The Incredibly Predictable Downfall Of Doc Rivers With The Bucks Appears To Be Happening Right On Time
Who could have possibly predicted that the Milwaukee Bucks wouldn't turn into world beaters and instead struggle at the worst time imaginable when they hired Doc Rivers earlier in the season? Well, everybody who has paid any attention at all to the NBA over the last decade.
The Bucks bizarrely decided to fire head coach Adrian Griffin on January 23 despite holding a 30-13 record at the time in the midst of a stretch where they had won five of their last six games. Rivers was working as a consultant for the franchise at the time and was quickly hired to replace Griffin.
All Rivers has done since the 2010 season is not reach the Conference finals one single time, despite having wildly talented rosters with the Boston Celtics, Los Angeles Clippers, and Philadelphia 76ers. He's failed in epic fashion time and time again, yet the Bucks said ‘he’s our guy.'
Since taking over in Milwaukee, Rivers has coached the team to a 15-17 overall record. While things were average early in his stint, as soon as the calendar flipped to March with teams looking to find momentum heading into the postseason, Rivers' Bucks have crumbled.
The Bucks have posted a record of 8-10 since March 1 and have lost six of their last seven contests. These losses haven't come against powerhouses by any means, either.
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During their current four-game losing streak, the Bucks have fallen to the Washington Wizards, Memphis Grizzlies, and Toronto Raptors who have a combined record of 67-168. Loss No. 4 in the losing streak came courtesy of the New York Knicks, which is a respectable loss, but not when you account for the fact that Milwaukee was up 11 points at halftime.
This is the exact experience everyone predicted when Milwaukee announced the hiring of Rivers in January.
The Bucks still hold the No. 2 seed in the Eastern Conference. They'll of course punch their ticket into the postseason, likely hold onto home-court advantage, and then not play up to their potential, because that's what Doc Rivers teams do.
Milwaukee has not gotten better under Rivers, the franchise has moved in the exact opposite direction.