The Milwaukee Bucks are one of the biggest teams in the Eastern Conference due to Giannis Antetokounmpo and Damian Lillard leading an impressive roster of players. However, they’re yet to find the perfect fit for the team after firing Mike Budenholzer at the end of last season.
They’ve already gone through three coaches this season, with Doc Rivers taking over the reins in January 2024. While his start has been encouraging, the last four games have been anything but great for the 2021 NBA champions.
The blame game has already begun on why the Bucks have been terrible this late in the season, with Rivers taking the brunt of the responsibility. One analyst agrees with him to the point of openly questioning the Bucks’ decision to hire a coach who failed to win with a superstar in Joel Embiid.
Analyst questions Milwaukee Bucks’ Doc Rivers hiring after abysmal performances
BroBible’s Garrett Carr put out a hit piece that criticizes the Bucks’ decision to go with Rivers after being fired by the Philadelphia 76ers last summer.
Calling Rivers a “much-maligned” coach, he hit the Bucks where it hurts and questioned Rivers’ tactics during the Bucks’ four-game skid. While he admits that the New York Knicks are a tough matchup for the Bucks, there wasn’t any excuse for the Bucks to go down against a Ja Morant-less Memphis Grizzlies, the Toronto Raptors, and the Washington Wizards.
He added facts that make the hiring more painful to bear for Bucks fans:
Since the move to install Doc Rivers, the team is now 15-17 across a sizable sample size. Yes, they do still remain in second place in the Eastern Conference heading into the final week of the season. But, they’re now just one game ahead of the Knicks and the Orlando Magic, 1.5 ahead of the Cleveland Cavaliers, and 2.5 in front of the Pacers.
Antetokounmpo and Lillard are doing most of the scoring for the Bucks, scoring 30.7 and 24.5 points respectively. Khris Middleton continues to be an inconsistent contributor under Rivers.
Even worse, there are no players on the roster who can take over should any of the three is off the floor due to injury, foul trouble, or an off night. Rivers hasn’t maximized the players on his roster, which is made evident by their loss to the Knicks.
Unless Rivers can turn things around and propel the Bucks into an unlikely championship, he can kiss his latest head coaching gig goodbye.
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