Throwing people under the bus is a well-known tendency of Milwaukee Bucks head coach Doc Rivers. Rivers never takes the fall for his teams’ inevitable playoff collapse. He always blames outside forces, even his own teammates.
In Milwaukee, that pattern is still there. Rivers didn’t accept accountability after going 17–19 in his tenure and losing badly to the Indiana Pacers in the opening round. Rather, he opted to blame Damian Lillard, his best player, for everything.
During his guest appearance on the Bill Simmons Podcast, Rivers said that Lillard had not worked out during the summer and was therefore out of shape when he arrived at training camp.
Damian Lillard Gets Called Out by Doc Rivers
For the first time in his career, according to Rivers’ assertion during the interview, Lillard did not train out over the whole offseason.
“He said, ‘Coach, I didn’t work out all summer,'” during supper. This is the first time I have not worked out in my life. I was terrified that exercising out would cause an injury.”
Speaking of Damian Lillard, Doc Rivers
Despite his poor play in 2023–24, it is difficult to imagine that Lillard did not improve in the summer. It’s inappropriate for Rivers to make this publicly known, even if Lillard had said it to Doc.
Given that Rivers wasn’t even in charge of the team during training camp, it is particularly outrageous. Lillard had more than three months to get himself in playing shape when he was hired in late January. It is absurd to argue that Lillard’s lack of fitness prior to the season contributed to the Bucks’ struggles.
During his tenure, Adrian Griffin had a 30-13 record before being sacked. Even if Lillard was injured at the start of the season, Griffin won a lot of games. Conversely, throughout his tenure, Rivers’ batting average fell below.500. Instead of assigning blame, perhaps Doc should take a closer look at himself in the mirror.