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Eric Nehm: Before tonight's game, I asked Doc Rivers how close he thought Giannis Antetokounmpo was to returning. Rivers: "I don't know. I really don't know. He's working. He wants to be healthy."
Eric Nehm: Doc Rivers, on Giannis Antetokounmpo: "The good news was it was a really good image, so there was no damage. Nothing. It was really just good news. But I don't know the next part (re: a timeline)."
Eric Nehm: Bucks coach Doc Rivers tells reporters that - in addition to Giannis and Alex Antetokounmpo - Myles Turner will be out tonight. Ousmane Dieng is going to be available. Ryan Rollins is going to try to play.
Jim Owczarski: Pete Nance checks in. Andre Jackson Jr. was inactive in Miami while Nance was available (DNP). Doc Rivers was wholly uninterested in talking about an impeding roster decision re: Nance pregame.
While he has remained the Milwaukee Bucks’ starter at center, Myles Turner has played significantly fewer minutes in the 10 games played after the All-Star break (22.7 per game) than he did in 50 games before the break (28.6). Before playing 32 minutes in Tuesday night’s 129-114 loss to the Phoenix Suns, with both Jericho Sims and Bobby Portis sidelined, Turner hadn’t played more than 25 minutes in any post-All-Star-break game. That change in minutes distribution has left Turner trying to find a rhythm to make an impact in a more limited role.
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“I’m trying to figure it out, man. Honestly, I’m trying to figure all that out,” Turner said after shootaround on Tuesday. “Some days, I’ll play 22 (minutes). Some days, it’s 28. I think everybody in the organization is trying to figure it out — just different lineups, different combination of guys. “At times, we like to go with switching lineups, so they put Jericho (Sims) or Ous (Ousmane Dieng) or Kuz (Kyle Kuzma), one of those guys at my position. But all I can do is go out there, just stay consistent, put my work in every single day, just to be available and be healthy. And whatever’s asked of me to do, just go out there and do.”
When asked about Rivers’ decision not to play him against Boston, Kuzma told reporters that Rivers had not discussed it with him beforehand. “At the end of the day, Doc is the final arbiter,” Kuzma said. “He can make decisions on whatever he wants — and rightfully so, he’s the coach. That’s not my job to worry about. My job is to come out and just be a professional. That’s who I am, that’s who my character is and play when my number is called.”
Eric Nehm: Doc Rivers, on Prince returning from neck surgery: "It's cool because, honestly, I didn't think he'd play this year. The fact that he's worked the way he's worked to get back on the floor, it's just all about him and who he is. It really is. It's really a cool thing."
Eric Nehm: Rivers: "When he got injured, we grabbed him and told him, welcome to the coaching staff because that's basically what he was gonna be this year. And early on, it did look like that. He was in a brace, couldn't really do anything. And then as his neck started healing, hope came."
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Do you think Doc will coach past the season?” Bobby Portis: “Do you get paid? Do you get paid if you retire? Like if you got one more year on your contract and you get paid. Nah, I don't think Doc walking away from that 15 16 M. You know what I'm saying? That's a lot of bread. Just walk away from say you don't want it. Like you don't want it at all. Like let's just be for real. That's a lot of bread, man."
Jim Owczarski: Q: What does Myles Turner need to do to play more? Doc Rivers: “Well, we won the game (vs. Utah). That’s my answer. I mean, I don’t really care honestly. I think Myles has been really good. .."
Milwaukee Bucks coach Doc Rivers claims there is nothing to a report from ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith that suggested the veteran head coach plans to retire after this season. “No, I’m not getting into that,” Rivers said when asked about Smith’s claim after Friday’s practice. “That’s something that; I think he feels that way, but not for me.”
“Just keep looking,” Rivers said on Friday when asked how to fix the defense’s struggles this late in the season. “Defensively, we just haven’t been where I obviously thought that we would be. A lot of that is Giannis has been out of the lineup, but the defensive numbers don’t change when Giannis is in or out. We’re 25th either way, which is not a good sign. We don’t force turnovers. We give up a ton of 3s and we give up 3s when the ball doesn’t get into the paint. That’s a concern, and that should never happen.”