Adrian Griffin had the Milwaukee Bucks off to a 30-13 start, but that wasn’t good enough for a franchise that hopes to secure another NBA Finals win. This led to Doc Rivers being hired in the middle of the campaign, with 41 games left to play in a regular season that’s sure to feature a playoff appearance for the eighth consecutive year.
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But taking over in the middle of the season has presented plenty of challenges for the former NBA Coach of the Year.
Doc Rivers admits taking Milwaukee Bucks job ‘wasn’t the smartest decision’
With just a 3-7 record since taking over, Doc Rivers hasn’t had the impact the Milwaukee Bucks hoped for. Now, there are just 26 regular season games left for the Bucks to get on the same page with their new head coach.
If the early returns are a sign of what’s to come, the criticism the Bucks are facing now will only heighten, and now Coach Rivers is getting out ahead of the problem by suggesting he wasn’t a big fan of how the timing of everything came together.
“Taking a job when you’re about to go on the toughest road trip of the season is not the smartest decision. I even told them that: ‘Can we wait ‘til All-Star break?’ You know, it would have been a lot nicer.”
Doc Rivers on Milwaukee Bucks’ sudden coaching change
While we’ll agree that Milwaukee’s decision was odd all along, the Bucks continue to keep their focus on the NBA Championship instead of winning the regular season, knowing a trip to the postseason is nearly set in stone.
The end game is what we’re playing for,” Rivers added. “And the organization felt strongly that a change needed to be made defensively and things like that, and that’s what we’re doing. The problem is, while you’re doing that, you’re in the middle of the season on the toughest trip.”
“I’ve been in Milwaukee [for] four days,” he added. “I’ve had the job for three weeks.”
Doc Rivers preaches patience with Milwaukee Bucks
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