The Milwaukee Bucks are back over .500, with a 12-11 record, as Giannis Antetokounmpo and Damian Lillard led the team in climbing out of the 2-8 hole they'd dug earlier in the season. Likewise, coach Doc Rivers shares the credit for their turnaround, keeping the team together and playing hard despite early adversity and all the noise surrounding Rivers' takeover of the job after the Bucks fired Adrian Griffin, who had a 30-13 record. Also, one of the key players in the Bucks' 2021 title squad, Bobby Portis, shared his insight into how Doc Rivers kept the team even-keeled despite their early struggles.
“Obviously, I think Doc gets a lot of slander, but for me personally and for our team, he's been great,” the forward said, during his appearance on Run It Back. “He's been building us, drilling things every day.”
Bucks turn things around
Milwaukee Bucks head coach Doc Rivers talks to forward Bobby Portis (9) after a technical foul in the fourth quarter during game against the Denver Nuggets at Fiserv Forum.
© Benny Sieu-Imagn Images
Additionally, Bobby Portis explained how Doc Rivers and the Bucks stumbled out of the gate earlier in the season.
“Early in the season, we didn't really have a lot of camaraderie and chemistry–obviously, we added new pieces,” he said. “We hadn't played with Giannis in a while. He got hurt against the Celtics late last season, sat out the playoffs, and now we're trying to get re-familiarized with the team.”
Besides Giannis, part of the reason of their struggles is Khris Middleton's ankle injury that caused him to miss every game so far. Dating back to the Bucks' pre-Dame Time days, Middleton has always been a key ingredient for the team's success, another scoring threat who can play well with a ball-dominant superstar because he scores within the flow of the offense.
For instance, the team doesn't ask Middleton to run things from the top of the key like Giannis or Lillard, but he can pop off screens or take the ball out of dribble-handoffs to get to his spots.
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In Middleton's return against the Celtics, he only scored 11 points on 2-10 shooting, but he provided structure to the Bucks offense that struggled amid the Celtics' stifling defense.
Remaining gaps
Likewise, Andre Jackson and AJ Green have become early-season revelations so far, Green in particular impressing the team with his three-point shooting. Other veterans like Taurean Prince and Gary Trent Jr. also fit well with both Giannis and Dame, taking a load off them on offense and stepping up on defense.
The Bucks will always have a chance to win against anybody, especially in the lesser Eastern Conference, but they might have to swing some deals to add more athleticism on the wing and center positions if they want to beat teams like the Celtics in a seven-game series.