NBA Power Rankings: 2014-15 Eastern Conference Forecast
By Shane Young
12. Milwaukee Bucks — 28-54
It’s the largest surprise, but it shouldn’t be. Milwaukee handled things as horribly as you could when you’re encouraging a coaching change. Nevertheless, they made the right choice in who they got. Nobody will ever agree with how they did it, but they don’t give a buck, and it only helped their season.
Larry Drew is one of the finer coaches in the league in terms of implementing discipline, but it’s much harder for players to connect with veteran guys in the same manner.
Sure, authorities will argue that you’re not supposed to feel a friendship connection with your coach, and that it’s supposed to be fully business and based on feelings of hierarchy. In today’s society, we are taught to disagree.
Players give more effort, care more about team camaraderie, and have more positive attitudes when they have a coach that’s younger and one that’s played in this NBA era. Milwaukee has that answer for their roster, and it’s Jason Kidd.
There’s also nothing better than watching an organization pass on the best player in the draft, correct?
Andrew Wiggins will be next in line for the superstar reign dominated by LeBron, Kevin Durant, Anthony Davis, and so forth … that’s not changing. But, in Minnesota, it’s set to take him longer than anyone would’ve guessed. He won’t have a two-time champion mentoring him now, setting him up for the best looks and taking the attention away. Wiggins needs time to develop a genuine jumpshot, since it’s a make-or-miss NBA. This isn’t the college game, where penetrating can be a player’s getaway. He’ll need to broaden his attack, and that will only come after 2-3 seasons.
(Note: There’s how you give a short diagnostic of Wiggins without using that annoying P-word).
Jabari Parker, on the other hand, has the more complete body-type to produce right away, and he desired to be in Milwaukee. In the Chicago area of the map, it’s the better spot for him from a sentimental standpoint, and he would rather play with Giannis Antetokounmpo, who will probably be taller than Paul Sturgess if this growth spurting continues.
We can’t blame him.
While Parker knows Brandon Knight isn’t Kyrie Irving (there’s a comparison that brings back memories), he’s aware that Knight is even more unselfish, and was in the same boat as him a while back. Knight wasn’t the most prized possession entering the league, and soon had to prove what he could contribute. Parker, even at No. 2 in the draft, didn’t have all the flair and hype that Irving had in 2011. People were sure of Irving, for some reason after just 11 games at Duke. Parker has to show people why he was still underrated compared to a kid in Kansas that was the consensus No. 1 since high school.
Rebounding is the facet Milwaukee can’t afford to be stuck at the bottom in. Larry Sanders, who played just 23 games last year, has to be on the floor to bring the nastiness he’s made of. Last season, the Bucks ranked 29th in Defensive Rebounding Rate, above only the Lakers — who couldn’t tell you what “boxing out” includes.
It’s not a complete joke to think Milwaukee only won 15 games last season due to Sander and Ersan Illyasova missing a combined 86 with injuries. Let that happen to your starting frontcourt, forcing multiple small lineups with Khris Middleton at power forward and John Henson trying to patrol the whole paint.
The Bucks aren’t going to struggle to score this time around, and perhaps Kidd has fun during his second gig as a head coach. The fun will come from the up-tempo play, and having a young rookie as the automatic go-to guy, one that I give comparisons to Paul Pierce.
In Brooklyn, Kidd had an older, washed over roster that ran at a pace of 91.4 possessions per 48 minutes, the fifth worst in the league. Milwaukee wasn’t much faster (91.8, 24th), but things changed as Antetokounmpo grew comfortable. Maybe they can afford to play faster now that Sanders will be back on the defensive end.
Expectations aren’t as high for Kidd as they were this time last year. That, for anyone in professional sports, lifts 90 percent of the burden. It makes it easier to focus, and ultimately execute.