Milwaukee Bucks news: After being relieved of his post as the head coach of the Philadelphia 76ers this past summer, Doc Rivers took on a job as a broadcaster for ESPN. Compared to the immense pressure that goes with being an NBA head coach, you could say that being a commentator is a pretty easygoing gig.
It is clear, however, that Rivers’ true love is still coaching. This is perhaps the exact reason why he decided to leave his post with ESPN in favor of taking an extremely high-pressure job as the new Bucks head coach.
Milwaukee Bucks Coach Doc Rivers Is Used to the Pressure
It goes without saying that the expectations are going to be massive for Rivers now that he’s agreed to be the head honcho in Milwaukee. Speaking to the press during his Bucks unveiling, the 62-year-old refused to play down the pressure he knows he is about to face. Instead, he opted to highlight the fact that he’s been in this exact situation in the past:
“I’ve learned that you would rather have them than not,” Rivers said of expectations, via Eric Nehm of The Athletic. “When I took the Boston job (in 2004), I got a lot of calls from coaches to tell me not to take the job. ‘The expectations will be too unrealistic.’ I’m like, what? That’s ridiculous. You want that. You want expectations. And this team has them.”
When Rivers agreed to coach the Celtics in 2004, there was significant pressure on him to perform. However, the expectations skyrocketed when Boston brought in Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen in 2007. All of a sudden, the Celtics had become a superteam and it was championship or bust for them.
Rivers delivered. He coached the Celtics to a title that same season as he led the team to their first championship in over two decades.
This is exactly what the Bucks expect from Rivers now that he’s on board. He has a much shorter timeline, though, now that Milwaukee has both Giannis Antetokounmpo and Damian Lillard on the team.
For his part, Coach Doc is banking on his past experiences and achievements to carry him through in his new job.
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