Doc Rivers had brutal quote about Bucks after bad loss

Feb 6, 2024; Phoenix, Arizona, USA; Milwaukee Bucks head coach Doc Rivers looks on during the third quarter of the game against the Phoenix Suns at Footprint Center. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

Milwaukee Bucks coach Doc Rivers had a brutal assessment of his team after Thursday’s loss to the lowly Memphis Grizzlies.

The Bucks fell 113-110 to a short-handed Memphis team on Thursday, marking their fifth loss in the last seven games. After the defeat, Rivers called out his team’s effort, saying that some of the players were already mentally on vacation with the All-Star break looming.

Doc Rivers, on the Bucks effort tonight:

"We had some guys here. We had some guys in Cabo."

— Eric Nehm (@eric_nehm) February 16, 2024

“We had some guys here. We had some guys in Cabo,” Rivers said.

Rivers is now 3-7 since taking over from Adrian Griffin as the team’s head coach. There is still time for things to turn around, but for now, the surprising mid-season change has not helped at all. If Rivers is seeing that sort of lack of effort at this point, that is a very bad sign.

When he took over, Rivers said the Bucks were lacking an identity and needed to find one. They appear to be no closer to achieving that than they were when Rivers took over. They have a lot to think about ahead of the second half of the season.