Speaking to the press following his first game coaching the Milwaukee Bucks, Doc Rivers made it clear that he had every intention of implementing his own style of coaching to his new team. After all, the Bucks would not have wanted it any other way.
One significant change we saw in Rivers’ first game in charge is the substitution schemes he employed. In particular, his first substitution in the opening quarter against the Denver Nuggets involved both Giannis Antetokounmpo and Damian Lillard heading to the bench — a tactic that Rivers said he intends to use moving forward.
Nuggets Forced Milwaukee Bucks to Make Tactical Changes
It didn’t take Giannis and Lillard to return, though. Rivers had them close out the first quarter, which was his plan all along.
However, Rivers had no choice but to switch up his tactics after the break. By his own admission, the Bucks just couldn’t afford not having Antetokounmpo and Dame on the floor at the same time — at least not against the defending champs:
“I thought that’s when they made their little run,” Rivers said of his second-half thought process on his combinations, via Jim Owczarski of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. “I know we’d been doing that. I think you can get away with that against some teams, but you can’t do that against a good team, so we switched it in the second half.”
Rivers will likely still revert to subbing out Giannis and Lillard at the same time in their upcoming games, but it is clear that he isn’t afraid to tweak his game plan when necessary. This speaks volumes of the veteran coach’s versatility and his ability to make crucial decisions on the fly.
All this is obviously a product of decades of experience as a head coach — something that the previous administration was clearly lacking in.
For More Wisconsin Sports:
Follow me on Twitter at @PaoloSongcoNBA, and follow us @WiSportsHeroics. Also, check out our Merchandise Here! Get 20% off with the code “WSH.” You can also reach out to Paolo Songco via email at pao.songco@gmail.com. To read more of our articles and keep up to date on the latest in ALL of Wisconsin sports, click here! Green Bay Packers, Milwaukee Brewers, Milwaukee Bucks, Wisconsin Badgers.
