Tag: Doc Rivers

JJ Redick blasts former Celtics head coach Doc Rivers on accountablity

“I’ve seen the trend for years,” said Reddick.

There is an oft-repeated truism about fans of the Boston Celtics that suggests that fan base has got more mileage out of a single title (in 2008) than some clubs who have recently won several. A similar logic seems to apply to former Celtics head coach Doc Rivers, who has bounced from one shortcoming to the next while sometimes throwing his players and coworkers under the bus seemingly without pushback. At least, until now.

Former NBAer and host of the “Old Man and the 3” podcast, JJ Redick recently laid into Rivers for exactly this. It came after another bout of Rivers deflecting accountability during a rough start to his takeover of (some would call stealing) the Milwaukee Bucks’ head coaching gig from Adrian Griffin as a consultant.

“I’ve seen the trend for years,” said Reddick via Awful Announcing. “The trend is always making excuses.”

“Doc, we get it. Taking over a team in the middle of a season is hard … it’s always an excuse,” he added. “It’s always throwing your team under the bus … there’s never accountability with that guy.”

Listen to the “Celtics Lab” podcast on:

Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/3zBKQY6

Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3GfUPFi

YouTube: https://bit.ly/3F9DvjQ

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JJ Redick calls out former Sixers coach Doc Rivers for troubling trend

JJ Redick calls out former Philadelphia 76ers coach Doc Rivers for a troubling trend in his coaching career.

Doc Rivers did many good things in his three seasons as coach of the Philadelphia 76ers. He led the Sixers to the No. 1 seed for the 2021 playoffs. He compiled a 154-82 record across those three seasons. And he helped Joel Embiid take steps forward in his game.

However, the Sixers could never get past the second round of the playoffs. They fell in the East semifinals in each of his three seasons, and the Sixers  moved on from Rivers. They hired Nick Nurse as their new coach.

Now, Rivers is the coach of the Milwaukee Bucks. He took over at the midway point of the season, and the Bucks have struggled. They are 3-7 in the 10 games Rivers has coached. The future Hall of Fame coach stated taking over a team midseason is hard and explained why he and the Bucks have struggled.

Former Sixers guard JJ Redick, who played for Rivers while with the Los Angeles Clippers, called out Rivers for what has been a troubling trend:

I’ve seen the trend for years! The trend is always making excuses. Doc, we get it. Taking over a team in the middle of a season is hard. It’s hard. We get it. Just like getting traded in the middle of the season. It’s hard for a player. We get it, but it’s always an excuse. It’s always throwing your team under the bus. … There’s never accountability with that guy.

Rivers will head to the Hall of Fame in the future, but he has a reputation for not getting it done in the playoffs. The Sixers had a 3-2 series lead over the Boston Celtics headed home for Game 6, and Rivers and the Sixers failed to get the job done.

Rivers and the Bucks will take on the Sixers in Philadelphia on Feb. 25.

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JJ Redick ripped Doc Rivers for already making excuses after a poor start with the Bucks

JJ Redick is tired of Doc Rivers’ excuses.

The Doc Rivers era for the Milwaukee Bucks hasn’t gotten off to a great start. The team is 3-7 in its last 10 games with Rivers and has fallen from second to third place in the Eastern Conference.

Coaching a team in the middle of the season is not the easiest position to be in, but still. You’d think a team with Damian Lillard and Giannis Antetokounmpo on it would find a way to live up to expectations here.

The Bucks haven’t done it so far. And Doc Rivers is already making excuses about why the team hasn’t during his stint there as the head coach. He’s already pointing the finger at his players.

He told reporters at All-Star weekend that some players were still ready to play while the Bucks had some other guys “in Cabo.” Yes, that’s a real quote.

This is how it goes with Rivers, man. Things go wrong and it’s somehow never his fault.

A lot of people are tired of hearing these excuses from Rivers. Count his former player and former ESPN colleague JJ Redick among them. He lambasted Rivers on ESPN’s First Take for making excuses about the Bucks’ play already.

