Six games should be enough to convince the Bucks coaching staff that Doc Rivers needs to stop running the same rotations and getting the same mediocre results from Milwaukee's second unit. Especially when the solution is sitting right there, and it's time to actually use it. This latest win against the Indiana Pacers is proof enough.
Kyle Kuzma should be getting more minutes than Bobby Portis. Not because Bobby doesn't try hard or because the fans don't love him, but because Kuzma actually fits what this roster is trying to do.
Sometimes it really is that simple.
Kyle Kuzma might need more minutes than Bobby Portis at this point
For maybe the first time this season, Kuzma dropped efficient buckets against Sacramento. All the while, Portis continued struggling to mesh with Milwaukee's pace-and-space identity. The difference in how the offense flows with each player is night and day. Kuzma keeps the ball moving and doesn't kill possessions with slow post-ups.
The Bucks could even consider letting him run some backup five or in lineups with Turner and Giannis. Kuzma's got the size at 6-foot-9 to handle center minutes in small-ball lineups, and his versatility opens up way more options than Bobby's old-school game ever will. That's on top of the fact that he isn't a liability defensively and can score (at times), as we all saw in the Bucks' 135-133 loss to the Sacramento Kings.
The triple-big lineup with Kuzma, Turner, and Giannis has legitimate potential that Rivers refuses to explore. You'd have shooting, rim protection, and enough size to dominate the glass while still being able to switch defensively. That's a playoff-caliber lineup just waiting to be deployed.
Bobby's emotional value to the team is real, but sentiment doesn't win championships. Every minute he gets over Kuzma is a minute Milwaukee isn't maximizing their roster's actual strengths. The athletic, versatile identity they're building demands players who can operate in space and transition. That's Kuzma, not Portis.
Rivers has been vocal about the need for these Bucks to buy in to his new pace-and-space system. Maybe it's time he buy into it himself, too, and play the pieces that put them in the best position to win. The past few games, after all, have shown he already sees the value of guys like Jericho Sims.
The Kings loss proved Milwaukee can score with anyone when they've got the right lineup combinations on the floor. Kuzma was part of what worked offensively. Bobby wasn't. Rivers needs to follow that data instead of his feelings about who deserves minutes.
This isn't about benching Bobby entirely, since he obviously can still provide energy and scoring in specific matchups. But Kuzma needs to be the primary backup big, especially in lineups where Milwaukee wants to play faster and more modern.
Rivers has the pieces to fix the bench. He just needs to actually rearrange them instead of hoping the same failed rotations suddenly start working.
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