Doc Rivers and the Milwaukee Bucks are heading into Tuesday’s contest against the Phoenix Suns with the objective of collecting just their second win in their last five games. Throughout Rivers’ short-lived tenure, the Bucks have already lost three games, including Sunday’s brutal loss to the Utah Jazz.
The front office brought Rivers in to address the team’s major deficiencies on the defensive end, and while there have been some improvements, there’s no denying that the Bucks still have a long way to go.
This is exactly why Rivers has been zeroing in on one specific area early on.
Doc Rivers Wants to Improve on Milwaukee Bucks’ Communication
Rivers immediately figured out that one of the reasons behind Milwaukee’s shortcomings on the defensive end is their lack of communication. In fact, the tenured coach believes that the players’ quietness on defense could be an indication of how they just don’t know what to do.
Rivers decided to employ a unique approach as he addressed this significant issue:
“We had — (it was) probably the first time for the coaches — we had what I call a quiet practice, meaning coaches can’t talk, only players,” Rivers said after Friday’s practice in Dallas, via Eric Nehm of The Athletic. “And if they run into each other, they run into each other. Because the only reason they ran into each other is because they didn’t talk. And I asked the team, do they think they’re a high talking team, a medium or a low, and they actually said low. And I said, so now we know we can fix it.”
You have to commend the veteran coach for being able to diagnose a major problem this early on. It goes without saying, however, that learning about it and resolving the issue are two entirely different things.
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