© Benny Sieu-USA TODAY Sports
Doc Rivers says the Milwaukee Bucks’ identity needs to come from their defense, not offense
There is no doubt regarding the Milwaukee Bucks' offensive capabilities. On a team that features two-time MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo and seven-time All-NBA team member Damian Lillard, scoring the rock shouldn't be a problem. However, as far as Bucks coach Doc Rivers is concerned, his team should focus on developing their identity from the defensive end.
This was evident on Tuesday when the Bucks regularly lost track of the Miami Heat's shooters and suffered a lopsided 123-97 defeat.
Sloppy on both ends
Coming off two impressive wins wherein they kept their opponents from scoring 100 points, the Bucks seemingly dropped their guard against the Heat. They allowed Miami to shoot 51 percent from the field and tallied only 24 assists against a whopping 18 turnovers, much to Rivers' chagrin.
"The ball didn't move a lot tonight, not the way it's been moving," Rivers bluntly assessed.
The Bucks' lack of effort and focus in moving the ball eventually bled over to defense.
"I think right now, what our team is, we get our personality from the offensive end. And we don't want that. We want to get our personality from the defense, from playing hard and doing defensive things. Tonight, you could just see it," Rivers continued.
Forcing the issue
With the Bucks' offense not working well, several players tried to take over the game to get back into it. However, this, too, did not work in their favor. Doc said they'll take this game and put it under a microscope to see what happened and how to improve.
"Everyone was trying to force the ball. Give Miami credit. The one thing you can't do against them is hold the ball and dance with the ball. They're a great load-up team," Doc added.
