What's going on in Milwaukee? Over the past few games, Kyle Kuzma has been a solid role player for the Milwaukee Bucks. With Giannis Antetokounmpo sidelined, Kuzma played nice complementary basketball in place of the star. With Antetokounmpo returning against the shorthanded Boston Celtics, the former NBA champion was expected to go to the bench.
In fact, Kuzma went to the bench to start the Bucks' game against the Celtics. However, Kuzma never left the bench during the game, not logging a single minute of action in their loss to a Boston team without Jaylen Brown. When asked why he was benched, head coach Doc Rivers said that he had decided not to play forward according to Eric Nehm.
Although Kuzma has not had a good game this season, the forward has been playing better in the last four games. He was averaging 16 points per game over the last four games, along with nearly four rebounds and only three assists. With the Bucks shut out for most of the game, it's curious why Rivers decided not to give the forward a chance to perhaps contribute.
Over the last three games, the Bucks have lost a total of 78 points. This is a worrying trend, especially as they have been on a comeback trail and have won eight of their last ten matches. Rivers said this when asked about the sequence of defeats.
"I don't care about the points. I just care about how we're playing. We've been playing great, and we've kind of lost our way and I think that's on both sides. I think offensively, we had a great rhythm and we've done that in spurts the last three games, but we haven't been able to sustain it."
The Bucks next face the Atlanta Hawks on March 4.