“I’ve seen the trend now. I’ve seen the trend for years. The trend is always making excuses. Doc, we get it. Taking over a team in the middle of a season is hard. It’s hard. We get it … But it’s always an excuse. It’s always throwing your team under the bus. They lose to Memphis — oh, it’s his player’s fault … There’s never accountability with that guy. There’s never accountability.” 

Redick has a point here, man. Fans were with him on this one, too.

‘Watching him as a player is just beautiful’: Doc Rivers praises Shai Gilgeous-Alexander

‘Watching him as a player is just beautiful’: Doc Rivers praises Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.

Following the 2024 All-Star Game, Milwaukee Bucks head coach Doc Rivers was asked his thoughts on Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.

Rivers coached the MVP candidate’s rookie season with the LA Clippers. He’s always had high thoughts on the 25-year-old, recently saying he knew the Clippers would regret trading him to acquire Paul George.

In his first All-Star start, Gilgeous-Alexander scored 31 points on 12-of-16 shooting, which included going 7-of-10 from 3.

“Shai, Tyrese Maxey, on the other team. So I got to see both of those guys, I had them both in their rookie years and seeing them both as All-Stars,” Rivers said. “Shai, I’ll tell you, watching him, his growth. You knew he was going to be a great person from the day you met him, but watching him as a player is just beautiful.”

Rivers was named as East head coach after spending a couple of weeks as the Bucks’ new head coach following the surprising dismissal of Adrian Griffin. Milwaukee is 3-7 in Rivers’ tenure. The East came away with the win over the West, 211-186.

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NBA fans thought Giannis Antetokounmpo’s comments about Bucks’ coaching instability were so ironic

Giannis Antetokounmpo made his bed, but he doesn’t want to lie in it.

A new coach was supposed to help the Milwaukee Bucks realize their NBA championship contention potential. It’s still too early to say anything definitively, and it’s certainly not all his fault, but Doc Rivers has not been the midseason answer that Giannis Antetokounmpo’s Bucks were looking for.

Ten games into Rivers’ tenure, and the Bucks are just a disappointing 3-7. It would’ve always been tough sledding to quickly get a quality rhythm with a new coach in late January/early February. That’s understandable. But the struggles are still clearly weighing on Antetokounmpo and friends.

So much so that, according to The Athletic, Antetokounmpo spoke up on what the Bucks have been dealing with during his All-Star Weekend media availability. Let me just say that his comments were rather … ironic:

“It’s hard. It’s hard. This is my fourth coach in the span of six months,” Antetokounmpo said. “Coach (Mike Budenholzer), coach (Adrian Griffin), (interim) coach Joe (Prunty) and Doc (Rivers). Different philosophy, different game plan. It’s hard. It’s draining.”

Some have speculated that, as the Bucks’ franchise player, Antetokounmpo played a greater role in the respective dismissals of Budenholzer and Griffin (especially after a 30-13 start for the latter). If that is indeed true, Antetokounmpo complaining about adjusting to another coach’s style at this point in time would legitimately be like the pot calling the kettle black.

Perhaps this conversation fades should the Bucks storm out of the All-Star break on a long winning streak with renewed energy and focus. Heck, that might be the only way.

Every Boston Celtics head coach of an All-Star game in NBA history

A total of seven Celtics coaches have earned the right to coach the All-Star game by owning the East’s best record that season.

About a year ago, the Boston Celtics were poised to make history by sending the first interim coach to helm the NBA’s 2023 All-Star Game, which is why the Celtics will not be having Mazzulla coaching the 2024 All-Star Game.

The rules prohibit repeat performances in that role, sending the nod to a Boston coaching alumnus in Doc Rivers (now with the Milwaukee Bucks) instead, who coached the game himself as Celtics head coach in 2008. With all of that in mind, let’s take a look at the Boston alumni who have done the same over the course of the event’s long history. A total of seven Celtics coaches have earned the right to coach the All-Star game by owning the East’s best record that season.

