JJ Redick sounds off on Bucks head coach Doc Rivers amid Milwaukee's struggles: 'It's always an excuse'

Kyle Irving

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JJ Redick sounds off on Bucks head coach Doc Rivers amid Milwaukee's struggles: 'It's always an excuse' image

The Bucks haven't seen much improvement under Doc Rivers, and the veteran head coach is attempting to deflect the blame.

Milwaukee fired head coach Adrian Griffin 43 games into the season despite owning a 30-13 record, good for second-best in the Eastern Conference. The Bucks' standard is "championship or bust" after making a blockbuster trade to pair superstar guard Damian Lillard with two-time MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo, but the roster hasn't clicked the way the franchise had hoped.

Milwaukee believed swapping out a first-year head coach (who reportedly had issues with key players on the team) for an established voice who was named one of the 15 greatest coaches in NBA history could make the difference, but that hasn't been the case.

The Bucks are 3-7 since Rivers took over. In those 10 games, Milwaukee has the seventh-worst offense in the NBA (after ranking second before Rivers' tenure). Even though the team's defense has improved, they have blown multiple leads and have dropped to third place in the East.

ESPN analyst JJ Redick — one of Rivers' former players — has heard enough excuses.

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JJ Redick sounds off on Bucks coach Doc Rivers

Before Rivers even coached his first game for the Bucks, he was already padding his hot seat.

"I've never [taken over a team mid-season]. I wouldn't wish this on anyone. It's going to be a challenge," Rivers told the media.

After Milwaukee suffered a brutal loss to an injury-riddled Grizzlies team right before the All-Star break, Rivers said, "We had some guys here, some guys in Cabo."

Over the All-Star weekend, Rivers told the media he didn't want to take over as head coach until after the break in the first place.

"Taking a job when you’re about to go on the toughest road trip of the season is not the smartest decision. I even told them that: ‘Can we wait ‘til All-Star break?’ You know, it would have been a lot nicer."

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The excuses continue to pile up, and ESPN's Redick was charged up about it on Tuesday's episode of "First Take."

"I’ve seen the trend for years. The trend is always making excuses," Redick's rant began.

"Doc, we get it. Taking over a team in the middle of a season is hard. ... But it’s always an excuse. It’s always throwing your team under the bus.

"They lose to Memphis. Oh, it’s his players’ fault. Memphis was playing G-League guys and two-way guys!” Redick yelled. "... There’s just never accountability with that guy. There’s never accountability.”

Recently acquired Bucks guard Patrick Beverley didn't take kindly to Redick's comments and defended his new coach, saying that Rivers "saved [Redick's] career."

Redick fired back with facts before telling Beverley to get the "f— outta here" with Rivers saving Redick's career.

Rivers will be under fire for the remainder of the season unless he can get Milwaukee back to the NBA Finals for the first time since it won the championship back in 2021.

Kyle Irving

Kyle Irving Photo

You read that wrong – not Kyrie Irving. From Boston, graduated from the University of New Hampshire. Sixth season as a content producer for NBA.com's Global editions. Covering the NBA Draft has become his annual "dream come true" moment on the job. Irving has a soft spot for pass-first point guards, with Rajon Rondo and Steve Nash being two of his favorite players of all time.