Head coach Jason Kidd ready to return to Bucks after hip surgery The Milwaukee Bucks' head coach would reach out to his staff by sending a lot of text messages. Five weeks after undergoing surgery, the former Cal guard is returning to the bench Tuesday when the Bucks host the Orlando Magic. The Bucks went 8-9 during that stretch under interim head coach Joe Prunty, who is Kidd's lead assistant. Kidd, 42, gradually has worked his way back since the surgery Dec. 21 to fix a hip that got worn down during his 19-year NBA playing career. For as good a job as Prunty did in the interim role, the loss of Kidd threw another obstacle into the Bucks' building blueprint. Playing better three-point defense has been an issue of late in road losses to Houston and New Orleans. The Bucks are a strong team inside the arc, especially when driving the lane, but are 28th out of 30 teams in three-point shots. With eight games left until the All-Star break, the goal is to get closer to .500 to build momentum for a second-half push.