Bucks Zone

Doc Rivers insists the Milwaukee Bucks can play elite defense

Doc refutes criticisms that the Bucks can’t play defense.

Matthew Dugandzic

© Isaiah J. Downing-USA TODAY Sports
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Critics have touted the Milwaukee Bucks as a bad defensive team, but coach Doc Rivers doesn't see his new team that way.

Rivers finally came on board as head coach of Milwaukee on Monday night, and although he didn't get the result he wanted in his debut after the Bucks fell to the Denver Nuggets, 107-113, the veteran coach was pleased with the Bucks' defensive effort.

Trusting Milwaukee's defensive ability

In his first game as coach of Milwaukee, Rivers was quick to shield the Bucks from criticism over their supposed defensive woes.

"I told our guys, anyone who told you you couldn't play defense lied," Rivers said after the game. "You proved that tonight. You competed tonight. ... Our half-court defense was excellent," Rivers said.

Milwaukee ranks 24th in the league in terms of defensive efficiency, but holding the Nuggets to just 113 points made Rivers believe that the Bucks are actually capable of defending. Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray put up big numbers, but they bled for points before leading the Nuggets to the win, Rivers said.

Murray finished with a game-high 25 points, while Jokic also tallied 25 but needed to get 25 shots to get there. Denver shot 48.4 percent from the field and just 22.2 percent from three-point land.

Offense was the problem

Rivers said it was their offense, not their defense, that led to Milwaukee's 15th loss in the season.

"I think tonight was an offensive loss. I didn't think we were crisp offensively," Doc said.

Rivers said Milwaukee may struggle offensively at times, but this is something that is understandable. He pointed out that their two stars, Giannis Antetokounmpo and Damian Lillard, need more time to really acclimatize with each other.

Giannis scored 29 in the loss, while Lillard tallied just 19. Rivers is confident that the Bucks will improve further as the two stars play more games together under his watch.

"Dame and Giannis have played 40 games together in their life, Joker (Jokic) and Murray have played -- you know? And if you looked at the game tonight, they had it going; our guys couldn't get it going, and that was the difference," Doc said.

Doc Rivers admits the Milwaukee Bucks have to find an identity: "We gotta find what are we, who are we"

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Matthew Dugandzic
MATTHEW DUGANDZIC

Matthew finished his bachelor's degree in Economics (Management) at the University of Split and got his master's degree in the same field at the University of Zadar. Whether it is playing the game as an undersized 6'3'' power forward or simply watching it, Matthew can't get enough of it. After all, he has been an avid NBA fan since the 2000s. But don't get him wrong, as Matthew still loves the old-school NBA and is a true student of the game. From on-court moments to off-court stuff, whether it's about the stars of modern-day basketball or legends of the game, Matthew covers every category of the NBA world and basketball in general, as long as it makes for an engaging and exciting story.