Pat Connaughton has been having one of his worst seasons since he joined the Milwaukee Bucks in 2018. He struggled under the short-lived coaching regime of Adrian Griffin, and he has yet to make a significant impression since Doc Rivers took over.
Connaugton did show some signs of life in Tuesday’s 114-106 loss to the Phoenix Suns, though, finishing with 12 points, three triples, six rebounds, and six assists. It wasn’t exactly a show-stopping performance for the 6-foot-5 shooting guard, but it was an undeniably optimistic showing from him.
Milwaukee Bucks Coach Doc Rivers Speaks on Pat Connaughton’s Confidence
Despite not having three of its starters on Tuesday night (Khris Middleton exited with an ankle injury after just eight minutes of action), Coach Doc refused to re-insert the likes of Andre Jackson Jr. and MarJon Beauchamp into the rotation. Instead, he opted to give Connaughton a significantly healthy amount of playing time (32 minutes) in what was his first start of the season.
According to Rivers, his intention is to instill some much-needed confidence back under Connaughton:
“I’m trying to build Pat’s confidence back,” Rivers said, via Jim Owczarski of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. “I don’t know if he’s lost it or not but I just think he can help us and I’m trying to actually give him more minutes. In a normal thing I would probably play one of the other guys but I’m trying to get Pat going. I think he’s important for us later as well.”
Pat Connaughton Responds to Doc Rivers
Connaughton appreciates the effort and the confidence boost from his new coach. According to the 31-year-old, he remains fully committed to doing everything and anything he can to help the Bucks reach their goals this season:
“It’s great to hear that from Doc,” Connaughton said. “I didn’t know him well before this but I had a good enough relationship with him and since he’s been here growing the relationship with him and trying to learn about the philosophy he’s trying to instill both offensively and defensively. I think for me, it’s been one of those years to date where it’s just hey, I want to make sure guys on the team are figuring out how they fit in and want to win games and try to impact winning and I think sometimes that has a rollercoaster of statistical games for me, if you will. At the end of the day I’m here to try to help win games and I’m here to try to help win games in the long run, right? That means now but it also means in the playoffs and it also means bringing that winning experience with me that I’ve had kind of my whole career.
“Something that gotta keep working on, continuing to find ways to improve, keep continuing to find ways to do extra, do more. That’s kind of been the m.o. of me my entire career and it was nice tonight to be out there.”
Tuesday’s performance was a promising one for Connaughton and he will now be looking to build on this when the Bucks return to action on Thursday night against the Minnesota Timberwolves.
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