After missing 17 games, Jason Kidd was at practice on Monday, and he will return Tuesday to the Bucks bench when they take on the Orlando Magic.
In his absence recovering from hip surgery, interim head coach Joe Prunty led the Bucks to an 8-9 stretch. Kidd commended the coaching staff to the media on Monday, according to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. “I thought my staff did a great job,” he said. “It was seamless. They all stayed in their lanes and did what they had to do to keep the team going.”
Kidd comes back to a 19-27 team looking to make a push like Kidd’s Nets did only a few years ago. “I think we have some tired guys,” Kidd told the media. “We’re past the halfway point, so if guys aren’t tired or sore or aching, then they’re not playing hard enough.”
Still, despite coming back on Tuesday, doctors haven’t cleared Kidd to go on the team’s three-game West Coast trip next week. The Bucks head coach told reporters he’s taking things day by day, which makes sense in this stage of recovery. “We’re still in the blood-clot range,” Kidd said. “So we’ll see.”
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