Doc Rivers was formally introduced as the Milwaukee Bucks’ new head coach on Saturday, and he had a fairly clear message regarding what the team needs to do to be successful.
Rivers said the Bucks are lacking an identity and lacking connection, which is something he needs to fix as he gets into the job. He even added that he does not think the team’s famed “Fear the Deer” slogan quite applies at the moment.
“I think we have to find our identity. Like if you’re gonna have Fear the Deer, you gotta fear the deer,” Rivers said, via Eric Nehm of The Athletic. “I asked them, ‘Who are we?’ When a team is connected and they got it, they’ll give you an answer. We don’t have an answer yet. We gotta find what are we, who are we.”
While a concerning assessment at this point in the season, it is also fairly logical. The Bucks are still adjusting to the Giannis Antetokounmpo-Damian Lillard pairing. The team will go as far as those two take them.
The Bucks clearly felt that former coach Adrian Griffin was not getting the most out of them, a sentiment that some players may have shared. Rivers comes in with more experience, and he will be asked to sort things out very quickly with the playoffs only a few months away.
