The Milwaukee Bucks aren’t playing good basketball right now, and it’s evident that there is something wrong within the mix for them to go from being a top contender to now being a questionable entry for the playoffs.
After losing to the Knicks on Sunday, the Bucks have now lost their fourth straight and six of their last seven.
Who’s to blame for the Milwaukee Bucks’ downfall?
Bucks fans wanted Adrian Griffin gone, he apparently wasn’t doing his job correctly as a first-year head coach. Enter Doc Rivers, and while the Bucks were on a hot streak for a moment with Rivers guiding them, it seems that the Doc Rivers effect is in full motion and we are witnessing that firsthand.
We saw it with the Philadelphia 76ers after they were an early second round exit in the playoffs last year, and they decided that they needed a different face leading the charge. Rivers was let go by Philly after just three seasons.
When Rivers was hired, the Bucks were sitting at 31-14 and four games back of the Boston Celtics. The Bucks were ready to take on a championship with Griffin. They had acquired superstar Damian Lillard in a blockbuster trade, and while Griffin did alright at first, I guess the Bucks felt they wanted someone with a little more experience.
Since the hiring of Rivers, the Bucks have gone 15-17 and are two games under .500. Milwaukee was favored to win against the last three teams they faced, losing to the Washington Wizards, the Memphis Grizzlies, and even the Toronto Raptors who snapped a 15-game losing streak…
A Historic Losing Streak
This losing streak is one for the NBA history books. With the Bucks losing their last six of seven and fourth straight, it marked the first time an NBA team had lost three straight games as double-digit favorited in the past 30 years. This four-game losing streak also is the latest for a team to lose four straight as the outright favorites since the Los Angeles Lakers in 2011.
The Milwaukee Bucks shockingly still sit in second place in the Eastern Conference and hold a slim margin over the Orlando Magic and New York Knicks in the playoff seed race. All three teams currently trail the Boston Celtics for the No. 2 spot.
Losing Confidence
Milwaukee clinched their playoffs spot going into halftime of Sunday’s game after the Miami Heat lost their game. It would’ve been amazing to clinch the playoff spot with a winning game, but the Bucks weren’t able to produce a winning product despite making the playoffs.
ESPN’s Tim Legler explained on Get Up how the Bucks seem to have this change in body language, change in the way they’re playing and it’s not a good one.
“It looks to me like there’s a lack of belief collectively amongst this group. And right now they’re reeling,” Legler said. “I mean, this is a team that’s been one of the worst in the league in clutch games since Doc got there.”
While it’s great that the Bucks were able to clinch their playoffs spot, it doesn’t bring a lot of confidence from fans watching the team lose to teams that the Bucks clearly can plow through on a normal day.
Maybe it’s a growing pain, maybe it’s something wrong with the coaching staff, no one really knows the clear answer. But whatever it is, Rivers needs to shape up this team and doesn’t have a lot of time to do it.
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