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Milwaukee Bucks: Is Jason Kidd at fault for the team’s underachieving?

Michael Saenz|
MILWAUKEE, WI - APRIL 22: Head Coach Jason Kidd of the Milwaukee Bucks walks the sidelines during the first half against the Toronto Raptors of Game Four of the Eastern Conference Quarterfinals during the 2017 NBA Playoffs at the BMO Harris Bradley Center on April 22, 2017 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using the photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Mike McGinnis/Getty Images)
MILWAUKEE, WI - APRIL 22: Head Coach Jason Kidd of the Milwaukee Bucks walks the sidelines during the first half against the Toronto Raptors of Game Four of the Eastern Conference Quarterfinals during the 2017 NBA Playoffs at the BMO Harris Bradley Center on April 22, 2017 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using the photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Mike McGinnis/Getty Images)

The Milwaukee Bucks are the perfect example of why coaching matters in the NBA, and it’s not a great look for Jason Kidd

A few years ago a group of no-name Milwaukee Bucks, led by second-year coach Jason Kidd, made the playoffs out of nowhere and pushed a 3rd seeded Chicago Bulls team to six games.

It was the first time the national fan base was introduced to Giannis Antetokounmpo. No one knew how to pronounce his name initially, but that changed quickly. Even after losing to a Bulls team that was on its last legs as a group, the future was clearly bright for the Bucks. It was a matter of “when”, not “if” the Bucks would arrive and perhaps be the next big thing in the East.

Three years later, Giannis is one of the biggest stars in the NBA. He’s averaging 28 points and 10 rebounds per game, on top of 55 percent shooting from the field. He will likely finish in the top 5 of the NBA’s MVP voting, and would likely be a bigger threat to the likes of James Harden and LeBron James if his team was better than a middle of the pack East team.

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But where Giannis has lived up to his expectations, the Bucks overall haven’t

In the three years since, the Bucks haven’t really improved as a team. In 2014-15, the year they lost to the Bulls in the first round of the playoffs, the Bucks were 41-41.

In 2015-16, the Bucks only won 33 games and failed to make the playoffs. In 2016-17, the Bucks made a return to the postseason, finishing the regular season with a 42-40 record, but lost in the first round to the Toronto Raptors.

This season, the Bucks are on pace to win 43 or 44 games and likely finish as the 6th, 7th or 8th seed in the Eastern Conference. And barring something unthinkable happening, the Bucks will likely lose in the first round of the playoffs again.

Milwaukee’s roster is littered with talent; they probably have the fourth best roster (from top to bottom) in the Eastern Conference. For some reason, however, the team hasn’t been able to put it all together for the past couple of seasons.

And that has to fall on the shoulders of Jason Kidd, who was in the conversation to win the NBA’s Coach of the Year award during his first season with the Bucks, the year that they snuck into the playoffs before losing to the Bulls.

A team with Giannis, Eric Bledsoe, Khris Middleton and Malcolm Brogdon should not be fighting for one of the final playoff seeds in a weak Eastern Conference. Oh, and Jabari Parker is set to return from injury any day now.

A little more than past the halfway point of the 2017-18 NBA season, the Bucks have a net rating of 0. They have a top 10 offense, but a bottom six defense – not to mention that a team with that much length on its roster should never have a bottom six defense. They’re a net even team. Let’s not sugarcoat it. Let’s just say what they are.

They’re average.

The Milwaukee Bucks are an average team with an above average roster. That doesn’t compute. If anything, it suggests that there’s some underachieving going on somewhere within the organization.

And if the team has a talented roster, with Giannis developing at an unprecedented rate, coaching is likely the biggest disconnect.

The team’s defense has been bad for the last three years. In 2014-15, during Kidd’s first year, the Bucks had the second best defense in the league. Since then, though, they’ve had the 22nd, 19th and 24th best defense respectively.

Even though the team’s offense has improved – they’re actually ranked in the top 10 this season – I’m not sure if that’s a product of Jason Kidd or if it’s more simply an effect of having one of the five best players in the league on the roster.

Are the Milwaukee Bucks a young team that have gone through peaks and valleys this season? Absolutely. At the same time, that’s not an excuse Kidd can continue to point to, especially after arriving onto the scene three years ago.

I don’t blame Kidd for this quote; he’s essentially saving himself.

At the same time, shifting the blame doesn’t exactly accomplish anything. Especially for a “young” team.

Even if the Bucks make the playoffs this season, and they probably will, it’s still time for this franchise to take a hard look at the job that Jason Kidd has done not only this season but for the last few years.

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Three years ago, the Milwaukee Bucks were the hot young new thing in the East. Today, they’re one of the most underachieving teams in the conference. It just doesn’t make sense.

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