NBA Veteran Thrashes Doc Rivers as Giannis Antetokounmpo’s Bucks Enter Playoffs After Mediocre Displays

The Milwaukee Bucks may have qualified for the playoffs, but it wasn’t a pretty sight. Notably, the Bucks’ recent performances in the league have not been great, losing 7 out of their last 10 regular season games. 3 of these losses came one after the other against sub-.500 teams with no chance of making the postseason. It can be said that the only shining light has been Giannis Antetokounmpo. But even his availability for the postseason is in doubt after he suffered an injury. While some may believe the mid-season coaching change to be the reason for this, ex-NBA star Rasheed Wallace has held Doc Rivers specifically responsible.

Rivers caught the ire of numerous fans and former basketball stars for his comments about the Bucks’ decision to hire him a couple of months ago. Wallace failed to understand the reason behind that. “You can’t go in there saying sh*t like that. You’re thinking too highly of yourself. They were a good team before you (Doc Rivers) got there, before you snaked your way in,” Wallace stated. This came during a discussion on an episode of Gil’s Arena.

The fact that the Bucks became the first team in the last 30 years to lose 3 straight games as double-digit favorites on paper was also highlighted. These figures prompted Sheed to point fingers at Rivers. And although the comments by the 49-year-old may seem harsh, the fact in the statement cannot be denied completely. Especially when a player like Giannis Antetokounmpo has been giving it all to his team.

Just a few weeks after joining the team, Rivers made headlines for his controversial comments about his hiring. He had stated, “I’ll be honest, I told the owners when they called, I said, ‘I don’t understand why you’re doing this. That was a tough one. That’s where you have the hesitation.” But how have the Bucks performed under the former NBA championship-winning coach?

The Milwaukee Bucks’ season came off the rails after February

Notably, the Bucks played their first game with Doc on January 29 against the Boston Celtics. It is worth mentioning that prior to Doc’s arrival as the new head coach; the Bucks played 46 games, winning 32 of them under former coach Adrian Griffin. The Bucks’ winning percentage before Rivers was 69.5%. 

Milwaukee has played 36 games with Rivers as their head coach. While they emerged victorious in 17 games, the team suffered a loss in 19 of them. So the team’s winning percentage under the new head coach is even lower than 50%. The three-straight losses to lottery teams like the Washington Wizards, Memphis Grizzlies, and the Toronto Raptors at the beginning of May raise eyebrows.

From a comfortable position as the 2nd seed in the East, the Bucks kept on sliding and finished with a loss to the Orlando Magic. This allowed the New York Knicks to overtake them and pushed the Bucks to the 3rd seed, where they will face off against the Indiana Pacers in the 1st round. While it shouldn’t be a difficult task on paper, stranger things have happened before. Anything but a deep postseason run will put Rivers’ position as head coach in jeopardy.