On Wednesday, Giannis Antetokounmpo rested his knee and body in general when Milwaukee took on Phoenix. It became apparent to everyone with a functioning brain that Giannis’ minutes had become a real issue. He dealt with knee pain over the summer, and the extended minutes are not making things better. Giannis returned to the starting lineup on Saturday evening in a loss to Utah, but Kidd appeared to not care about his star player’s minutes as Antetokounmpo played 39 minutes. Milwaukee Journal Sentinel’s Matt Velazquez asked Kidd about this thing after the game. The response should concern Bucks fans.

Kidd was also asked if another night of big minutes is bad for Giannis’s knee. Responded that Giannis is 22 years old and healthy. “He can play as many minutes as he wants.”

— Matt Velazquez (@Matt_Velazquez) November 26, 2017

What in the good natured fuck is this, Kidd? How can the head coach of a team in 2017 think this way? We’ve seen from the best teams in the league that managing minutes is the way to go about things in the NBA. Yet, Kidd cannot seem to comprehend that in his tiny brain. Instead, he sounds like an old man who’s stuck in the 90’s. There should not be a minute limit with Antetokounmpo, but there should be an understanding of how much Milwaukee needs its superstar out there. It’s a bit ridiculous that we have to talk about this in the new-age NBA, but here we are. Kidd is looking like a younger version of Tom Thibodeau.

What’s crazy is this wasn’t how things used to be for Milwaukee and Kidd. Yes, Giannis doesn’t look tired in these 39 minutes, but he’s going to wear down. Heaven forbid, but if something happens to Antetokounmpo’s knees this season, the blood will be directly on Kidd’s hands. Hope that front office takes a long look at how much the team is playing the Bucks superstar.

Charlie.