In what’s been a season of ups and downs for the Milwaukee Bucks, firing former Head Coach Adrian Griffin in his first season came as no surprise. For a team with championship aspirations and a very small window, the Bucks found themselves regressing faster than a speeding car on the freeway. What went wrong for Milwaukee wasn’t much of a surprise; despite having a winning record in the Eastern conference, firing Adrian Griffin was the move needed to keep running on a straight path.
For starters, Milwaukee’s defense struggled and became middle of the pack. A team with superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo and new teammate Damian Lillard became a liability without no answers. A bad vibe was growing and no response from players. The in-season tournament showing became a topic of discussion as Milwaukee struggled against division foe Indiana. Players started to question whether Adrian was over his head and still learning how to adjust.
Enter a former head coach with twenty-four years of NBA experience in Doc Rivers. Yes, that same coach who won a title back in 2008 with Boston which featured (3) Hall of Famers in Paul Pierce, Ray Allen, and Kevin Garnett. Since that lone title, Doc’s playoff record has been little to be desired. Doc is very good during the regular season with a record of 1097-763; playoff record is 111-104. Now, for a coach who’s had his fair share of playoff collapses comes with a lot of question marks. In game 7s of the playoff series, Doc is 6-10 with a winning percentage of 37.5%. Not very good considering in most cases his teams had 3-1 series leads or 3-2. Bucks fans, you may cheer for him during the regular season, but will cringe come playoff time. For a head coach to have good rosters and coaching staff, why is he not getting over the hump?
His most recent playoff exit occurred in Philadelphia, where the Sixers had a 3-2 lead over Boston. The Celtics won game 6 in Philadelphia and closed it out at the TD Garden. We can go back to the epic collapse of 2020 while coaching the Clippers. Having a 3-1 lead in the Orlando Bubble allowed Denver to climb back and win 3 straight games. A team with Kawhi Leonard and Paul George, that was inexcusable by NBA coaching standards. He ends up in Philadelphia and the same pattern of playoff exits arrive on schedule.
If you’re a Bucks fan and expecting this to work with Doc, don’t hold your breath. You’ll be praying the team doesn’t have an early exit and all the rumblings trickle into the locker room. With championship aspirations and two superstars, the window to win now is very short. In a very competitive Eastern conference with Boston clearly the best team, Milwaukee will have to play with more urgency. Indiana is their nemesis, and I wouldn’t be shocked to say the least if they met come April. Indy has the upper hand and will give Milwaukee all they can handle.
For the Milwaukee Bucks 2024 season at this point, they’ll be a better team defensively under Doc. The lingering questions will arrive in April and May. This is Doc’s last stint as a head coach and with a generational talent in Giannis, he can’t afford for this to fail. You may say: “hired during the middle of the season with no training camp.” True, but he’s a very experienced head coach and no excuses. For the Bucks to make a coaching change now proves urgency and sacrifice to maximize this team and make a deep postseason run into June.
If this backfires on Milwaukee’s front office, the concession speech the fans will hear is “run it back with a full offseason and continue to make roster moves as needed.” They’ll buy into the message and accept it; unlike the Celtics, Clippers, and Sixers; championship expectations were very high with no room for error. Milwaukee is a small market but winning a title in 2021 raised the bar for future head coaches. Doc will have to use every known tactic to get this team in postseason form. It may be February but feels like the playoffs will start early for Milwaukee. It’s on Doc Rivers to push the right buttons and overcome playoff woes in winning his second NBA championship.
Stai tuned.
