The season is certainly not looking the way the Milwaukee Bucks envisioned their campaign to be, especially after they sent shockwaves across the NBA and acquired Damian Lillard from the Portland Trail Blazers to form a superstar pairing with Giannis Antetokounmpo. Milwaukee instantly became favorites to hoist the Larry O'Brien trophy this June. But with two-thirds of the season already in the books, the Bucks are still looking far from a championship contender.
For a team that owns a 35-21 record, the third-best mark in the Eastern Conference, the Bucks are a hot mess. Despite leading his team to a 30-13 record, Milwaukee unceremoniously fired first-time coach Adrian Griffin and brought in veteran Doc Rivers as his replacement. However, Rivers' tenure has not gone well at all as they have gone just 3-7 since he took over.
Now, things seem to be nearly spiraling out of control for the Bucks as they prepare for this crucial stretch of the regular season. Milwaukee's continued struggles have led to Antetokounmpo questioning his team's desire to win. Rivers, meanwhile, already took subtle shots at his team following a brutal loss to an extremely undermanned Memphis Grizzlies squad just before the All-Star break.
He also shared his shock at learning about Milwaukee's decision to fire Griffin and the front office's desire to hire him as the new coach. That was quite a weird thing to say, considering he agreed to take the job. Regardless, the Bucks have 26 games to right the ship before the postseason begins.
Bucks' season so far
The Milwaukee Bucks' issues defensively are well-documented. But since Rivers took over, they have improved on that end of the floor — they moved to 10th in defensive rating since. Where Milwaukee has struggled is on the offensive end. Milwaukee scores just 111.9 points per 100 possessions, which ranks 24th in the NBA.
That's a complete turnaround from where they were before Rivers arrived. Up until January 28th, Milwaukee was 2nd in offensive rating and 19th in defensive rating.
Sure, Milwaukee have been missing some players throughout this stretch. Likewise, Rivers is still getting used to his new team and likewise, the players are still acclimating themselves with their new coach.
Bucks' fatal flaw: Lack of chemistry and identity
However, the clock is ticking for the Milwaukee Bucks. They have just a third of the season to go to figure it out in time for the playoffs. Regardless of their struggles on either end of the floor, this team still seems to be lacking chemistry and an identity.
The Bucks have yet to figure out how to incorporate Damian Lillard, who just won the NBA All-Star Game MVP this past weekend, into their system. When the Lillard trade went down, many envisioned him and Antetokounmpo to be unstoppable on the offensive end of the floor, particularly in pick-and-roll. However, the two just haven't been able to establish the synergy they need to be the most potent offensive duo in the NBA.
Moreover, this team has undergone some roster changes throughout the years. Losing Jrue Holiday was also huge, since he was the heart and soul of their defense over the past three years. Likewise, they also lost some of their key pieces of their rotation over the last few years, like Grayson Allen, Donte DiVincenzo, and PJ Tucker. Only six players from their 2021 title team is on this year's roster.
In addition, this team also needs to establish an identity. Other East contenders like the Boston Celtics, New York Knicks, Miami Heat, and even the Philadelphia 76ers already have an identity. But Milwaukee is still soul-searching as a team at this point of the season.
Doc Rivers must do better
This is where a veteran voice like Doc Rivers should come in. This is likely the reason why the Bucks decided to get rid of a rookie coach and bring in a respected veteran. Players, especially highly-accomplished ones like those on the Bucks, are likely to listen to a tenured vet than an inexperienced head coach.
That's why it's shocking that Rivers said the things he said recently, because those are not going to help bring this team together at all. JJ Redick went on a tirade on national TV about the coach's lack of accountability. And he has a point.
Rivers can't be going on interviews throwing his players under the bus. There is a way to get the message across to them and going to the media is not it.
Likewise, speaking about how he was shocked the Bucks made the move to replace Adrian Griffin with him seems misplaced at this point, considering he already took the job.
Apart from Giannis and Dame, Rivers must be among the people who should help set the culture for this team moving forward.
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