Things keep going from bad to worse as the Milwaukee Bucks fell to their sixth consecutive defeat, this time at the hands of the Miami Heat. Questions have been raised about Doc Rivers' coaching, and his decision not to call a timeout before the Bucks' tying shot attempt in the final moments of the game has fans in disbelief.
Doc Rivers is causing his own downfall
Milwaukee lost the game by three, but had an opportunity to tie the game on the final possession. Rivers decided not to call a timeout, and Myles Turner went on to miss the game-tying shot with 5.7 seconds remaining. What made it even more frustrating was that Rivers doubled down on that decision after the game.
Speaking to reporters, he said, “I loved it. Loved the call. Would do it again…Instead of letting them set their defense, we had them on their heels.”
Sure, there is no guarantee that the Milwaukee Bucks would've made a shot had they called a timeout, but it would have given them a chance to draw something up instead of Turner having to throw up a contested three and there being no attempt from any players to crash the glass to potentially get another shot up.
Erik Spolestra deserves credit for Miami's brilliant start to the season, and Wednesday night showed he is just a level above Rivers in coaching. Spolestra has always found a way to maximize the talent on his roster, earning plenty of role players huge paydays. Meanwhile, Rivers is lacking creativity on both ends of the floor and is just throwing anything out there, hoping for a winning formula.
Without Giannis Antetokounmpo, the Bucks were always going to struggle. Rivers has not found a formula that works and has tried three different starting lineups in the last three games. We have seen Bobby Portis play in the frontcourt with Turner. Against Portland, Rivers made a very out-of-left-field decision to start Jericho Sims, and Wednesday night's loss in Miami saw him insert Gary Trent Jr. back into the lineup and move Kyle Kuzma to the four spot.
Trent had lost his spot in the starting lineup earlier in this season due to his offensive struggles. In South Beach, he and AJ Green fought hard but found themselves bullied by the Heat's physicality and size.
The Bucks' surrounding cast was criticized by many heading into the season. Rivers just hasn't found the right blend to get the best out of his players. Andre Jackson Jr. has shown promise in spells but failed to get on the court against Miami. Amir Coffey has featured just three times in the last seven games, combining for a total of eight minutes.
Currently, he is trying anything in the hope that it works. Without their two-time MVP, the entire game plan was always going to change, but constantly changing lineups won't allow any form of consistency or scheme implemented on either end of the floor. Players just look lost.
It is extremely tough to watch the Bucks right now. The offense lacks creativity, the defense looks lost, and Doc Rivers' coaching decisions are just making things even harder than they already are.