When the Milwaukee Bucks hired Doc Rivers in the middle of the 2023-24 NBA season to be the franchise’s head coach, not a few eyebrows were raised. For one, the Bucks were playing well, all things considered, under Adrian Griffin. There was also the reputation of Rivers for being an underperformer.
Rivers still has a lot to prove as Bucks head coach to the team, fans, and experts.
In a recent ranking of NBA coaches heading into the 2024-25 NBA season, Sam Quinn of CBS Sports has Rivers occupying just the No. 22 spot.
Doc Rivers had Chris Paul and Blake Griffin. He had Kawhi Leonard and Paul George. He had Joel Embiid and James Harden. He never reached the conference finals with any of them. It’s been a long time since 2008. His players clearly like playing for him, and he is perhaps the best job interviewer among current coaches. Owners love him. That’s probably how he keeps getting these premium jobs. But he also keeps blowing playoff leads, over-relying on name-brand veterans, punting on offensive rebounds and running predictable offenses. Hiring Doc Rivers looks better in a press release than employing Doc Rivers tends to actually work out on the court.
Milwaukee Bucks head coach Doc Rivers has pressure to deliver in 2024-25 season
Rivers is a one-time NBA champion and a former NBA Coach of the Year winner, but both of those accomplishments took place in the same decade Milwaukee rookie guard AJ Johnson was born.
With a full offseason with the Bucks and a healthier group of players under his watch, Rivers will look to change the minds of his naysayers in the 2024-25 NBA season.
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