Trouble in paradise? Well, I suppose it wouldn’t be the right phrase to use, given things have been a little rocky in Milwaukee for some time now. And Giannis Antetokounmpo, aside from his pointed comments after the 108-119 loss to the Celtics tonight, made something of an indirect plea to an ex-Celtics player and currently their guest coach, Rajon Rondo.

Of course, the recent retiree moved to the Bucks on account of Doc Rivers asking him to help the team out. But it seems the ‘Greek Freak’ might prefer the 2x champ as their coach over Doc. Talking to reporters post-game, the 8x All-Star had high praise for Rondo.

“It’s incredible. Incredible. I think his presence, you know, it’s great for our team. You know, we had the opportunity to watch some film with him. He comes in, talks to me and Dame. But not just me and Dame. For the rest of the team, you know, he knows how to win. His one-two championship; he knows how to play the right way and he’s somebody that has done it and it’s somebody that keeps us accountable every single day,” Antetokounmpo listed the reasons in response to the reporter’s question about how it’s been having Rondo around.

Furthermore, and this is the important part, Giannis repeatedly noted the team’s “need,” for the ex-Lakers star’s presence. “We had him in training camp. We had him a few games – two out of, actually three out of four games. He’s been around, so we need him. We need his voice. We need his leadership, we need his basketball IQ. It’s great having him,” the 2x MVP concluded.

Giannis Antetokounmpo was thoroughly impressed by Rajon Rondo’s coaching, as was evident in the post-game interview. At the same time, it might make one wonder if it is a plea for a change of coaching. So far, Rivers’ defense-focused approach hasn’t had the best results. The Bucks are 1-3 in the win-loss record and ranked 24th in defensive rating (117.0). In fact, the Nets rank 15th with a defensive rating of 112.9 so far into the season.

Hence, it wouldn’t be a surprise if this praise is indeed an SOS signal to the front office. And it just happens to come at Coach Rivers’ act of helplessness.

Doc Rivers “didn’t get a lot of help” from the Bucks’ bench

Right after their embarrassing loss to the Nets, Giannis Antetokounmpo & Co. met with the reigning champions, Boston Celtics, only to get beaten again. And the fact that the Bucks efficiently kept the Cs’ high-powered offense in check for nearly three quarters and then had to face defeat was simply underwhelming.

Milwaukee is supposed to be a title-contending team in 2024, not be at the losing end in matchups against teams like the Nets. However, the reality leaves a lot to be desired. And Doc has no intention of making it easy. Talking to reporters in the post-game presser, he lay the blame squarely on the Bucks bench.

“I don’t like moral victories, but I just thought that’s what we can be, at least for three quarters. I thought we ran out of gas a little bit. Didn’t get a lot of help from our bench tonight,” he noted.

Despite the surfacing tension, tonight’s game did really see not much help for Dame and Giannis. Except for four players, no one else on the team scored in double digits. And among the four, only Lillard and Antetokounmpo scored more than 13 points, 33 and 30, respectively. Hence, if the Bucks are looking to get a ring, they will need reliable support from their entire roster, in addition to star performances from, well, the franchise stars.

But perhaps change might need to start with the coach himself. If Milwaukee chooses to go in that direction, hopefully, it won’t involve another mid-season switch like last year.