Doc Rivers simply cannot afford to get the Milwaukee Bucks starting five wrong and realize it far too late like he did last season. After a busy offseason full of transactions, there is a clear-cut lineup that the coach should use and another, one that aligns closer to the one he used for most of last season, that he will likely consider.
The good: Porter, Trent, Green, Antetokounmpo, Turner
In the Milwaukee Bucks' final game of last season, Doc Rivers finally deployed the starting five fans had been begging for. Kevin Porter Jr., AJ Green, Gary Trent Jr., Giannis Antetokounmpo, and Bobby Portis formed a quality lineup full of youth, speed, athleticism, shooting, and defensive versatility that most of their other lineups to that point lacked. He can build off that.
Aside from swapping out Bobby Portis for the newly acquired Myles Turner, Milwaukee should keep this lineup the same. Not only does Turner give the Milwaukee Bucks more shooting, but he's far more versatile than Portis defensively, which could further strengthen this group. He will fit in seamlessly with this group.
It's not a perfect lineup. Whether the Bucks throw Green or Trent out there as the small forward, that isn't the true position for either. Both would find themselves in some less than favorable matchups on the defensive end. Both have shown they can guard bigger foes, but asking them to do it nightly might be a bit different. That's not to say they aren't capable.
The Milwaukee Bucks made it a point to get younger and more athletic this summer, and using this lineup as their full-time starting five is the best way to unlock it.
The bad: Porter, Prince, Kuzma, Antetokounmpo, Turner
This is close to what Doc Rivers often trotted out last season, but Brook Lopez was obviously in there for Myles Turner. It's a big lineup, and that's the problem. Both Kuzma and Prince aren't playing natural positions, forcing them into matchups and situations that don't play into their strengths. Rivers could maybe get away with that with one of them out of position, not both.
After everything that went down in the postseason, it's clear he cannot use this lineup again. Kuzma's shooting is not enough to space the floor for Giannis Antetokounmpo. Prince doesn't do well against two guards defensively. Both would be better suited to come off the bench, with Prince coming in as a small forward and Kuzma as Giannis' backup at power forward.
Off the bench, there's a chance both could be quality contributors more so than if they were relied upon as full-time starters for the Bucks. Rivers can't mess this up. The Milwaukee Bucks spent money to retain players like Trent and Porter because of how great those lineups looked, and it's now time to unleash them to the fullest extent.
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