Short Bucks bench provides little help
DALLAS – Before trading for point guard Eric Bledsoe nearly two weeks ago, the Milwaukee Bucks had trouble getting consistent contributions from their reserves. The trade remedied that situation for a couple games, but the problems are back.
Against the Memphis Grizzlies last Monday, the Bucks needed to lean on their starters to close out the game. Ditto for Wednesday against the Detroit Pistons when a unit made up largely of reserves — consisting of individual players that had played well for much of the night — squandered a double-digit lead, creating a need for the starters to close out the win again.
The downward trend continued Saturday night in Dallas and was more pronounced when the starters struggled. The Mavericks used a 21-6 run straddling the first and second quarters to build a lead they’d never relinquish as the Bucks never found a combination that could get anything going.
As poorly as the starters played, no one from the bench was able to make an impact to stem the tide. By the end of the night Milwaukee’s three main reserves — Malcolm Brogdon, Thon Maker and DeAndre Liggins — combined to make 4 of 20 shots while individually finishing between minus-22 and minus-30 during their time on the court.
“Our bench was awful,” Bucks coach Jason Kidd said. “We’ve got to do better and we just didn’t do it tonight.”
Kidd has used a short bench rotation throughout the season, but it’s been especially tight since the Bledsoe trade. That’s in large part because Mirza Teletovic (left knee soreness) and Matthew Dellavedova (left knee tendinitis) have missed time due to their injuries.
Teletovic has been out five straight games and Dellavedova has missed the past two. Neither was on the trip to Dallas and while Kidd thinks they’re both progressing and doing what they’re supposed to as part of their rehab, he doesn’t expect either to be available for Milwaukee’s game at 7 p.m. Monday against the Washington Wizards at the BMO Harris Bradley Center.
"Definitely it hurts,” Bucks wing Khris Middleton said of Teletovic and Dellavedova being out. “We need everybody, we need everybody to play well. Not just the starting five, not just a couple guys, we need everybody every night."
Without those two rotation regulars, Kidd bas been reluctant to go deep onto his bench. Even in a game that was out of grasp for most if not all of the fourth quarter, Kidd only used Brogdon, Maker and Liggins off the bench for most of the night. It wasn't until the clock dropped under five minutes that someone else got minutes, as Gary Payton II checked in.
With the injuries to Teletovic and Dellavedova, the Bucks aren’t left with much experience at the end of the bench.
On Saturday, the garbage-time unit included Payton and Joel Bolomboy — Milwaukee’s two-way NBA/G League players — rookie D.J. Wilson and thirdyear guard Rashad Vaughn, who has fallen out of favor since his rookie season.
The bench also includes 40-year-old guard Jason Terry, who is well-liked in the locker room but hasn’t been asked to play big minutes this season. Rookie Sterling Brown was not with the team as he spent Friday and Saturday on assignment with the Wisconsin Herd.
Kidd’s lack of confidence in the depth of the bench may have merit considering the overall lack of experience and what he sees in practice, but it also means the team’s starters have to shoulder a large load.
Middleton and Giannis Antetokounmpo have been asked to play extensive minutes, with Antetokounmpo ranking second in the league in minutes per game at 37.7 and Middleton third with 37.1. Only LeBron James of the Cleveland Cavaliers has averaged more (38.6).
Antetokounmpo, who was the last Bucks player to get in the shower Saturday night after icing his feet and knees as well as using specialized compression recovery sleeves on his legs, had no interest in talking about his playing time. Asked about the burden, he interrupted twice with the same word, “No.”
He had an opposite, equally short response when asked if he’s OK with his minutes and role.
“Yes.”
Middleton had a bit more to say, but ultimately the same conclusion. It may not be a sustainable situation, but he has no problem with how many minutes he's playing.
"It doesn't bother me, you've got to be professional,” Middleton said. “We were still in the game, at least I thought, until late in that fourth quarter. We just couldn't get stops. I'm going to keep playing — as long as I'm out there I'm not going to complain about my minutes. I want to play the whole game.
“I know realistically I can't, so just got to go out there and keep playing no matter what."
The Bucks will have a rest advantage over the Wizards, which played Sunday at Toronto. That theoretically should help, though it didn’t Saturday when the Mavericks walloped the Bucks on the second leg of a back-to-back.