“Almost threw my phone!” Patrick Beverley grows sick of disrespect as he compares Doc Rivers to Phil Jackson
Patrick Beverley comes to the defense of former coach Doc Rivers as he starts his first full season with the Bucks.
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Patrick Beverley defends his former coach Doc Rivers and likens him to Phil Jackson
In a show of solidarity and loyalty, Patrick Beverley has come to the defense of his former coach Doc Rivers, as he called for more respect toward the coach, who has faced criticism since taking over the Milwaukee Bucks. Coach Rivers had replaced Adrian Griffin last season, but the team’s performance dropped as they went from 30-13 under Griffin to 17-19 under Rivers.
Patrick Beverley, who now plays for Hapoel Tel Aviv in the Israeli Basketball Premier League, made this known on his podcast as he asserted that Doc Rivers is an underrated coach. He believes the criticism Rivers has faced is unwarranted, especially given the challenges the Bucks dealt with which included the absence of their star player, Giannis Antetokounmpo.
They trying to slander Doc… seen some coaching rankings; they had Doc No. 22, dawg. I almost threw my f–king phone. This man… Phil Jackson is Doc Rivers. They got to put more respect on my coach’s name… They wouldn’t do Phil Jackson like that. Why are they doing Doc like that? It’s wild.
Patrick Beverley said on the Pat Bev Show
The Doc Rivers disrespect is getting out of hand! pic.twitter.com/6pq9Zlij1F
— Pat Bev Pod (@PatBevPod) October 7, 2024
However, the comparison of Rivers to legendary coach Phil Jackson seems to be an unfair standard. The legendary coach Jackson, during his coaching time, won 11 titles with the Chicago Bulls and Los Angeles Lakers and is regarded as one of the greatest coaches in NBA history.
On the other hand, Rivers has only one championship and has struggled to reach the conference finals since 2012, despite coaching star players like Blake Griffin, Chris Paul, Kawhi Leonard, Joel Embiid, and James Harden. While Rivers is a strong coach, placing him in the same elite category as Jackson is a quite an overreach.
Doc Rivers on the challenges the Bucks will face in his first full season
The Milwaukee Bucks, with Coach Doc Rivers at the helm, are entering the 2024-25 season with high expectations. Despite having the talent to compete at the highest level, health issues have derailed their playoff hopes.
Head coach Doc Rivers acknowledged that staying healthy will be a challenge for the Bucks moving forward, as injuries continue to pose a significant threat to their playoff aspirations. Since winning their second championship in 2021, key players have been sidelined during critical moments.
Health is not my challenge, but it’s our challenge as a team… want to get to the playoffs healthy. We want to be dominant all season and play well all season.
Doc Rivers said after his first preseason game with the Bucks
As fans would recall, the Bucks have suffered crazy injury setbacks just like in the 2022 playoffs when Khris Middleton missed the entire second-round series, and in 2023, Antetokounmpo was injured in the first round.
Unfortunately, the 2024 season was no different, as Antetokounmpo and Damian Lillard missed key games in another first-round exit.
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Ubong Archibong
(1284 Articles Published)