The Bucks haven’t seen much improvement under Doc Rivers, and the veteran head coach is trying to deflect the blame.
Milwaukee fired head coach Adrian Griffin 43 games into the season despite having a 30-13 record, good for second best in the Eastern Conference. The Bucks’ standard is “championship or bust” after making a blockbuster trade to pair superstar guard Damian Lillard with two-time MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo, but the roster hasn’t clicked as the franchise hoped.
Milwaukee believed that trading a first-year head coach (who reportedly had issues with key players on the team) for an established voice who was named one of the 15 best coaches in NBA history could make a difference, but that wasn’t the case. has been the solution. case.
The Bucks are 3-7 since Rivers took over. In those 10 games, Milwaukee has the seventh worst violation in the NBA (after taking second place before Rivers’ term). Although the team the defense has improvedThey have blown multiple leads and fallen to third place in the East.
ESPN analyst JJ Redick, one of Rivers’ former players, has heard enough excuses.
JJ Redick speaks badly of Bucks coach Doc Rivers
Even before Rivers coached his first game for the Bucks, he was already occupying his hot seat.
“I never [taken over a team mid-season]. She wouldn’t wish this on anyone. It’s going to be a challenge,” Rivers told the media.
After Milwaukee suffered a brutal loss to an injury-plagued Grizzlies team just before the All-Star break, Rivers said, “We had some guys here, some guys in Cabo.”
Over All-Star weekend, Rivers told the media that he didn’t want to take over as head coach until after the break in the first place.
“Taking a job when you’re about to embark on the toughest road trip of the season isn’t the smartest decision. I even said to them, ‘Can we wait until the All-Star break?’ You know, it would have been a lot better.”
The excuses continue to pile up, and ESPN’s Redick was accused of it on Tuesday’s episode of “First Take.”
“I’ve seen the trend for years. The trend is always to make excuses,” Redick’s rant began.
“Doc, we get it. Taking over a team in the middle of a season is difficult… But it’s always an excuse. It’s always throwing your team under the bus.
“They lose to Memphis. Oh, it’s their players’ fault. Memphis was playing against G-League guys and two-way guys!” Redick shouted. “…There’s just never any accountability with that guy. There’s never any accountability.”
JJ Redick criticizes his former head coach Doc Rivers, whom he will replace on ESPN/ABC’s NBA Finals coverage.
“I’ve seen the trend for years. The trend is always to make excuses. Doc, we get it. Taking over a team in the middle of a season is difficult… it’s always an excuse… pic.twitter.com/NeTGnP1Suw
– Horrible advertisement (@awfulannunciando) February 20, 2024
Newly acquired Bucks guard Patrick Beverley didn’t take kindly to Redick’s comments and defended his new coach, saying Rivers “saved [Redick’s] career.”
Patrick Beverley responds to JJ Redick’s comments about Doc Rivers ? pic.twitter.com/f25c0eq2R9
– Sports news (@sportingnews) February 20, 2024
Redick responded with facts before telling Beverley to get out of here and Rivers saved Redick’s career.
Pat, my guy, had a four-year offer with a player option for the same money to be a starter on a different team. FOH “saved my career.” https://t.co/5lXowm2j8e
– JJ Redick (@jj_redick) February 20, 2024
Rivers will be under fire for the rest of the season unless he can lead Milwaukee back to the NBA Finals for the first time since winning the championship in 2021.