Though at the time, it seemed like getting rid of Adrian Griffin was the right solution for the Milwaukee Bucks, was it really?
The Bucks currently sit at a record of 3-6 under new head coach Doc Rivers, and while there have been some signs of life in a positive trajectory, it’s been a bit upsetting watching a team that has a legitimate chance of winning a championship play some really sloppy games.
Pat Connaughton says Milwaukee Bucks Aren’t Focused on the Record
Pat Connaughton says different. Connaughton said in a recent media session that they’re not worried about the record, but rather improving as a team and focusing on what needs to be done in order to succeed.
Connaughton said that with a new coach comes new adjustments, new ways of seeing things, and getting acclimated to the new coaching style. However, he’s a firm believer that the Bucks will adapt to these changes quickly and continue to build their success.
“For us, it’s all about getting better each day,” Connaughton said. “So if it’s been two weeks, it’s not something I think guys really have thought about. It’s not something guys have realized. We’ve been so focused on trying to get better, trying to all get on the same page.”
Not an Instant Change
With the Milwaukee Bucks getting a new head coach mid-season, things aren’t going to magically change overnight. Doc Rivers didn’t come in and put some magical success spell on the team, but he’s made some changes that are going to help the team improve their focus.
Under Rivers, the Bucks do have back-to-back wins where they held their opponents to under 100 points, something that hadn’t been done by Milwaukee since April of 2022 against the Chicago Bulls in the playoffs.
“He’s done a great job of putting in structure, putting in and simplifying some of the things that we’ve already done, some things we already do well, as well as adding some things that I think will help us in the long run,” Connaughton added about Rivers.
Rivers has done a good job so far approaching the Bucks’ defensive woes at more of a team perspective rather than focusing on one individual player, and it definitely has helped.
The back-to-back wins were great for Milwaukee, however, the embarrassing loss to a short-handed Miami Heat was due in part to the team not putting out their best effort on both sides of the ball. Many expected the Heat to be an easy win, but they were able to handle the ball well, and hold Milwaukee to under 100 points.
Damian Lillard even said that the Bucks weren’t able to keep up with the Heat and their ball movement, which just leads to a recipe for disaster.
“I think it was just the movement. Duncan Robinson, Herro, they were just kind of running around a lot of the ball. See a couple go in, and our offense didn’t really help our defense. We was in a lot of scramble situations where we were behind the play and they shot the ball well.” Lillard said after their 123-97 loss to the Miami Heat on Tuesday.
Up Next for Milwaukee
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The Milwaukee Bucks will travel to Memphis to take on the Grizzlies on Thursday as part of another back-to-back trip. Memphis is currently also coming off of a loss to the New Orleans Pelicans, and sit at a record of 18-36.
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