By John Denton
Nov. 27, 2015
ORLANDO – When the NBA handed down a one-game suspension to Jason Kidd just hours before Friday night’s game, it thwarted an opportunity for Orlando’s Scott Skiles and Kidd to coach against one another for just the third time.
Kidd, the head coach of the Milwaukee Bucks, went through Friday morning’s practice with his team before learning that he had been suspended for Friday’s game. Kidd was suspended one game without pay for ``aggressively pursuing and confronting a game official, slapping the ball out of his hands and not leaving the court in a timely manner upon his ejection,’’ according to a release issued by the NBA at 12:53 p.m. on Friday. The incident occurred in the fourth quarter of Milwaukee’s 129-118 loss to Sacramento on Wednesday night.
Skiles' first coaching job in the NBA was in Phoenix – first as an assistant coach and then as a head coach. Kidd, who starred in Phoenix from 1996-2001, played for Skiles for parts of three seasons. Though they bickered at times, the two with former point guard ties left with an admiration for one another.
``Well, he was always well-organized, his basketball IQ is extremely high and he’s a competitor,’’ Kidd said of Skiles. ``He just loves to compete and he’s a winner.’’
Kidd was a 10-time all-star as a player and he still ranks second all-time in both assists (12,091) and steals (2,684). He was the one true superstar player that Skiles has coached during his time with the Suns, Bulls, Bucks and Magic.
``He was good in the course of every game, but he could literally in a three or four-minutes span make every single play,’’ Skiles said. ``He would get a steal, get a defensive rebound, push the ball up the floor and get the assist. He could totally change the game. And any loose ball his hands were just suction cups. And that was before he could consistently make threes later in his career. He was dominating games just play after play, he was a gamer and you could count on him in big moments.’’
Skiles and Kidd coached against one another twice in 2013 when they worked for Milwaukee and Brooklyn, respectively.
OLADIPO THE SIXTH MAN: Victor Oladipo was a big success in his first game as a reserve, scoring 24 points and making 13 of 15 free throws. Even though it’s a role that he’s played in during his rookie season and once last season when he was returning from facial surgery, Oladipo admitted that he’s still not used to coming off the bench.
``It was different and something that I had to get used to during the game, but I just had to go out there and play my game,’’ Oladipo said. ``I’ve just got to come in (off the bench again on Friday), do what I do and help my team win.’’
One of the purposes of bringing Oladipo off the bench was to get him more scoring opportunities and drive chances with the second unit. That proved to be the case on Wednesday as Oladipo got off six shots in the restricted area, two jumpers from the elbows of the lane and many of his 15 free throws. Another change made by Skiles was moving Oladipo to the middle of the floor so that he could have a variety of choices at his disposal.
``That’s something that I’m used to and something that I’ve improved at,’’ said Oladipo, who had a nice drive-and-kick pass to Tobias Harris in the third quarter for a 3-pointer that steadied the Magic. ``But I have to keep getting better at it and growing as a player. I have to keep adding things to my game.’’
SKILES ON TOBIAS: Quite possibly, no one has seen the evolution of Harris’ game more than Skiles. When he was the head coach in Milwaukee, Skiles pushed for the Bucks to trade for Harris, a first-round pick, on draft night in 2011.
Harris played just 42 games as a rookie under Skiles and he was in and out of the rotation before Skiles was fired in January of 2013. A month later, the Bucks traded Harris to Orlando and he’s since blossomed into an elite scorer with the Magic.
Skiles said Harris didn’t play much for him during those two seasons in Milwaukee because he was sick during training camp and fell behind the other veterans. Also, he felt at the time that Mike Dunleavy was a better offensive player and Luc Mbah A Moute was a superior defender, but he also thought Harris was loaded with standout potential.
``We were high on him,’’ Skiles said of Harris. ``Not that anybody (with Milwaukee) would have listened to me, but if I still would have been the coach (of the Bucks), I would not have been for moving Tobias.’’
Orlando sent free-agent-to-be J.J. Redick and two others to Milwaukee for Doron Lamb, Beno Udrih and Harris. Redick finished out the season with the Bucks before leaving to sign with the Los Angeles Clippers, while Harris has evolved into a foundational piece with the Magic.