Bucks Have Glaring Issue That Doc Rivers Must Change

Having lost their second game in a row to the Indiana Pacers, the Milwaukee Bucks are in dire straits. The team needs to come across as a contender, especially with big names like point guard Damian Lillard and power forward Giannis Antetokounmpo.

However, this hasn't been the team that showed up in the 2025 NBA Playoffs. While Giannis has played to his usual high standard, the rest of the team has not stepped up. To make matters worse, Lillard just missed significant time due to suffering deep vein thrombosis in his calf.

Game 3 at home on Friday. pic.twitter.com/olMxuHxbuM
— Milwaukee Bucks (@Bucks) April 23, 2025

Looking at the previous two games, it's clear that Milwaukee head coach Doc Rivers needs to make an adjustment, particularly when it comes to the Bucks getting a fast start.

More Bucks: Damian Lillard Says Crucial Element of Bucks Game Can Shift Series

“We’ve gotten off to two poor starts, and we’ve got to make an adjustment there, for sure,” Rivers said, per Eric Nehm of The Athletic. “We’ll just see. We have time. We have 48 hours. I’m not gonna tell you what I’m doing right now because I don’t know, but we’ll figure it out, I’m very confident about this series. Very.”

Antetokounmpo gave a more detailed response explaining what they have to do to make a comeback in this series.

34 PTS, 18 REB, and 7 AST for Giannis tonight. pic.twitter.com/lRgaVJMIUj
— Milwaukee Bucks (@Bucks) April 23, 2025

“We don’t want to put ourselves in a hole early in the game,” Antetokounmpo said. “I think we’ve done it in two games. We also did it in the third quarter. It’s hard to play from behind. We just gotta be smarter the way we play, be more urgent when we start the game; hopefully we can be the one to set the tone and not them.”

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Bobby Portis Jr. was in agreement, noting that playing harder defense at the beginning of the game could be the difference maker.

“I think our biggest thing is getting off to a good start,” Portis said. “We get off to a good start, we wouldn’t even be talking about an offensive rebound."

"We follow the game plan and not give up strong-side corner for two 3s to start the first two minutes of the game, we wouldn’t be talking offensive rebounds. That’s six points right there we gave up for no reason helping strong side corner.”

Bobby finished with 28 PTS and 12 REB. pic.twitter.com/blNJfgsR89
— Milwaukee Bucks (@Bucks) April 23, 2025

“We just gotta contain the ball better,” Antetokounmpo agreed. “I feel like they’re taking us a lot off the dribble.”

In the end, this is going to come down to Rivers' potential game plan. Given the heat on him to get results, it will have to be a good one.

More Bucks: Doc Rivers All But Guarantees Bucks Will Win Series After Dismal Start

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