Let’s take a look at who they were and the seasons that it happened in.

GG Jackson II trolled Doc Rivers after the Grizzlies somehow upset the confounding Bucks

The youngest player in the NBA is also one of the funniest.

Despite injuries to key players such as Ja Morant, a young Memphis Grizzlies roster was able to defeat the contending Milwaukee Bucks.

The Grizzlies were led by Ziaire Williams and GG Jackson II, who both scored 27 points during the narrow victory. Jackson was 10-of-17 from the field and 6-of-10 on 3-pointers in the contest.

After the game, Jackson was given the walk-off interview to discuss the thrilling win for Memphis. He immediately gave credit to Milwaukee head coach Doc Rivers and the Bucks, who had a healthy roster and held the lead with less than three minutes remaining in the game.

The 19-year-old, who is the youngest player in the NBA, hit a clutch 3-pointer to give Memphis a lead in the fourth quarter. He has been one of the best scorers off the bench in the league over the past month.

He and LeBron James are the youngest NBA players to ever record more than 25 points and more than five 3-pointers in a single game.

Jackson, who told Giannis Antetokounmpo he is still working on his core strength, impressed the Milwaukee superstar during this matchup.

RELATED: Doc Rivers is a ghost who just won’t stop haunting NBA teams

Despite a few positive moments, meanwhile, the Bucks are just 3-7 (.300) since Rivers took over for Adrian Griffin as head coach. Milwaukee has not seen the success needed under its new leadership.

Rivers, who called out his players after the loss to Memphis, put himself in a tough situation by taking this gig.

Due to a strange rule, however, Rivers will coach the Eastern Conference in the NBA All-Star Game.

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Austin Rivers gave a thoughtful answer on why LeBron James and Bronny should not be teammates

It is worth considering his perspective when we talk about Bronny and LeBron.

It is no secret that LeBron James hopes to eventually play alongside his son, Bronny James, in the NBA.

Bronny is currently a freshman at USC and could potentially declare for the 2024 NBA Draft at the end of this season. LeBron, meanwhile, has a player option in his contract that would allow him to become a free agent and join whatever NBA team drafted the Trojans guard if the Lakers did not.

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But it is worth mentioning that ESPN analyst Austin Rivers, the son of Milwaukee Bucks coach Doc Rivers, does not think this is a good idea for any party involved. Austin played for Doc on the Clippers from 2015 until 2018.

During a recent segment, the former NBA guard spoke about his evaluation of Bronny both on and off the court and drew from his own experience as a professional basketball player with a famous father.

Austin first spoke about how well Bronny has handled his fame so far:

“I hope it doesn’t happen … I don’t want to see Bronny play with his dad. I really don’t … I went through something similar. It was a very similar situation but also different. I was already in the NBA when I went to go play for him. What happens is a lot of people start to discredit everything that you’ve done. This kid has been in the limelight since he was born. His first day on Instagram, he had a million followers. He’s handled it so well.”

He then spoke about some of the on-court accomplishments the McDonald’s All-American honoree has already experienced with basketball.

When we scouted Bronny, we immediately noticed that his defense was his most compelling trait. Austin also noted that Bronny has a good feel for the game:

“He’s played well at Sierra Canyon amongst talent and was able to get himself to a school like USC. Right now, his numbers don’t scream pro. So if he is to go in the draft or if he gets picked, it’d be great to get picked up by a contending team that could help him put him in a situation [to develop] because he does have talent and he does have basketball IQ and he does have potential.”

Bronny was able to return to play after suffering a terrifying cardiac arrest before the season began.

But even before the health scare, talent evaluators had concerns that Bronny may not be ready for the NBA for several years. While he had shown “NBA potential” during his time in high school, he was never considered one of the best players in his class.

