Doc Rivers is the new coach of the Milwaukee Bucks, bringing his special blend of professionalism and playoff failures.
Rivers replaces Adrian Griffin (30-11), who never captured the hearts and minds of the locker room and helped lead the Bucks to 22nd in defensive rating. The Bucks will be paying Rivers, Griffin and Mike Budenholzer for the next three seasons, or until Griffin and Budenholzer find new jobs.1
The 62-year-old Rivers is a good to great coach in the regular season:
>> 20 winning seasons (in 24 seasons)
>> 10 50-win seasons + 2 when adjusted for COVID-shortened seasons
>> 2 60-win seasons
But Rivers is a poor postseason coach, excepting his only title 16 seasons ago:
>> 6-10 in Game 7s (a record 10 losses)
>> 14-18 in elimination games
>> 17-32 in series-clinching opportunity games (worst all time)
Rivers wins. He commands the respect of his players and maintains the respect of ownership and the front office. If a coach can do those things, he can stick around for a long time.
Rivers is a capable NBA coach who knows his way around a locker room. In his last two jobs, he inherited good teams with great talent from first-time coaches who had lost their way: Vinny Del Negro in Los Angeles, Brett Brown in Philadelphia and now Griffin. In comparison, Rivers is a calming agent. Simmer down now, a championship coach has arrived.
He will fix Milwaukee’s problems in the macro. He will install an offense that complements Damian Lillard as much as it does Giannis Antetokounmpo. He will make the defense competent, particularly in transition. The Bucks won’t rank fourth in defense (like last season), but they won’t be 22nd either.
The Bucks will be better in the second half of the season than they were in the first, although it may not be easily evident. They played the easiest schedule in the league under Griffin, and they will have the hardest the rest of the way.
As for the playoffs, if the current standings were to hold, the Bucks would have to beat the Miami Heat, Philadelphia 76ers, and Boston Celtics to reach the NBA Finals. The Heat beat the top-seeded Bucks in the first round last season.
As for Game 7s, Rivers has lost his last five (2015, 2017, 2020, 2021, 2023), and they weren’t close. His Clippers and 76ers lost by an average of 14.4 points.
The biggest upset Rivers ever pulled was when he was named one of the 15 greatest coaches in NBA history as part of the league’s 75th anniversary.
Is Rivers one of the top 15 coaches in the NBA right now? The eight other championship coaches: Gregg Popovich, Steve Kerr, Erik Spoelstra, Michael Malone, Frank Vogel, Nick Nurse, Tyronn Lue, and Rick Carlisle. Then there’s Joe Mazzulla, Ime Udoka, Tom Thibodeau, and Mike Brown. That’s 12 and counting …
The Bucks didn’t think much of Rivers a few months ago. Their final candidates for the job were Griffin, Nurse and Kenny Atkinson.
Rivers has received mixed reviews from former players. Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce liked Doc. Rasheed Wallace calls him Glenn. His success this season will depend on how Antetokounmpo and Lillard receive him.
The Doc Rivers All-Star team
Starters
[Forward] Paul Pierce, 2008 >> 19.6 points, 5.1 rebounds, 4.5 assists
[Forward] Kevin Garnett, 2008 >> 18.8 points, 9.2 rebounds, 3.4 assists
[Center] Joel Embiid, 2023 >> 33.1 points, 10.2 rebounds, 4.2 assists
[Guard] Tracy McGrady, 2003 >> 32.1 points, 6.5 rebounds, 5.5 assists
[Guard] Chris Paul, 2015 >> 19.1 points, 4.6 rebounds, 10.2 assists
Bench
[Forward] Blake Griffin, 2014 >> 24.1 points, 9.5 rebounds, 3.9 assists
[Forward] Kawhi Leonard, 2020 >> 27.1 points, 7.1 rebounds, 4.9 assists
[Center] DeAndre Jordan, 2015 >> 11.5 points, 15.0 rebounds, 2.2 blocks
[Guard] Ray Allen, 2009 >> 18.2 points on 54/41/95 shooting
[Guard] Rajon Rondo, 2010 >> 13.7 points, 9.8 assists, 2.3 steals
It works a lot like alimony.