The Milwaukee Bucks are officially out of the playoff race, and head coach Doc Rivers isn’t hiding the reason why.
After a 127–95 loss to the San Antonio Spurs dropped Milwaukee to 29–44 on the season, their postseason hopes were extinguished, ending a run that stretched nearly a decade.
For Rivers, the story of the season has been simple, availability.
“It’s been disappointing, obviously,” Rivers told reporters. “Since I’ve been here, I haven’t had a healthy stretch and it’s been your key guys. It’s been (Giannis Antetokounmpo). It’s been (former Bucks guard Damian Lillard). And you hope you can play through that, but we just haven’t had the ability.”
Milwaukee has spent long stretches without its franchise centerpiece, with Antetokounmpo missing significant time down the stretch. The former MVP has not played since March fifteen, and the team has struggled badly in his absence.
The roster was built to compete, including the addition of Myles Turner, but injuries derailed any momentum before it could fully take shape.
“We needed health,” Rivers said. “We were thin. We knew that before the season started, and it just didn’t go our way. All the talk and all that stuff probably didn’t help, either.”
Rivers also pointed to the changing landscape of the league, suggesting Milwaukee was often undermanned compared to its competition.
He added that the Bucks were operating at a disadvantage with “only one quote-unquote star” while “every other team has two and three.”
Despite the disappointment, Rivers highlighted leadership within the locker room, particularly from Bobby Portis.
“He’s been a pro throughout this year,” Rivers said. “We had a great talk today about it before the game. I’m just so proud of him as a leader. He tries to do the right stuff.”
With the season now over, attention quickly shifts to the future, and what comes next for Antetokounmpo and the direction of the franchise.
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