According to the Associated Press on Monday, Doc Rivers of Chicago, Illinois has resigned as the head coach of the Milwaukee Bucks. The resignation should come as zero surprise because the Bucks have underachieved significantly this season. Back in February I wrote that Rivers was “on the hot seat.”
The bottom line is when you have former MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo on your roster, expectations are high. However, this past season, Antetokounmpo had a series of injuries, and only played 36 games.
With Antetokounmpo on the shelf, the Bucks’s supporting cast was simply not good enough to even get Milwaukee to the play-in tournament. The Bucks had a regular season record of 32 wins and 50 losses for a winning percentage of .390. Milwaukee finished in 11th place in the Eastern Conference and 11 games back of the Miami Heat for the important 10th spot.
Antetokounmpo was not the only Bucks player who did not play much this season. According to Josh Valdez of Yahoo! Sports, Kevin Porter Jr. only played 38 games with a knee injury. Antetokounmpo and Porter Jr. combined for 44 points per game when they were healthy enough to play.
Rivers’s resignation ironically comes the same year that he will be honoured by the NBA. Earlier this month it was reported that he will be inducted into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame this year in Springfield, Massachusetts.
Now there are a lot of questions who will be the Bucks new head coach. There is a lot of speculation it could be Taylor Jenkins, who has had recent success with the Memphis Grizzlies.
