The actual problem (s) with the Doc Rivers Bucks

The Bucks are just 6-7 under coach Doc Rivers after starting 30-13 with Adrian Griffin. In this enhanced segment from the Thinking Basketball podcast, Ben and Cody break down why Milwaukee is struggling — it is the new coaching hire? The synergy between Damian Lillard and Giannis Antetokounmpo? Or something else?

–Full episode–
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OYB3g-8iszk
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Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/255-are-the-thunder-serious-contenders-blame-doc/id1428290303?i=1000647168961

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Ben Taylor is the author of Thinking Basketball, a Nylon Calculus contributor, creator of the Backpicks Top 40 series & host of the Thinking Basketball podcast.

Stats courtesy:
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https://stats.nba.com
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Footage in this video is owned by the NBA and its partners. It is intended for critique and education.

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Can I actually start with a little bit of a hot take um please maybe it’s an ignorant take no we need more hot takes around here we got to warm it up I don’t know if the coaching change from Adrian Griffin to Doc revers really affected anything I don’t think it affected a

Thing okay good we’re on the same page here yeah cuz I I didn’t know if people were going to show up and be oh ever since doc showed up this is going on this is no it’s the same Buck team I think they have the same warts they have

The same strengths they have the same roster they have the same questions about them I’d probably say I’d rather have Doc Rivers like if we needed the best chance to be successful if the Bucks needed the best chance to be successful I’d probably go with the

Coach that has what 20 plus years of experience over the guy that’s never been a head coach before so if there is a plus I don’t know it’s probably negligible on defense it’s the same stuff they play the Heat the other day right they play Miami and the Heat come

Out in the first quarter and we get just the Classic Heat Bucks mismatch where they’re like hey we’re going to run you around and stretch you out and if you’re going to drop Brooke Lopez then we’re going to take a ton of Threes against that drop I mean dun they were like

Running the Duncan Robinson offense with bamat bio acting as the Hub and Brook Lopez just dropping and this created problems then they send Brook to the bench Giannis comes in they’re like all right I’m going to come out on the perimeter and right away two guys on the

Ball to Duncan Robinson and now you put the defense in rotation they swing it around they get another wide open three and of course the heat are zombie streaky like when they’re on they’re on Nia yic is like raining threes over giannis’s head and things like that so

That’s on one end and then on the other end Miami likes to switch they’re a little more agile and I feel like so much of the buck success this season has rested on Giannis ano’s Brilliance and his speed and athleticism and Agility and if you can slowly chip away at that

With a wall and uh the right defensive coverages like what does that what does that mean for the offense going forward in a season where we came in going like Dame you know Dame Lillard pick and roll with Giannis is this going to be unstoppable how’s this going to work so

To me it’s a it’s a similar place that they’ve been in just which means a ton of question marks I think there’s been enough said about the defense I’m not sure if we’re going to say anything new or nuanced there they do their drop defense they don’t have a lot of great

Defensive personnel they’re really struggl get the point of attack they obviously don’t have drew holiday but I do think some of the warts offensively are a little bit more nuanced and interesting and even though they have two very good offensive players Yannis is having a spectacular season we

Actually let’s talk about defense for a second if I’m DeAndre Aton Ben like I might never attempt another alleyoop dunk again in the presence of Giannis I don’t know if you saw but recently the Bucks played the Portland Trailblazers and they throw a lob to Aon and again

Giannis is just tractor beam like I got this laser focus goes meets him at the apex of the catch and rejects him let’s stick with the defense because there have been three coaches and none of those those coaches have found a way to get Damen Lillard or Malik Beasley to

Defend the perimeter or the point of attack well and in these games that are causing so much commotion about you know the buck slow start and Doc Rivers and the coaching change and Doc Rivers going to the sound bites about how like this

Was a bad idea to hire me I love that um but like Memphis take the Memphis game right before the All-Star break down the stretch of that game you have M I’m sorry to do this Cody to you but like you have multiple defensive breakdowns coming from Malik Beasley or Damien

Lillard either on the ball or away from the ball in sometimes basic situations um there’s a tendency to fall asleep they can they can be beat off the dribble they don’t provide a lot of resistance up at the scre green up at the point of attack and this is

Something that all of a sudden can expose weaknesses in a great rim protector like Brook Lopez who’s already in a specific kind of coverage where you want really good guards protecting you or being part of that coverage pushing the ball downhill and it’s just like

What happens to that if now we need to bring a third player over every time in the Brook Lopez drop what what can Giannis be expected to do defensively when Malik Beasley or Damen Lillard are getting picked on or blown by or something like that I think given where

Their defenses they need to create great shots on offense and OKC gets a player like Isaiah Joe who you just like that’s that’s a that’s a marksman that guy that’s like a 40 plus perc three-point shooter you replace those shots with a spot up shooter who’s like 34 35% that’s

Actually a pretty significant drop off in today’s NBA so part of wonders if the shooting is there that’s why Malik Beasley plays because he’s such a great shooter he is a legit like 40 plus% 3point shooter but then you lose everything else with him because this offense reflecting the defense isn’t

That Dynamic when it comes to like midsize players slashing moving providing length so he can spot up but takes a long time to watch a possession to watch a game and find a possession where like oh look he cuts on you know he cuts from the slot and catches an

Extra pass and throws it down on a dunk it’s like no they usually just spot up and like move it around the perimeter and see who can uh every once in a while Brook Lopez attacks a close out and then is a slow motion Rumble to the basket to

See what we can really test the limits of the eurostep rule like I’m dribbling I’m picking it up this is what an elephant looks like if they played basketball um right I think that’s actually the secret like the Dirty Little Secret of the bux is what happens

Players four five six seven eight in a playoff rotation especially in these Wing positions outside of Chris Middleton I can’t believe you’ve brought this up you’ve you’ve walked right into my trap end you’ve walked into what I consider offensively to be the Crux of their issues and that’s the fact that

Nobody on Milwaukee’s team can drive to the basket okay it like you said there’s the shooting issue right there’s the shooting issue where maybe you don’t have any of these 40% three-point Shooters you have some of these role players that are shooting 30 some per but outside of Giannis and Dame who are

Both great at getting into the paint Giannis obviously is an all-time Rim finisher but if we look at The Rim field goal attempts from the thinking basketball.net database right here here are some of the players that that the Bucks have Chris Middleton 13th percentile Pat conon seventh percentile

Malik Beasley fourth percentile wait a second wait a second Jay Crowder Ben first percentile why the majority of their rotation guys do not get shots at the basket and that’s because if you look at their drives for 36 it’s just so much lower than any other team that’s

That’s functionally trying to drive a good offense you look at guy like like the Thunder for instance Chad holgren we talk about some of the spacing that he brings Brook Lopez brings some of the spacing but he’s driving two three times more than Brook Lopez so if you go and

Try and Chase Chad off his spot he’s going to take you to the basket Brook Lopez is doing that three times fewer than him you cha like you close out hard against anyone on the bucks it’s over that ends The Possession unless the player’s name is Giannis or Dame and I

Think that just puts too much pressure on these two guys who I think are obviously Giannis is just having an unbelievable season uh Dame he still looks like he’s working through some things but I think it’s it’s I don’t know it’s a weird setup for them and a

Big part of it is that none of these guys can attack Closeouts and when they get to the playoffs where teams are like hey we close out hard on them and we make sure the ball gets back to D jannis and they have to create everything it’s

Going to be a night here for the bucks offense so I I think this is this team is set up to have a drop off in their playoff offense because of their rotation guys thanks for listening you can find the full episode of this thinking basketball podcast on Apple

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