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Doc Rivers says the five-game road trip 'was brutal' for the Milwaukee Bucks
Milwaukee’s five-game road trip turned out unproductive, as the Bucks won just once during the stretch that was capped by a 106-114 loss to the Phoenix Suns on Tuesday night.
A brutal schedule
Going 1-4 during the trip was somewhat expected, according to coach Doc Rivers, who said the trip was physically demanding. The road trip started in Denver and then featured back-to-back games in Dallas and Utah.
“The Utah game, you kind of knew...you know the altitude, back-to-back. I mean, whoever scheduled a Dallas-Utah has never been on the airplane in their life or no time zones. That was just a tough one. We knew that, I guarantee you, when they looked at that before the year started, they were like, this was going to be a brutal game for us,” Rivers said.
The Bucks won in Dallas on Saturday night, 129-117, then lost to Utah the next night, 108-103. Milwaukee was depleted against the Suns when Damian Lillard (ankle) and Brook Lopez (personal reasons) sat out. Khris Middleton only played eight minutes against the Suns after twisting his ankle late in the first quarter.
Four-game homestand coming up
Rivers said the Bucks were obviously fatigued playing the last assignment of the five-game road trip, and the injuries to their key players compounded their woes.
“End of a trip, legs..you can just see it. We got a lot of injuries right now, so guys are playing more extended minutes, and you know what, they’re playing harder on defense. It’s probably all that,” said Doc.
Milwaukee will take a one-day break and then play four straight games at home. The Bucks have fallen to third place in the Eastern Conference with a 33-18 record, and the upcoming friendly schedule may just be the break that they need to get back on track.
