Kidd's composed style resonates with Bucks players
The game is tight, a nail-biter, and everyone is on the edge of their seats, if they’re even still in their chairs. Except Jason Kidd. He is either on the bench or standing by the scorer’s table, but he’s not screaming. Or pacing. Or anything. A slight scowl may emerge for a second, but it vanishes.
The calm and collected third-year Milwaukee Bucks coach will either lead his team to a must-win Game 6 victory Thursday against Toronto or he will see this unpredictable season — the loss of Jabari Parker, a losing stretch followed by a late-season winning streak, the emergence of young talent — come to a conclusion.
But he will lead this team, sometimes expressionless, sometimes emotionless, raising his voice only to be heard by his players out on the floor.
While Giannis Antetokounmpo is the workaholic and the rookies are the future and the young talent is the hope, every member of the Bucks looks to the 44-year-old Kidd for reassurance. For answers. For direction and guidance.
“His calming demeanor is what gets us through when things get adverse out on the floor,” said Bucks guard Jason Terry, the 18-year veteran. “You look over to your head coach and, even if you’ve messed up two or three assignments in a row, he’s always like, ‘Nope, don’t worry about it. We’ll get it right next time.’ That positive, calming approach is what settles everything, especially for a young ball club.”
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It can be misleading, maybe, that cool about Kidd. That’s the public face. There is another side that you won’t see unless you work for him. And that's how Kidd wants it.
“Oh, he yells,” said Greg Monroe. “It’s more in the gym, when we have practice, he’s correcting us. Or if guys are just messing around and it’s time to be serious. Or we’re really trying to get something done.”
“His pet peeves … really, it’s just bad basketball,” said Michael Beasley. “A bad shot. Or … missing a defensive rotation … or don’t make the extra pass.
“You know because he’s got this … death stare. It’s like pretty piercing. It reminds me of my mom. And I told him that.”
There are a few things that will raise the coach's ire.
“Not being on time, he doesn’t like that,” said Terry. “But the thing that gets him the most is having to repeat himself. Like if you just go through something and you have to go over it and over it again — he doesn’t like that.
“He’s a perfectionist and he feels like if you were paying attention — like you should be — you should get it right the first time.”
Kidd encourages and extols in the games, but in practice, he has high expectations and doesn't hide it. He must be understood.
“My job is to assure that they’re doing the right thing,” said Kidd, “and if not, to make sure I get that message across that they’re not doing the right thing — and this is what they need to do.”
Khris Middleton learned this during his first two years with Kidd. They had disagreements. Kidd got after Middleton and challenged him.
“He told me at one point a couple years ago that I wasn’t playing very well — and that’s the nicest way I can put it,” said Middleton. “In front of everybody.
“I appreciated what he was saying. I took it as a challenge. It’s all him trying to make me better and him not caring if I liked what he said, which made me respect him even more. He wants to win and he wants to get the best out of every player.”
Behind the scenes, Kidd talks a lot with his players, trying to gauge their grasp of the offense, or whether they understand his expectations. He won’t give much of this away in news conferences, but these conversations are happening on an individual basis.
“He tends to ask a lot of rhetorical questions,” said Beasley.
“He wants to know what you’re thinking,” said Terry. “He already knows the answer — he wants to hear it from you.”
A 10-time NBA all-star, a league champion in Dallas, an Olympic gold-medal winner, second all-time in assists in league history. Those accolades have earned Kidd credibility with this team. Even when he told first-round draft pick Thon Maker he would get only 5 minutes a game, the rookie bought in.
“He’s a young coach, people say, but he’s played this game, and (is) one of the all-time greats,” said Maker, “so I just had to trust him. He’s a basketball player, I’m a basketball player. We understand the game."
But that doesn't make Kidd interested in winning any popularity contests. Kidd takes his leadership role seriously enough that he doesn’t leave any room for debate. He’s in charge. He’s in command. If some teams have so much star power that the coach’s ability to lead is neutralized, that is not the case here, with Kidd.
Asked if Kidd cares whether his players like him or not, Terry, Middleton, Beasley and Tony Snell all said no immediately. Monroe laughed for about 8 seconds and then said: “I doubt it."
"He’s about winning," Monroe said. "He was like that at as a player; he’s a leader, a winner. I think it’s the same here as far as coaching. We’re here to do our job. To win.”
“What’s important to him is what’s best for the team,” said Snell. “That’s it."
“Respect is a big thing for him," said Beasley. "He’s definitely not going to disrespect you so he definitely doesn’t want it in return. But as far as liking? I am pretty sure he could give a flying …”
There is one brief moment where Kidd slips back into his players' shoes.
In a tradition that began in his Dallas days with Terry and Dirk Nowitzki, Kidd now competes with Snell, Middleton and Terry — and sometimes Spencer Hawes — in their own three-point-shooting contest during shootaround on game days.
The rules: Make two shots in each of the seven spots around the three-point line, but four consecutive shots in the corners. There's no contact defense, but anything else goes — name-calling, joke-telling, rolling balls at the feet, inappropriate comments.
“It’s friendly but when you’re competing it puts it in a game-type environment,” said Terry. “Because you want to win and you’ll do whatever it takes.”
“It’s a competitive thing, it gets everybody going," said Snell. "He’s a player. Hall of Famer. He played in this game. That he’s a coach now — that doesn’t change anything. Sometimes I win; sometimes he wins.”
Kidd has won this contest twice during the playoff series with Toronto.
On the court, though, in his suit, his demeanor will revert to coach, leader. He will talk to a referee only when necessary. He will not fall apart in front of his players. He will be ready with the answers.
“I’m not a rah-rah guy. I’m not going to scream and yell. I’m going to talk when I have to,” said Kidd. “My job is to focus and see what’s happening. And what the team needs or what we can take advantage of. If I did those other things I’d get distracted and I can’t do my job.”
BUCKS-RAPTORS SCHEDULE (All times Central)
Eastern Conference first-round series (best of seven)
Saturday, April 15 - Bucks 97, Raptors 83
Tuesday, April 18 - Raptors 106, Bucks 100
Thursday, April 20 - Bucks 104, Raptors 77
Saturday, April 22 - Raptors 87, Bucks 76
Monday, April 24 - Raptors 118, Bucks 93 (Raptors lead series, 3-2)
Thursday, April 27 - Game 6 at Milwaukee, 6 p.m. (TNT, FSW)
Saturday, April 29 - Game 7 at Toronto, TBD (TNT, FSW), if necessary