Doc Rivers came close to perfecting Bucks starting lineup with latest change

The result was an ugly one, a 108-81 defeat on the Milwaukee Bucks' home floor, but Doc Rivers had the right idea with his starting lineup against the Celtics. Finally, after weeks of clamoring from fans, he inserted Ousmane Dieng at small forward in place of AJ Green or Kyle Kuzma. With Dieng's shooting and athleticism, that's a major step in the right direction. 

The problem is, Rivers accommodated Giannis Antetokounmpo's return by benching Ryan Rollins. Green stayed out there at shooting guard. Sorry, Doc, that's just not it. Swap around those two, however, and the Bucks could have their perfect starting five down the stretch. 

Bucks' starting five versus Celtics was so close to being the right one

Let's get this part out of the way first. Green is a great guy to have out there with Giannis due to his elite shooting and resultant floor spacing. We get it. Unfortunately, he just doesn't have it lately, a trend that continued Monday with a 0-for-3 outing in 18 minutes. 

Of course, no one did much of anything aside from Dieng, who contributed 13 points on 3-for-7 from deep. Even Giannis was off (7-for-18 from the floor). The issue with Green is that he's been struggling for some time now. 

Over his past nine games, he's averaging 7.7 points on 34 percent from distance and 33 percent overall. He has scored in double figures twice. He's undersized as a three and bullied accordingly on defense. As a starter, Green isn't carrying his weight.

Rollins played poorly against Boston in his 24 bench minutes, but that doesn't mean he shouldn't be starting. Despite Giannis' return, the Bucks need as much playmaking as possible in the starting five. That's especially true with Cam Thomas in town to provide energy in the second unit. The decision is obvious. Rivers just has to realize it. 

Dieng provided high note of another lowlight loss

Coming off the Bucks' brutal collapse in Chicago, Dieng supplied one of the few positive takeaways in a second straight beatdown. Plugging him into the starting five should go down as a successful experiment. (It's not a new one. Darvin Ham already did it, to great effect.) He is a natural fit alongside Giannis, spacing the floor as a shooter and doing work on both ends. At 6-foot-9, Dieng has the size Green doesn't and the shooting stroke Kuzma lacks. 

Rivers deserves credit, in this rare case, for giving his young forward the nod despite a string of clunkers. Dieng had turned in two goose eggs in his last five games and shot 4-for-20 in his last three. In that context, Rivers' vote of confidence in a young, unproven player is little short of shocking. 

Dieng paid off his trust by being one of the lone bright spots in a gloomy loss, and there's no reason he shouldn't trot out at tip-off again when the Bucks host Atlanta on Wednesday. Now, their head coach just has to convince himself that Green shouldn't be starting over Rollins.