Everyone's been killing Doc Rivers all season, most of it deserved, but there's one thing he's actually elite at that nobody wants to talk about: managing microwave scorers off the bench.
Rivers coached Lou Williams for years, and Lou was thriving in that sixth man role. He was everything that Cam Thomas is today: pure bucket-getter, defensive liability, absolute maestro at coming in cold and getting you 15 points in eight minutes. If that archetype sounds familiar, that's because it is. After all, that's basically Cam Thomas' entire basketball identity. And now he's on the Milwaukee Bucks.
After getting waived by the Brooklyn Nets, Thomas now has the opportunity to prove what he can do. And he isn't the kind of player who needs some elaborate offensive system or complex rotations. He needs a coach who understands that certain players just need the green light when it's their time. Rivers gets that because he's lived it with Lou Will.
Rivers can unlock Thomas' potential as the league's next Lou Williams
The archetype is identical: undersized scoring guard who can't really defend but gets buckets in ways that defy logic. Williams made a whole career out of that, won multiple Sixth Man awards, became genuinely valuable despite his limitations. Thomas could follow that exact blueprint in Milwaukee if Rivers lets him.
What makes this even better is Rajon Rondo's still hanging around as a consultant. We saw what Rondo did for Ryan Rollins -- from G-League question mark to legitimate rotation player having a breakout season.
Thomas doesn't have Rollins' defensive instincts or two-way potential, but he could absolutely learn from Rondo how to be smarter with the ball. When to hunt his shot versus when to set up teammates. How to control pace and manipulate defenses even without elite playmaking vision. Little stuff that turns good scorers into actually useful players.
Rivers and Rondo together create the perfect environment for a player like Thomas. Rivers gives him the freedom and trust to just go get buckets. Rondo teaches him how to be smarter about when and how he does it. That combination turned Lou Williams into a borderline Hall of Fame sixth man, and there's simply no reason it can't work with Thomas.
The 34-point explosion Thomas just had is what happens when a pure scorer gets comfortable and starts feeling himself. Rivers has seen that movie a hundred times with Williams. He knows not to overcoach it, not to put too many restrictions on guys like that. Just let them cook when their number's called.
Milwaukee's bench has been dead all season offensively. Thomas gives them instant punch, and Rivers actually knows how to deploy that weapon effectively based on years of experience with the exact same player type. This might be the one coaching matchup where Rivers' experience is genuinely valuable instead of outdated.
Obviously, Thomas has to actually defend somewhat and not completely tank the second unit. But if he can just be neutral on that end while providing elite scoring punch, then that's already a win for this Bucks team. Lou Williams wasn't stopping anybody either -- he just scored enough to make up for it.
The Thomas-Rivers-Rondo combination could actually work. Rivers manages his minutes and role. Rondo teaches him craft and decision-making. Thomas gets to do what he does best without being asked to be something he's not.
Maybe Doc's finally got the right player for his coaching style. Took long enough.