On Sunday, April 7, at home, the Milwaukee Bucks, who were losing to the New York Knicks 122-109, had given up an 11-point lead when Matt Barnes shouted out Doc Rivers.
Barnes posted a remark on Gilbert Arena’s Instagram video of a film that predicted the Bucks’ collapse under Rivers, saying, “Doc keeps stealing money.”
The Bucks’ record after Sunday’s defeat is now 15–17 since Rivers took over as head coach halfway through the season, replacing Adrian Griffin. When Rivers took over, they were 30-13.
With four games remaining in the regular season, the Bucks (47-31) are fighting for the third spot in the East. Following closely behind them are the Knicks and Orlando Magic, who each have identical 46-32 records.
In their final four games of the season, they will play twice against the Magic.
According to Shams Charania of The Athletic, Rivers, who coached Barnes with the Los Angeles Clippers, inked a four-year contract worth about $40 million. After two straight second-round exits, he lost his former coaching position in Philadelphia during the offseason. Before joining the Bucks, the seasoned coach worked as a TV analyst for ESPN for a short while.
Rivers, 62, led the Boston Celtics to victory in 2008, the only title on his coaching résumé. Since then, he has gained notoriety for blowing three-point series leads.
Doc Rivers Accepts Responsibility Rivers, nevertheless, isn’t hesitating to take on the task of leading the Bucks to victory in the inaugural Giannis Antetokounmpo–Damian Lillard season.
After the Bucks’ defeat by the Knicks, Rivers told reporters, “I think this team is too talented to go through this.” Every team has guys out, regardless of who has been in and out. I must thus resolve that.
They lost Khris Middleton in the second quarter after Knicks guard Donte DiVincenzo struck him in the face by mistake, making Sunday’s defeat a double-whammy. Worse, after Middleton made a basket, Knicks centre Isaiah Hartenstein landed on her back.
Talking about Middleton, Rivers stated, “You just feel bad for him.” “The guy is so hard up for nothing.”
In their previous 29 games, Middleton, Antetokounmpo, and Lillard had all been available only four times. It didn’t last long.
According to Rivers, Middleton went to the dentist following the game because the on-court incident had knocked out one of his teeth.
“We’re Not a Losing Team,” says Giannis Antetokounmpo
After the Bucks suffered their longest losing run of the season—four straight losses—Antetokounmpo became irate.
After the game, Antetokounmpo declared, “We’re not a losing team.” “We don’t think like that. That is not who we are. We don’t operate like this. We must elevate ourselves.
After missing just one game due to a left hamstring injury, Antetokounmpo led the Bucks with 28 points, 15 rebounds, and 8 assists.
Nevertheless, the Knicks prevailed over them.
Mitchell Robinson, the centre for the Knicks, once swatted Antetokounmpo on consecutive attempts during the second half.
Lillard finished with 23 points, 6 assists, and 4 of 11 field goals.
In just 13 minutes, Middleton scored five points and left the game with a cut lip.
On Tuesday, April 9, the Bucks will play the league-leading Boston Celtics. A loss could result in a decline in the rankings.
