Doc Rivers Admits Hard Celtics Truth After Friday's Loss
By Cem Yolbulan
The Boston Celtics won their third game against the Milwaukee Bucks this season, improving to 19-4 and continuing their chase for the top seed in the Eastern Conference. The Bucks, who were considered Boston's biggest challenger in the East before the season, fell to 11-11 on the season.
Former Celtics and current Bucks head coach Doc Rivers admitted how far his team is from challenging Boston in his post-game comments. Even though Milwaukee kept it close against the Celtics for most of the game, things fell apart at the end. This infuriated Rivers who spent the majority of the time in his presser praising the Celtics.
"The difference is they didn’t settle. They kept playing, and I thought we settled. It’s night and day, the difference between the two teams. They’re a made team. They’ve been through it. They’ve been through the war together."
- Doc Rivers
The most obvious play where things went wrong for the Bucks came late in the fourth quarter. With 16 seconds left in the shot clock and Milwaukee only down one, Giannis Antetokounmpo took an ill-advised three-pointer that missed. The Celtics immediately got a wide open Al Horford three on the other end after the Bucks failed to get back in transition.
Giannis on this 3-point attempt:
— Taylor Snow (@taylorcsnow) December 7, 2024
"Coming down, I saw Al Horford backing up. I felt like I could make it. Shot it. Went well, in my opinion. Shit, if I had the chance to shoot it again, I'd shoot it again."https://t.co/RFjzvJtDkg
That stretch all but sealed the game for the Celtics, who ended up winning 111-105.
Rivers added that the Celtics have the ultimate trust in each other. He said, "They’ll pass until there’s one second on the clock to try to find someone. They did that a couple of times and that’s why they are what they are. That wasn’t them two years ago, and it is them now. That’s what makes them the champions."
Since hiring Doc Rivers in the middle of last season after firing Adrian Griffin, things have not gone according to the plan in Milwaukee. They were below .500 with him in charge last season before losing to the Pacers in the first round. Things aren't that different this season, either, potentially signaling the end of the road for Doc if they don't improve.
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