Doc Rivers hasn’t had much success since he took over as head coach for the Milwaukee Bucks. With the team struggling under him, Rivers admitted taking the job mid-season has been harder than he thought.
“It’s been 3 weeks. It’s been harder than I thought.”
Doc Rivers on taking the Bucks head coaching job:
“It’s been 3 weeks. It’s been harder than I thought.”
(via @VinceGoodwill) pic.twitter.com/6YcAKzgOOF
— Legion Hoops (@LegionHoops) February 17, 2024
When he took over, Rivers had said he wouldn’t wish this on anyone. He had never taken a head coaching job during the season prior to this and has had a difficult time trying to get his team to play the way he would want.
The Bucks were 1-5 in Rivers’ first six games but appeared to have turned a corner with back-to-back wins over the Charlotte Hornets and the Denver Nuggets. They unfortunately followed that up with embarrassing losses to a Miami Heat team without Jimmy Butler and to a Memphis Grizzlies side that was without Ja Morant, Desmond Bane, Jaren Jackson Jr., and Marcus Smart.
The stunning 113-110 loss to Memphis dropped Milwaukee to 35-21 on the season, and they are now 3-7 in the Rivers era. The Bucks were 30-13 when they fired Adrian Griffin, and that decision isn’t looking like a great one at present.
The main reason Rivers had reportedly been brought in was because the Bucks felt he would greatly improve their defense, which had been woeful under Griffin. Well, Milwaukee has a defensive rating of 113.6 since he took over, which ranks 12th in the league in that time, as per the NBA.
It certainly is a big improvement, but the issue is that their offensive rating of 111.9 under him ranks 22nd. Damian Lillard, in particular, has struggled under Rivers, as he has averaged just 21.4 points per game since he took over. Doc needs to find the right balance between offense and defense and needs to do that fast.
While Rivers isn’t at any risk of being fired, the pressure is growing on him. The 62-year-old was not a very popular hire to begin with, considering how his teams had come up short in the playoffs over the last decade.
Post this break, the Bucks will face another difficult challenge in the Minnesota Timberwolves, who sit atop the standings in the West. A win there could potentially lay the foundations for them to have a strong finish to the campaign.
Doc Rivers Reveals The Hilarious Reason Why Adrian Griffin Wants The East To Beat The West
Thanks to the Bucks’ success under his predecessor, Rivers is the coach for the East in the 2024 All-Star Game. He wasn’t too keen on accepting that role for obvious reasons, and Rivers revealed he would give his All-Star Game ring and bonus to Griffin. At All-Star weekend in Indianapolis, he was asked whether he had a conversation with Griffin, and Rivers revealed he is rooting for the East to win.
“Oh, he already knows it,” Rivers said. “All Griff told me was, ‘Can you please win the game because it’s 25 to the loser and 100 to the winner.’ So, Griff trying to get more money and I’d be happy to give him every dime.”
For Griffin’s sake, I hope the East does come out on top. I’m sure he appreciates this gesture from Rivers, but he is probably sitting back at home chuckling to himself about how bad the situation has been in Milwaukee since he got fired.
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