, this development leaves the Bucks more uncertain than ever.
Prince is a wing Milwaukee has no clear replacement for
Doc Rivers has options. The problem is that all of them have glaring weaknesses. Gary Trent Jr. maximizes the Bucks' offensive firepower but gets exposed for his lack of size. Kyle Kuzma gives them size and defense, but as a subpar shooter, he cramps the floor spacing. Amir Coffey should be a plug-and-play 3-and-D option. He hasn't been much of anything.
By himself, Prince is hardly an adequate answer, but he does balance the small forward rotation. He has size and strength that Trent does not. Shooting 42.9 percent from deep this season, Prince is the reliable marksman Kuzma is not. So far, Coffey has been nothing of the kind, either.
Of course, Prince isn't equipped to defend the nimbler variety of wings, and perimeter shooting is the extent of his offensive game. As long as the 3-point shot is falling, though, he is effective in his role, offering something the Bucks' other options don't. On an imperfect roster, he is more important than his 6.1 points per game would suggest.
Rivers has had to rely on Prince more than might be ideal. His 21 minutes per night are indicative of Milwaukee's lack of a clear-cut, well-rounded player in the traditional small forward mold. His absence already revealed the drawbacks of depending on Trent and Coffey against the Rockets. Houston is just the type of opponent where it would make sense for Rivers to feature lineups with Prince and Kuzma at the forward spots, allowing Trent to spend more time at shooting guard.
It's not like missing Prince will be a crippling factor, but it complicates matters significantly.
Now, the Bucks will have to move forward either accepting size issues with Trent, hoping Coffey rediscovers himself, or going clunky with more small forward minutes for Kuzma. Regardless of how this situation unfolds, it wouldn't be surprising if the Milwaukee Bucks addressed their vulnerabilities by targeting a small forward at the trade deadline.
For now, the sooner Prince returns, the better. By the sound of it, however, it won't be immediate, so Rivers and the Bucks will have to figure things out on the fly.