Why Doc Rivers Makes Sense For Milwaukee

Sitting at 30–13, and second place in the NBA’s Eastern Conference, the Milwaukee Bucks acted unprecedentedly by relieving first-year Head Coach Adrian Griffin of his duties in favor of the heavily experienced Doc Rivers.

Without inside knowledge of the happenings within Milwaukee’s building, it’s impossible to comment on what led to the peculiarly-timed exit without heavy speculation. Regardless of the why, the bottom line is the Bucks’ higher brass believed a proactive approach to a critical season for both their franchise and its two biggest stars’ legacies was their best option, so they didn’t wait, they acted.

With the onboarding of Doc came a range of opinions. No coach has lost more playoff series in which their team won at least three games. He’s 16–33 in that scenario, and 6–10 coaching game 7’s. Roughly 23% of 3–1 playoff comebacks in NBA history came at the expense of a Doc Rivers-coached team. However, he’s also won the most games in Boston Celtics and Los Angeles Clippers franchise history and won an NBA Championship in 2008 with the former.

Dubbed a “players coach” by many, Doc’s not known so much for his X’s and O’s, strategic aptitude, or ability to make adjustments on the fly. Rather, his primary strength as a head coach lies within his ability to galvanize a group of players, bringing them together on an emotional and social level so that the fine dynamics within the team are commonly understood and agreed upon.

The best Doc Rivers teams featured players who had compartmentalized, defined roles to the point where it was palpable from even a fair-weather fan’s perspective. His coaching model revolves around the idea that if the team achieves its purest level of allocative efficiency, then he can get more out of his players than anyone would reasonably expect. Likewise, having specifically designated roles makes the behind-the-scenes bureaucracy less subject to negative flairs, as accountability for one’s actions becomes inherently understood and designated.

Naturally, the best Doc Rivers team featured players whose styles were compatible with this style of coaching. Kevin Garnett was on the court to anchor the defense, control the paint, and provide a secondary scoring option. Paul Pierce was on the court to control the offensive flow, whether that be through running a point forward, or isolation scoring-based offensive attack. Ray Allen was on the court to shoot the ball. Rajon Rondo was on the court to distribute the ball to the latter three, oversee the offense, and be as pesty as humanly possible on defense.

The clear and defined roles down the line within this team meant there was much that didn’t need to be said in timeouts, or game-altering situations because players understood what their roles were. Additionally, the added benefit of having a roster construct in which team roles were both filled and defined was the extra utility Doc could get out of players by not needing to coach them into doing the jobs they already undertook.

Doc’s philosophy revolves around the idea that it’s easy to ask guys to do the things they don’t excel at if he doesn’t have to repetitively ask them to do what they both already know is expected from that player on a nightly basis. None of the players aforementioned had better defensive splits than when they were coached by Doc. By putting his players into positions they were incredibly comfortable in, they excelled in areas of the game that weren’t commonly regarded as their strengths. This is why Doc Rivers was brought to the Milwaukee Bucks.

The Bucks don’t need a coach that can reinvent their offense. They don’t need new ways to get Giannis Antetokounmpo the ball or to integrate Damian Lillard into their offense. They need a coach who can gather the entire team, define what their role within the team is, and command the respect of the players to actually fulfill these duties. Per Cleaning The Glass, Milwaukee currently ranks 4th in Offensive Points Per Possession (120.9) and 3rd in eFG% (57.6%), both of which are strong enough to confidently predict that if they lose in the playoffs, it won’t be due to shot quality or creation.

The Milwaukee Bucks need the same thing the 2016 Cavaliers needed— the absolute best from their stars in the biggest moments on offense and for everyone on the court to elevate their defensive intensity and awareness to new, elite levels when the time comes. The Bucks don’t need to reinvent the wheel, they already own the car, they just need the driver who knows to change the oil, and when and where to hit the NOS.

That driver might just be Doc Rivers.