Doc Rivers marked a marquee win for his fledgling Milwaukee Bucks tenure on Monday night as they took down the defending champions Denver Nuggets at the Fiserv Forum, 112-95. It was an impressive blowout victory for Rivers and his squad, which incidentally, is just their second win in seven games played under the one-time NBA champion coach.
At this point, it’s still hard to deny that it’s been a rough start for Rivers since he took over the helm from Adrian Griffin.
Milwaukee Bucks GM Jon Horst Speaks Out on Doc Rivers’ Sluggish Start
For what it’s worth, Griffin had amassed a 30-13 record before he was given the axe. That’s good for a .698 winning percentage, which significantly beats out Rivers’ .286 winning record now that he’s gone 2-5.
What Coach Doc has going for him is the fact that his sample size remains small. He still has a lot of time to improve his standing, and Monday’s win is definitely a step in the right direction.
General Manager Jon Horst is much more interested in the big picture. When asked how he feels about how the Bucks have performed under Rivers following the front office’s decision to fire Griffin, Horst got real with his response:
“Broadly, and we haven’t seen it in the win-loss yet, but sometimes actually seeing it in the metrics, numbers and the way we look and the way we are performing is more important than wins/losses,” Horst said before Monday’s game, via Eric Nehm of The Athletic. “Ultimately, it’s not, but I think in short periods like this, it is. I really like the shape of our team in terms of what we look like defensively and how we’re structured out there on the floor.
“I think offensively, we’re trying to play to the right things and do the right things. The interactions … that Doc has as a leader on this team and the relationships that he’s building and connection points he’s making between our roster and our staff has been very encouraging.”
A Lot to Look Forward To
At this point, Horst remains extremely confident that the front office made the right decision in hiring Rivers. The high-ranking team executive had nothing but high praise for what the veteran shot-caller brings to the table for Milwaukee:
“His energy and spirit and belief in the team is incredibly high, so its been great to see how he approaches his work everyday and approaches the team every day,” Horst continued. “Those are some broad things I see that really pop (out at) me and that are really encouraging.
“But I honestly really like the way that we’ve played over this stretch. The style of basketball that we’re playing, I think is a style of basketball that fits this team and that can ultimately be successful with the roster that we’ve built.”
Only time will tell if the decision to bring Rivers in will pay off for the Bucks.
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