New Bucks head coach Doc Rivers is expected to make his coaching debut with the organization on Monday against the Nuggets, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (Twitter link). Rivers was officially announced as head coach on Friday.
Assistant Joe Prunty has been serving as Milwaukee’s interim coach in the wake of Adrian Griffin‘s firing, leading the Bucks to a 1-1 record so far. Prunty will lead the Bucks once more as they take on the Pelicans on Saturday before Rivers takes over the head coaching role.
Rivers, 62, ranks ninth in NBA history in wins with 1,097. He coached the 2008 Celtics to a championship and was named Coach of the Year in 2000.
We have more Bucks notes:
- Nearly halfway through the season, the Bucks haven’t landed on an identity and many players expressed disappointment in the fact they hadn’t played up to their full potential, even with 30+ wins, according to Milwaukee Journal Sentinel’s Jim Owczarski. “I just feel like winning games in a fashion we want to win and not feeling a certain way after a win, not feeling like…we won a lot of games to this point, but we’ve had a lot of games where we felt like we won and we didn’t play to our full potential,” Jae Crowder said. The top priorities for Rivers are to establish an identity and to improve on the defensive side of the ball, Owczarski writes.
- Firing Griffin was a bold move for a contending team in the middle of the season, but as Lori Nickel of Milwaukee Journal Sentinel writes (subscription required), it’s the latest example of general manager Jon Horst‘s championship-or-nothing attitude. Even after delivering a title that ended a 50-year championship drought for the Bucks, Horst doesn’t appear to be satisfied with just one, not hesitating to move on from the likes of Griffin and Mike Budenholzer when things aren’t going right.
- Forward Bobby Portis was among Milwaukee players who expressed optimism for what Rivers can bring to the organization. “Great voice. Someone obviously who has had success in this league, who has respect in this league,” Portis said, via The Athletic’s Eric Nehm (Twitter link). “… He’s on board with us and knows that the expectations of this team are really high and I think he’s ready for it.“