Recruiting services, however, had Austin as a top player in his class. That wasn’t how Bronny was evaluated:

“At this point in his career, just because Bronny’s success isn’t at a top-tier level, him getting drafted and playing with his dad, I don’t want that negativity to come his way because he doesn’t deserve it. He’s not a top-10 pick. He’s not a lottery pick. He’s none of those things. I was all of those things. And then still, when I went to go play for the Clippers, people were like: You’re only in the league because your dad after me being the No. 1 player in the United States two years prior.”

Perhaps most important, though, is the fame levels of their respective fathers.

Austin said that he was put under a microscope playing for Doc Rivers, who is a one-time NBA champion and one-time Coach of the Year recipient. Yet he still received a lot of criticism (like from Glen Davis) even though the two weren’t very close outside of basketball.

That would only magnify tenfold as the son of LeBron, a four-time NBA Finals MVP and 20-time NBA All-Star:

“On a different level, Doc is great. LeBron James is the most popular basketball to ever play other than who, maybe Michael Jordan? It would just be a lot, man. I hope for the kid that he is able to not only play in the NBA but play somewhere where he can kind of niche out his own identity. His name is already Bronny. Everything we talk about with him always folds back to his dad and rightfully so. He plays for USC and his dad plays down the street for the Lakers. It’s an insane situation and the way he has handled it, I’m a fan of Bronny. I really. And I hope he goes somewhere else. I really do.”

Austin, who also gave thoughtful criticism of the Rockets before they eventually parted ways with Kevin Porter Jr., has given this a lot of thought and came away with a strong opinion.

It is worth considering his perspective when we talk about Bronny and LeBron.

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Even Doc Rivers can’t believe he’s the NBA All-Star Game coach after just 1 win with the Bucks

Doc Rivers wants to pass on the All-Star Game.

Doc Rivers has been the head coach of the Milwaukee Bucks for all of three games, but he’s already the recipient of one of the rewards that comes with coaching a team led by Giannis Antetokounmpo — if you want to call it a reward.

With their win over the Dallas Mavericks Saturday — Rivers’ first since taking over for Adrian Griffin — the Bucks clinched the Eastern Conference’s second-best record through Feb. 4. That means their coaching staff will be headed to the All-Star Game on Feb. 18. The honor usually goes to the first-place team, but the Boston Celtics were ineligible after coaching the East all-stars last year.

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That left the job to the Bucks and Rivers, who was just as miffed as everyone else. He said he’ll give the bonus money and All-Star ring to Griffin.

“That is ridiculously bad. It really is,” Rivers said. “Well, Adrian’s gonna get some money. That’s for sure. And a ring. You know, it’s one of these quirky things. I think there should be a rule somehow that someone else does it other than me. Maybe I’ll send my staff, and I’ll go on vacation.”

Will Doc Rivers or Terry Rozier change the balance of power in the NBA’s Eastern Conference?

Will either of these moves help the Bucks or Heat beat Boston?

The Boston Celtics have a commanding lead over the rest of the NBA’s Eastern Conference at more than halfway through the league’s 2023-24 season. And their dominance is such that their competitors are starting to look to a number of Celtics alumni to help them sort out their current lack of oomph in the East.

The Miami Heat just traded for former Celtics Terry Rozier, sending Kyle Lowry to purgatory that is the Charlotte Hornets. That went poorly in the early going, but perhaps there might be more there in the postseason. The Milwaukee Bucks just hired head coach Doc Rivers to replace another Boston alum (as a player), outgoing Bucks head coach Adrian Griffin.

Will either of these moves help the Bucks or Heat beat Boston? The hosts of the CLNS Media “How Bout Talkin’ Them Celtics!” podcast took a closer look at both on a recent episode.

Check out the clip above to hear what they had to say.

Listen to the “Celtics Lab” podcast on:

Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/3zBKQY6

Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3GfUPFi

YouTube: https://bit.ly/3F9DvjQ

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