Asked on Saturday what compelled him to return to the NBA’s head coaching ranks less that one year after being let go by Philadelphia and just a few months after joining ESPN as an analyst, Doc Rivers pointed to the Bucks‘ two superstars as a primary motivating factor.
“You know the answer. Giannis (Antetokounmpo), Dame (Lillard). Really, that’s the answer,” Rivers said at an introductory news conference, per Jamal Collier of ESPN. “Like, you look at their team. What is it, eight teams that have a legitimate shot (at a championship)? And I don’t know if it’s that high, but the Bucks are one of them, right?
“The other thing is the way they’re built with the veterans and their grown-ups. I thought that if you’re going to jump into this at this time of the year, this would be a type of group that you have the best opportunity to connect and change the quickest.”
For their part, Antetokounmpo and Lillard expressed excitement on Saturday about Rivers’ arrival, with Giannis citing the veteran coach’s “great energy” and Dame noting that Rivers won’t be afraid to challenge the team.
“He’s a strong voice. He’s going to demand more from our team,” Lillard said. “He’s not going to be afraid to challenge myself, he’s not going to be afraid to challenge Giannis…all the way down the line. I think when you’re dealing with a team that’s full of vets and as talented as we are, I think that’s something that you need if you want to reach the level that we want to reach.”
Rivers is on track to make his Bucks coaching debut on Monday in Denver.
Here’s more from around the Central:
- Pacers guard Tyrese Haliburton will miss a fifth straight game on Sunday due to his left hamstring injury, tweets Dustin Dopirak of The Indianapolis Star. According to head coach Rick Carlisle, Haliburton will practice on Monday and will be considered day-to-day going forward.
- After playing almost exclusively garbage-time minutes in the first half, Pacers rookie Ben Sheppard has averaged 18.4 minutes in the past seven games. While Sheppard’s numbers in his rotation role have been modest, his impressive hustle has served as a reminder of why Indiana liked him at No. 26 in last year’s draft, Dopirak writes for The Indianapolis Star.
- Pete Nance‘s 10-day deal with the Cavaliers expired overnight on Saturday, so he’s no longer under contract with the team. Cleveland now has 13 players on standard contracts and will have up to two weeks to add a 14th man, whether that’s Nance on a second 10-day deal or someone else. If the Cavs take the full two weeks, they won’t be able to drop to 13 players for the rest of 2023/24, since teams can only carry fewer than 14 for up to 28 days in a season. The Cavs already used up 14 of those days after finalizing Ricky Rubio‘s buyout and before signing Nance.
The Cavaliers are still sort a big man until Tristan Thompson returns from suspension. It would make sense to give another 10 day contract to Nance. That said I understand that JB Bickerstaff likes young players to pay their dues before he gives them substantial minutes. If that is the only reason Nance and Evan Mobley’s brother Isaiah are there they would be better off acquiring a veteran who at least they can play. I get that JB takes his time developing talent. Still when you are missing players it is best to find out what you have and what level they are at. Bickerstaff may not have as much time as he thinks he does to grow these kids. One more First Round exit could seal his fate. He needs to trust his ability to teach these players how to maximize their assets.
Completely agree about seeing what’s up with Isaiah. Unless they’re planning a trade, idk why he hasn’t tried him out. Also agree about the short leash.
In an interesting move, The Bucks are moving 10 TV games from Bally to over the air TV for the first time since the 2006-07 season. Most are on a CBS affiliate substation and one on the main CBS station on a Friday night in February. Curious to see how this impacts another local baseball team. But they do this at same time they get a new head coach.