Apart from a solitary championship in the 2007-08 season with Boston, Doc Rivers has not experienced much success in the playoffs as a head coach. Over 24 seasons, he has coached in 215 playoff games and holds a record of 111-104. At the conclusion of the previous postseason, the 76ers terminated Rivers’ contract. At the beginning of the 2023-24 season, Rivers served as an in-game analyst for ESPN.
However, the Milwaukee Bucks decided to part ways with their head coach, Adrian Griffin, without giving him the opportunity to complete a full season. Following Griffin’s dismissal, the Bucks swiftly hired Doc Rivers. Since taking on the role of head coach, the team has achieved a record of 3-7. Rivers publicly expressed that accepting this position has been more challenging than he anticipated. One of his former players and current ESPN analyst, JJ Redick, vehemently criticized Rivers for his lack of accountability and constant excuses. Redick’s comments were particularly strong and held nothing back.
In the 2016-17 season, Doc Rivers assumed the position of head coach for the LA Clippers after spending nine seasons in Boston. This was also JJ Redick’s first year with the team. Redick and Rivers crossed paths for four seasons during their time with the Clippers. Recently, the current head coach of the Bucks commented on how he has had to adapt to taking over the coaching job mid-season, which is a first for Rivers in his career.
However, JJ Redick had no interest in hearing the never-ending stream of excuses that Rivers continues to provide. During an appearance on ESPN’s First Take, Redick explained how he has witnessed this pattern for years. He has observed it from an outsider’s perspective as well as from up close and personal as one of Rivers’ players. It is evident that there is truth behind Redick’s words. The former NBA player was clearly upset about having to listen to his former head coach constantly making excuses for everything that goes wrong.
Furthermore, Redick criticized Rivers for consistently throwing his team under the bus. According to Redick, the 62-year-old never takes responsibility for his actions. A prime example of this was the Bucks’ last game before the all-star break, in which they lost 113-110 to a weaker Grizzlies team. After the game, Rivers refused to accept responsibility for the loss. Redick mentioned this incident in his tirade against Rivers and stated that it was not the first time he had witnessed such behavior. Stephen A. Smith, Redick’s co-host on First Take, suggested that if Rivers fails to win a championship in the next two seasons, it could potentially be his last head coaching job.
According to the Source sportslens.com