Doc Rivers nails what everyone thinks about dragging Giannis drama

Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Milwaukee Bucks have begun airing out their dirty laundry in public. Giannis, in particular, has grown more vocal about being held out of games down the stretch when he says he is healthy. The NBA Players Association launched an investigation to determine whether the Bucks violated existing anti-tanking rules. 

Head coach Doc Rivers said what everyone is thinking after Friday's loss to Boston.

"I just don't like that this is so public and it shouldn't be. This is where grown men get in a room and they talk it out. Whether they agree or disagree, that doesn't matter. This should not be public and I don't like that."

He's right. The whole thing is getting old. No one wants to hear about it anymore. Giannis and the Bucks must figure it out by themselves and get back to fans when a verdict has been reached. This needn't be a public hearing any longer. 

Giannis' own injuries created present conflict with Bucks

Antetokounmpo last played on March 15 in a win over the Indiana Pacers. It was his sixth game since returning from a calf strain that caused him to miss over five weeks, the longest absence of his career. Sidelined first by a groin injury and then two separate calf strains, he had already missed a career-high number of games this season. Accounting for injury exits, Giannis has completed just 33 games.

Despite his stated health, he probably won't take the court again this season unless the Bucks give him a curtain call in the home finale, on April 12 against Brooklyn. Eliminated from playoff contention, they have no incentive to risk re-injuring Giannis whether he remains in Milwaukee or not. Either they need him healthy for next season or to maximize his trade value this summer. 

The Bucks received a cautionary tale just last year when Damian Lillard tore his Achilles in the playoffs. With the franchise future hanging in the balance, they can't afford a repeat scenario with Giannis. 

Both sides must take Rivers' advice and settle matters privately

That's Milwaukee's perspective. For Antetokounmpo, staying off the court when he feels able to compete defies his very nature. 

“I want to play basketball. I was born to play basketball. … So for somebody to come and tell me to not play or not to compete, it’s like a slap in my face. So, I don’t know where the relationship goes from there."

At the moment, that relationship is clearly fragile. The Bucks countered Antetokounmpo's claims by revealing that he declined three-on-three scrimmage play in practice. Giannis prescribed the analogy of couples therapy to delineate the process of hashing out their differences and finding a path forward. 

Ironically, perhaps he and his head coach don't see things so differently in that regard. The process Antetokounmpo describes should not take place in the court of public opinion, despite the fact that his comments have only escalated the element of visibility. 

Instead, it should occur in private, where both parties can say what needs to be said. There isn't much left to scrutinize, and anyway, no one wants to watch an ugly divorce unfold in its every word and slight. The drama has become a broken record, sticking on the same scratch with increasing dissonance. Leave fans in peace. 

Either Giannis and the Bucks will make up (again) or break up (for real). Call the court back in session when the verdict is in.