Bucks John Henson Talks to Jarod Hector on What Playing For Jason Kidd Was Like And The Team's Chances at a Deep Playoff Run (Video)

The Milwaukee Bucks defeated the Brooklyn Nets Sunday afternoon in Brooklyn 109-94. The Nets dug an early hole, giving up 36 first-quarter points and falling behind by 21 points at halftime. They mounted a comeback in the third led by Caris LeVert and their second unit, cutting the lead to 9 at one point. But ultimately the Bucks were too much. Their length and ability to attack the boards were a problem for the Nets all game. Wile Eric Bledsoe led the Bucks with 28 points, on 12-20 shooting from the field; it was 5th-year big man John Henson who was an irritant on both ends of the floor. Henson finished with 19 points, a game-high 18 rebounds, and 2 blocks. Nets head coach Kenny Atkinson praised the Bucks power forward in his post-game comments saying:

It starts with downhill penetration. They get into the teeth of your defense, they throw it up, we go to block it and Henson is right there to clean it up and he's really good and opportunistic at finding the right areas when they do drive.

The Bucks improved to 29-23 and currently sit in the 5th spot in the eastern conference playoff race. They are only a game and a half out of the third spot and the two teams in front of them, Washington and Cleveland, are dealing with injuries and in the case of the Cavaliers a dysfunctional locker room as well. The trade deadline is coming up on Thursday and the Bucks could definitely use another shooter. They'll be without Malcolm Brogdon for 6-8 weeks as he recovers from a quad injury, though they did get Jabari Parker back. Parker played 17 minutes against the Nets and scored 11 points. He's on a minutes restriction until he gets his conditioning and "basketball legs" back under him, but he looked really good and was physical and showed good explosion.

Look for the Bucks to potentially make a move as they look to improve on last year's playoff performance. They lost to the Raptors in the first round in six games. It was their second playoff appearance in three seasons. But this team is improved and have a bonafide MVP candidate in Giannis Antetokounmpo. It is time for them to make the next leap and advance in the postseason. Their postseason success was no doubt a major factor in the organization deciding to fire Jason Kidd a few weeks ago as head coach. Now the team will have to show consistency, particularly late in games in their offensive execution and defensive discipline.

Henson is a key for the Bucks on both ends. His ability to rim run, offensive rebound, put back shots, faceup and knock-down 15-18 footers, and protect the rim on defense is critical to their success. Prior to the game, Henson talked about the switch from Jason Kidd to Joe Prunty and what it was like playing for a hall of fame point guard. He also talked about consistency as he and the team head into the all-star break and what they need to do to make a deep playoff run this year.
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See the full interview with John Henson.