Doc Rivers has made sure everyone knows how difficult it has been for him to jump into the head coaching role for the Milwaukee Bucks in the middle of this season. The Bucks are 3-7 with Rivers at the helm, a stark contrast to the 32-14 record they had when he officially took over, and while that record was seemingly a product of some smoke and mirrors, it has been a rocky start to Rivers’ tenure in Milwaukee.
What’s most interesting going forward is how the Bucks respond to Rivers and what he will ask them to do — and how he’ll look to motivate them along the way. Rivers is not a coach who jumps in front of criticism to shield his players and will gladly call out his players when speaking with the media — as we saw when he said some players “were in Cabo” mentally after their dismal loss to the Grizzlies before the All-Star break.
That isn’t something every player responds well to, and we’ll find out if the Bucks have the kind of roster that will. If they don’t, it’s hard to see this resulting in the turnaround Milwaukee is hoping for that gets them into the title conversation. JJ Redick has played for Rivers in the past and has seen this all before, and on First Take on Tuesday morning, he couldn’t help but go off on Rivers in a rant about his lack of accountability.
.@jj_redick on Doc Rivers 😳 pic.twitter.com/JRgLD1rx74
— First Take (@FirstTake) February 20, 2024
“I’ve seen the trend for years. The trend is always making excuses. Doc, we get it. Taking over a team in the middle of a season is hard. It’s hard. We get it. Just like getting traded in the middle of the season is hard for a player. We get it. But it’s always an excuse. It’s always throwing your team under the bus. They lose to Memphis, oh it’s his players fault. Memphis was playing G-League guys and two-way guys. Then you look at his quotes over the weekend and now he wants to take credit for the James Harden trade to the Clippers working out. He wants credit for that? There’s never accountability with that guy!”
Stephen A. Smith concurred with Redick, noting that the more Rivers talks the more people are going to start questioning some of the timing of his arrival in Milwaukee, saying, “you got the job, go win,” before rattling off his recent postseason failures.
It’s an especially funny rant considering Redick is now taking over for Rivers in ESPN’s lead NBA booth and will call the NBA Finals in Rivers’ stead. Clearly Redick is not a fan of Doc’s proclivity for seeking credit rather than shouldering blame publicly, and the second half of the season and the postseason will be fascinating in Milwaukee for a variety of reasons.
