Taylor Jenkins closes with Kel’el Ware over Myles Turner as the 0-3 Bucks lose in Philadelphia: ‘We’re making progress’

Taylor Jenkins left Myles Turner on the bench for the entire fourth quarter and finished with Kel’el Ware in a 127-116 loss to the Philadelphia 76ers on Saturday, October 24, a rotation call that tells you where the first-year coach of the Milwaukee Bucks is looking after an 0-3 start.

Jenkins did not sound like a coach whose plan was breaking. “The record is the record, but we’re making progress on how we want to play,” he said afterward, as quoted by Brew Hoop, before pointing to the one number that decided the night: “Turnovers put us in a bind.”

Game Center: Bucks at 76ers, box score and play-by-play

Ware’s minutes go up, Turner’s go down

The center position is the clearest change in Jenkins’ rotation through three games. Ware played 14 minutes in the opener against the Washington Wizards, when he fouled out, and 15 in Friday’s 132-125 home loss to the Chicago Bulls. In Philadelphia he played 29 minutes and turned them into 19 points on 6-of-11 shooting, 13 rebounds and two blocks for his first double-double of the season. Milwaukee was four points better than the 76ers with him on the floor.

Turner, who played 32 minutes in the opener, logged just under 20 this time. He went 0-of-4 from the field, picked up four fouls and three turnovers and finished at minus-16, the worst mark on the team. Jenkins has not announced a lineup change, and the Bucks have not said whether Monday’s starting five will look different.

The bench decision fits what Jenkins has described since camp: a deep rotation in which most players get somewhere between 20 and 25 minutes. Ten Bucks played on Saturday, and for part of the second quarter Milwaukee’s five-man unit had no player past his third season in the league.

Where the game was lost

The effort numbers were on Milwaukee’s side. The Bucks outrebounded the 76ers 62-40, grabbed 17 offensive rebounds and dominated the paint, even with Philadelphia playing without LeBron James. What undid them was ball security and the three-point line. The box score charges Milwaukee with 23 turnovers to Philadelphia’s 11, and the 76ers made 19 of their 44 threes while the Bucks made 11 of 34.

Jaime Jaquez Jr. led Milwaukee with 21 points, Ryan Rollins added 15 and Tyler Herro scored 13 on 6-of-14 shooting, a night after his 34 against Chicago. The Bucks trailed by 10 going into the fourth quarter and got as close as three before Philadelphia closed it out.

What comes next

The Bucks open a homestand against the Indiana Pacers on Monday, October 26, at 8:00 p.m. ET, still looking for their first win. Whether Ware stays in the bigger role, and whether Turner gets his minutes back, is the first rotation question Jenkins will answer at home. Game Center: Pacers at Bucks