Kidd: Staying in character puts Bucks in position to win
ST. FRANCIS - Milwaukee Bucks coach Jason Kidd always talks about wanting his team to stay in character.
And it has a different meaning for every player on the roster.
“Everyone has a role,” Kidd said after practice Friday, as the Bucks prepared for Game 4 of their first-round playoff series against Toronto. “Some roles are bigger than others.
“If they stay in character as a team, a lot of times that movie is great to watch. If they get out of character, it’s not a very good movie.
“So we talk about that a lot. Stay in character. If you stay in it; don’t do more, don’t do less.
“I’ve heard it many times over the years and I’m a big believer in it.”
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One player who has stayed in character is shooting guard Tony Snell. He has played reliable defense against elite wing scorers and has shot the three-pointer to help ease the pressure on Giannis Antetokounmpo when he drives into the paint.
“He has done it for us all year but he hasn’t had the recognition,” Kidd said. “He’s always going to take on the top offensive wing player.
“We’ve asked him to guard point guards and he never complains. He’s always up for the challenge. He wins or loses some battles but he always comes back again.”
Snell helped limit Raptors star DeMar DeRozan in the Bucks’ 104-77 victory in Game 3. DeRozan was held without a field goal for the first time in his playoff career.
“He’s one of the top players in the league,” Snell said. “The team has helped me out trapping and to try to get him away from the ball.”
Parker speaks: Bucks forward Jabari Parker sounds like the ultimate teammate and a passionate ambassador for Milwaukee in a piece published Friday in The Players' Tribune.
Suffering and now rehabbing from his second season-ending knee injury isn't the hard part, Parker writes in the first-person piece in the online publication founded by retired New York Yankees shortstop Derek Jeter.
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Parker says he's sorry he can't be out on the court helping his team during its playoff run, a quest to "give Milwaukee what it deserves."
"Man … I’d give anything, though, to be out there playing right now. I’d give anything to be out there while we’re making this run," Parker writes. "To be out there with my team — and with my city, too."
Parker heaps praise on his team, which holds a 2-1 lead over the Raptors following the blowout Thursday night.
"Something special is happening — and it’s not happening because of a couple of lucky bounces. It’s happening because my guys are for real," Parker writes.
Parker also offers this to Milwaukee fans who have supported him through two difficult injuries.
"So, to Milwaukee: I just want to take a line and say thank you. I feel it when you come up to me, I feel the support."
Key takeaways:
• Antetokounmpo: "He is just constantly working on his game. Constantly. He knows this team and this city are relying on him. And he hasn’t let us down."
• Forward Michael Beasley: "One guy people constantly overlook on this team."
"You can put Michael in and he changes the whole pace of the game. Like, he’ll give you ten points in 6 minutes, that’s how good he is. And he’s probably one of my favorite people I’ve been on a team with, because he’s also just a great guy and a big family man — I really hope people know that. "
Perhaps the most striking part of the piece is what Parker, 22, has to say about Milwaukee.
"Milwaukee, man … it’s home. You know I’m a Chicago kid, and Chicago will always have a big piece of my heart. But with Milwaukee—for me, it was just love at first sight.”
Dangerous decoy: Antetokounmpo did not lead the Bucks in scoring for the first time in the series Thursday, scoring 19 points.
Even when he doesn’t score at a high rate, the Greek Freak is drawing defenses and creating plenty of chances for his teammates.
“Each game we’re talking about how valuable he is as a player,” teammate Thon Maker said. “Sometimes we can use him as a decoy and it’s crazy.
“He will roll and the whole defense sucks in, and somebody is wide open for a three. That’s how much he brings to the table each game.
“And that’s not like a possession here and a possession there. Every possession he’s that valuable.”
The Bucks hit 12 of 23 three-pointers Thursday and were 9 of 23 in their Game 1 win in Toronto. Milwaukee's 12 triples were one shy of a franchise playoff high, set vs. Philadelphia in June 2001 in the Eastern Conference finals.
Ratings run: Game 3 of the playoff series notched a 9.1 rating on Fox Sports Wisconsin, beating the previous record set for Game 2 in Toronto.
The telecast also was the No. 1 overall program in the Milwaukee market Thursday night.
Saturday’s Game 4 will be televised by TNT and FS Wisconsin and tip-off is set for 2 p.m.