Bucks Sliding Out of Playoff Picture
The disappointing season for the Milwaukee Bucks has no end in sight without Jason Kidd at the helm. After dropping another road game to fall to 12-21, including 3-15 on the road, the Bucks can all but kiss any playoff chance goodbye. A full seven games behind the Miami Heat for the eighth and final playoff spot, the bigger issue is that they would have to jump four other teams to even get to Miami.
With 49 games left to play in the regular season, the Bucks technically have plenty of time to turn things around. This team has given no indication that it is ready to turn things around, though. Take away the one feel good win against the then undefeated Golden State Warriors and you have no statement wins this season. When you consider that the Warriors were playing the Bucks on the second night of a back-to-back, it was also their final game of a long road trip, and the Bucks were coming off of a day of rest, even that win comes with a bit of an asterisk.
Jason Kidd was forced to step down after his doctors recommended he have hip surgery in the middle of the season. He announced that assistant coach Joe Prunty would take over for him on December 20th and has not given a timetable for his return. Kidd was not only a coach for this young Bucks team but was also a veteran leader in the locker room. Kidd is still very young for an NBA coach and it was not long ago that he was playing on the hardcourt, so his experience and leadership was invaluable for a young and restless Bucks squad.
As it stands, there would have to be a remarkable turn around and an even more remarkable winning streak to push this team into the playoff picture, and even then they will just be fighting for the right to lose to the Cleveland Cavaliers in the first round of the playoffs. As young as this team is, it would be bolstered even further if a few ping pong balls fell their way and they were gifted a guy like Ben Simmons or Henry Ellenson in the upcoming draft. Another high draft choice coupled with a few shrewd veteran signings would lift this team to new heights. Kidd would also need to return to the coaching seat and relegate Prunty to the assistant’s chair, but that is something that the Bucks cannot control.
It is just a matter of getting the young players some more valuable playing time this season, regardless of how the final record turns out. Many writers and fans thought that this year would be the Bucks’ year, but it looks like they were a year or two off.
Still, this team is young and exciting to watch. Young players play with a youthful enthusiasm and energy that is rarely seen in the NBA.
