Since winning a title in 2008 with Boston, Milwaukee Bucks coach Doc Rivers has failed to take his teams to the next level. He steered the Celtics back to the Finals two years later, but that is the only other time a Rivers squad has been there in his 26 years of head coaching.
While it hasn’t been all his fault – injuries have played a major role – it’s been more of the same in Milwaukee. Rivers took over midway through the 2023-24 season, replacing the fired Adrian Griffin; the Bucks have two first-round exits to show for it.
Hall of Famer Kevin Garnett, an crucial member of those Bostle title teams, has an explanation as to why Rivers has struggled to get over the hump in the latter half of his career.
Rivers embraces play-style the league has passed by
As a coach who has shown a knack for getting his guys to the postseason but fizzling out once there, Rivers was an interesting choice for the Bucks. When Griffin was canned, Milwaukee sat 30-13, three years removed from a championship, and had made seven straight playoffs. Picking Rivers to rediscover the promised land was a questionable hire at best.
Incredibly, the 2011-12 Celtics are the last team to make even the Conference Finals under Rivers.
From 2007-08 through that season, however, Boston enjoyed undeniable success, not just because of the players on the roster but because of Rivers’ leadership. What happened?
“When I watch him struggle in today’s NBA, I really, truly think it’s just because of the players,” Garnett said, during an interview on the Hear District podcast with Bucks legend Marques Johnson. “Every player can’t play for him. Every player doesn’t fit his style.”
At least some elements of that style have not benefited the Bucks. In particular, Rivers tends to favor veterans and procastinate on making lineup adjustments until too late. In the 2025 playoffs, he waited until Game 5 to remove Kyle Kuzma and Taurean Prince from the starting lineup when the Pacers had been eating them alive all series.
Doc has weapons, he just has to use them
Garnett suggests, however, that it’s also a matter of today’s player pool in general, as the game emphasizes offensive skill over the defensive tenacity that made those Celtics teams great.
“Doc really is a gritty guy who wants to really defend you for 48 minutes, and grind you into the ground. If we can score the ball, cool, but he’s a real no-nonsense, real nose-on-the-ball kind of coach, and I love that kind of coach. I played with the same passion and energy that he saw the game, we saw the game very alike, very parallel.”
While Garnett says he doesn’t agree with everything Doc does, he wholeheartedly supports him on a fundamental level. That first year in Boston, the title year, he won his first and only Defensive Player of the Year award as an anchor of Rivers’ system.
It’s true that the league has shifted to an offense-first mindset, but Doc does have options on this Bucks team. Giannis Antetokounmpo has won DPOY himself. Myles Turner is still a borderline elite rim protector. Milwaukee guards boast enviable grit and toughness – Ryan Rollins, Kevin Porter Jr., Gary Trent Jr., AJ Green. All are plus defenders and the last two can both play the wing. Net rating metrics suggest that, where possible, they should take priority over Prince and Kuzma minutes.
To Rivers’ credit, he has expressed a commitment to playing faster, both last season and especially ahead of this one. He has also endorsed a number of younger players, including Rollins and Green, as breakout candidates. Hopefully that translates into trying new rotations in order to maximize the talent the roster has available.
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