Comparing Bucks playing time under Kidd and Prunty
Jabari Parker is set to play for the first time this season on Friday, meaning the Milwaukee Bucks' playing rotation is going to change.
With that in mind, how has the playing time under Joe Prunty differed than from when Jason Kidd was head coach? Yes, it's a small sample size -- only five games for Prunty compared to 45 for Kidd -- but as mentioned, with Parker returning, playing time for certain players will be affected.
There are a few more caveats, of course.
First, we did not include Eric Bledsoe's game against Philadelphia, when he played for under three minutes due to a sprained ankle, and Malcolm Brogdon's at Minnesota, when he left early due to an injury and played only 9 1/2 minutes. Both Bledsoe and Brogdon were limited not by Prunty's choice, but by injury, and thus don't give an indication of the coach's use.
In addition, obviously we have to keep in mind that Brogdon missed two other games and Bledsoe, Giannis Antetokounmpo and Jason Terry each sat out one.
So, what did we find?
Prunty is clearly limiting the minutes of Antetokounmpo and Middleton more than Kidd. The pair both averaged over 37 minutes per game with Kidd in charge. Antetokounmpo hasn't played more than 35 1/2 minutes in a game under Prunty while Middleton has topped 37 minutes in just two of five games.
The three usual other starters -- Bledsoe, Brogdon and Tony Snell -- are also averaging fewer minutes since Prunty took over.
Who is picking up that playing time?
Sterling Brown is playing seven more minutes per game for Prunty than he did during the time he entered Kidd's rotation (after seeing sporadic playing time, Brown started picking up regular minutes in Kidd's final seven games as coach, starting on Jan. 8; this the timeframe we used to compare Brown's numbers). Injuries could well have been a factor here, however, as either Brogdon or Bledsoe was missing from the lineup save for two games -- the one game in which Antetokounmpo missed (and Brown started) and against the 76ers, when Bledsoe only played 2 1/2 minutes.
The other big benefactors right now appear to be a trio of veterans. Guards Matthew Dellavedova (+4.3) and Jason Terry (+5.9) both have seen an increase in playing time. Again, this could well be in part due to the availability (or lack thereof) of other guards.
The third -- center John Henson, who is averaging nearly five minutes more per game under Prunty than Kidd, while boosting his scoring average from 8.5 under Kidd to 12.2 with Prunty.
Of course, the return of Parker might bite into that time.
Here's the playing time comparison of Prunty (5 games) vs. Kidd (45 games):
| PRUNTY | KIDD | ||||||
| PLAYER | G | MIN | PPG | G | MIN | PPG | |
| Antetokounmpo | 4 | 34.7 | 29.0 | 42 | 37.4 | 28.2 | |
| Middleton | 5 | 35.6 | 23.2 | 45 | 37.2 | 20.1 | |
| Bledsoe | 3 | 30.8 | 13.7 | 35 | 31.7 | 17.6 | |
| Brodgon | 2 | 28.2 | 18.0 | 43 | 31.1 | 13.3 | |
| Snell | 5 | 28.1 | 5.6 | 40 | 29.2 | 8.2 | |
| Henson | 5 | 29.5 | 12.2 | 37 | 24.8 | 8.5 | |
| Dellavedova | 5 | 22.5 | 4.0 | 30 | 18.2 | 4.5 | |
| Maker | 5 | 15.5 | 4.6 | 45 | 18.2 | 4.5 | |
| Brown | 5 | 25.1 | 7.4 | 7 | 18.1 | 5.9 | |
| Terry | 4 | 15.4 | 4.3 | 16 | 9.5 | 1.3 |
