Taylor Jenkins made changes once again to the Milwaukee Bucks' starting five on Friday against the Orlando Magic. The surprising swap saw Ousmane Dieng make his first start of the season, but the forward didn't even register five minutes. It looks like the head coach will make another change, with Dieng now out for Sunday's game against Atlanta.
Further Bucks' lineup changes on the way
Dieng will miss the home game against Atlanta with a left finger sprain. That may be the reason he played such limited minutes against the Magic. Either way, a different starting lineup will be used once again. There's no telling what it will be.
The Bucks are, of course, beginning their rebuild, so they are trying different rotations to see which players are worth building around for the future or can be trade bait. However, the constant changes to the starting lineup and rotation won't benefit anyone. Right now, everyone outside of Tyler Herro and Jaime Jaquez Jr. can't string consistent performances together.
Nate Ament had a quiet yet solid first career start against the Lakers, but he was demoted for Dieng to start in the last game. Looking over Dieng's game logs, he played 21 and 16 minutes to start the season and was a DNP in game three. He found himself playing garbage-time minutes or not playing at all. Then, in his recent three-game stretch, he averaged nine points, two rebounds, and shot 56.3 percent from the field in 19 minutes before getting the nod to start.
Taylor Jenkins is a good coach and can work with young players, but continuous changes prevent anyone from finding a rhythm. That impacts both the young players trying to develop and the veterans' trade value that the Milwaukee Bucks are hoping to raise.
Is it time to just lean into the youth?
Increasing the trade value of Myles Turner and Kyle Kuzma makes absolute sense as to why they would start. The former has struggled but had a season-high 14 points and 11 rebounds against the Magic, which is quite staggering to say about a $26 million center. Kuzma has been inconsistent, so if anything, both of their values are more likely to drop.
If that is the case, is it time for Jenkins to just fully lean into the youth? Ament has shown flashes from the bench and had some good moments in his first start, despite what the box score shows. He may return to the starting lineup along with fellow rookie Brayden Burries.
Further down the rotation, Gary Trent Jr. found himself completely out of the mix, playing garbage time, before logging 16 minutes on Friday and pushing other players out of the rotation. Kasparas Jakucionis has seen his minutes be all over the place, again not aiding any potential development. Two different types of guards and two very different situations, especially with the ongoing investigation into Trent's contract.
Turner has been poor, but Kel'el Ware has been inconsistent, so that change could be one Jenkins looks to. Jaquez has been impressive both in the starting lineup and in his recent games off the bench. Whether he sticks around or not, he has started this season well.
Another change will be made to the starting five, making it tough for anyone to find their rhythm without a consistent role.
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