Doc Rivers Leading Bucks Turnaround To Reduce Gap With Celtics?

BOSTON — Doc Rivers inherited a pressure-filled position when joining the Milwaukee Bucks after Adrian Griffin surrendered head-coaching duties with the team sitting 30-13 as the No. 2 seed in the Eastern Conference.

Milwaukee entered the campaign in need of a response. The Bucks had squandered a favorable playoff matchup with last season’s No. 8-seeded Miami Heat, and questions surrounding franchise star Giannis Antetokounmpo reached the surface when the two-time league MVP threatened to bolt on Milwaukee. With the organization’s hand forced, evident in the offseason acquisition of Damian Lillard, the Bucks had — and still have — little room for error to keep Antetokounmpo satisfied before his current contract reaches its expiration in 2025.

In simpler terms, anything short of an NBA Finals appearance could jeopardize Milwaukee’s ability to keep ‘The Greek Freak’ in a Bucks uniform for the long run. So… when the organization stole Rivers from his fresh, new gig at ESPN, it became abundantly clear that the 62-year-old would be working on a short leash.

“The transition (to Milwaukee) is what it is. In some ways, its been easier with the players that we have because they’re very coachable,” Rivers said before Wednesday night’s matchup against Boston at TD Garden. “They’re just a great group of high-character guys, which is what you wanted. And in other ways its been way tougher than I thought. Just because you don’t have all your staff, you’re relying on guys you’ve never met before.”

Most recently, Rivers was fired by the Philadelphia 76ers after the team blew a 3-2 lead to the Boston Celtics in the East semifinals — nothing new. Rivers has built a legacy of failing to close a playoff series, coaching eight teams that have coughed up a lead, including three when ahead 3-1.

In the meantime, the Celtics have been nothing short of a spick and span team, setting the golden standard throughout the 2023-24 season. Boston refused to re-embark on a journey for Banner 18 without making some much-needed improvements to the roster, adding Kristaps Porzingis and Jrue Holiday plus a new, hand-picked staff for head coach Joe Mazzulla.

Boston hasn’t given up its No. 1 seed in the East since taking over on Nov. 14. Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown have shattered the idea of splitting up the co-star duo, taking their largest respective leaps in maturity. They’ve each welcomed and embraced the additions made by president of basketball operations Brad Stevens and trust the organization’s vision moving forward.

But as much praise as the Celtics have (rightfully) stockpiled before being battle-tested in the playoffs, Rivers isn’t going down without a fight.

The Bucks have gone 7-3 in their last 10 games, ranking second in offensive rating (117.6), assist-to-turnover ratio (2.40) and third in effective field-goal percentage (55.9) among teams in the East. Milwaukee’s also protected the glass fairly well, holding opposing teams to 42.1 rebounds per game through the 10-game stretch to help clean up a previously messy stigma spawned from trading Holiday — the ex-Bucks defensive anchor — in the offseason.

“Since the last time we played them in Milwaukee, their role guys are affecting the game,” Mazzulla told reporters pregame Wednesday night. “They have a couple of guys in there that bring that mentality. As far as (Jae) Crowder and (Patrick) Beverley, I think they’re starting to come into their own so to speak. They present a ton of challenges and we just have to have our gameplan and we gotta be ready to figure it out and adjust to what the game is asking us to do.”

Milwaukee’s gone 20-12 under Rivers, sitting 10 games behind Boston in the race for the mountaintop in the East. With the clock rapidly running before the end of the regular season, the Bucks might be too late to catch up to the Celtics, however, they can still tighten up the gap in on-court play before the playoffs officially commence.