Milwaukee Bucks: 5 reasons Jason Kidd was fired
5. Inability to adjust defensive scheme
When Jason Kidd was coaching the Brooklyn Nets, injuries and personnel forced him to develop a trap-heavy, aggressive defensive scheme focused on producing turnovers. When he came to Milwaukee the next year, he implemented that scheme en force, and the Bucks surged to second in defense and a spot in the postseason, after finishing 29th in defense the year before.
That defense has slipped ever since, as teams have cracked the code and realized that if the Bucks do not force a turnover, they are very prone to giving up a high-percentage shot, be it from long range or at the rim. The Bucks ranked 22nd in defense the next season, 19th last year, and were just 25th at the time of Kidd’s firing.
More from Milwaukee Bucks
- NBA Rumors: 3 teams emerge as most-likely Giannis destinations
- 7 players the Milwaukee Bucks gave up on far too soon
- Report: Bucks, 76ers, and Suns all vying to land this championship coach
- 5 potential candidates for Bucks’ head coach
- NBA Rumors: Milwaukee may overhaul roster after early playoff exit
ESPN‘s Kevin Arnovitz wrote a feature on the Bucks prior to the season, detailing the lofty goals — and successes — of Kidd’s scheme. But if the scheme is not run to perfection it springs dangerous holes very quickly, and it’s just not feasible for a team to be in the exact right spots and move at the exact right nanosecond every time down the court. As ESPN‘s Zach Lowe wrote back in December as it became clear the Bucks’ scheme wasn’t working, “perfect can be the enemy of good.”
The problem with the scheme is that it takes the Bucks’ best defensive advantage — their length — and takes it away from the rim. By forcing the big man defender to trap on the perimeter, less-qualified players are forced to scramble on the back side and protect the rim. When a defense swarms the strong side so completely, NBA players are smart enough to find the holes and pass into them. Lowe touched on this again just last week.
With Giannis Antetokounmpo being one of the league’s very best and most versatile defenders and a roster filled with long athletic personnel with strong defensive chops, this team may have one of the five-best rosters in terms of defensive talent … and Jason Kidd coached them to 25th this season. That’s a major reason why he was fired.