Doc Rivers reportedly meets with Giannis Antetokounmpo and Damian Lillard as Bucks continue ‘offensive funk’

[ad_1]

After a 104-93 loss on Tuesday to a Golden State Warriors team that was resting “exhausted” top scorer Stephen Curry, Milwaukee Bucks head coach Doc Rivers held a meeting with superstars Giannis Antetokounmpo and Damian Lillard, according to NBA insider Chris Haynes, as the Bucks search for “ways to improve” a team that has lost five of its last seven games in the heat of a battle for postseason seeding in the Eastern Conference.

Haynes’ sources described the meeting as “an open forum” in which all three parties could share their points of view on why Milwaukee’s offense has continued to bog down late in games, and a “productive” session between the coach and players tasked with getting the Bucks back to competing for championships after consecutive first-round playoff exits.

[Yahoo Fantasy Bracket Mayhem is back: Enter for a shot to win up to $50K]

For the season, the Bucks rank sixth in the NBA in offensive efficiency in the first quarter, tied for 10th in the second quarter, 14th in the third quarter … and dead last in the fourth quarter, scoring just 105.8 points per 100 possessions in the final frame. The struggles grow even more pronounced when you focus in on crunch time, with Milwaukee producing a mere 97.1 points-per-100 in “clutch” situations — when the score is within five points in the final five minutes of the fourth quarter or overtime — while shooting just 38.7% from the field and 30% from 3-point land with nearly as many turnovers (38) as assists (44) in those scenarios.

After sputtering for most of the first half against Golden State, the Bucks roared back in the third quarter, riding the playmaking of Antetokounmpo and hot shooting from Kyle Kuzma and Brook Lopez to erase a 17-point deficit and take a lead into the final minute of the period before the Warriors answered with a Jimmy Butler-fueled 16-2 Warriors run. The game was still in the balance in the clutch, though, with Milwaukee trailing 96-93 with four minutes to go — only for the Bucks to score just two points on 0-for-6 shooting the rest of the way, stumbling to the finish line as Golden State closed out…

[ad_2]
Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/nba/article/doc-rivers-holds-meeting-with-giannis-antetokounmpo-and-damian-lillard-with-bucks-in-an-offensive-funk-172919702.html

Author : Dan Devine

Publish date : 2025-03-20 17:29:00

Copyright for syndicated content belongs to the linked Source.