Bucks' Doc Rivers reveals brutally honest post-NBA Cup suggestion to Adam Silver
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The Milwaukee Bucks’ trip to Las Vegas couldn’t have gone much better, with an NBA Cup championship banner to hang, some extra holiday cash in players’ pockets, and plenty of team-building opportunities in Sin City. But the scheduling around the Cup had coach Doc Rivers feeling more Festivus than festive.
“I can be honest, I don’t know if we’ve recovered yet,” Rivers said on Saturday before the team’s game against the Washington Wizards. “It just takes a lot. I just think after the Cup, the first game should be probably on Sunday. You know, that would be great for everybody.”
Instead, the Bucks played at Cleveland on Friday, getting blown out 124-101 by the Cavaliers, the NBA’s top team who didn’t play in Las Vegas. They played without star guard Damian Lillard, who was nursing an injury that he played through to earn all-tournament honors at the Cup, then came back home for the back-to-back against the Wizards.
MVP contender Giannis Antetokounmpo, who was named MVP of the Cup, joined Lillard on the injured list, sitting out the game. The absence of the two superstars was a reminder that, despite the extra cash and bonding for teams that play in the Cup’s final four in Las Vegas, the trip takes a toll.
“You know, last year the Lakers struggled out of it,” Rivers said. “Indiana struggled out of it. Is it just takes a lot.”
Rivers didn’t wait to air his grievances. As the players revealed in their Cup awards ceremony, Rivers was on the side pleading his case to NBA commissioner Adam Silver.
“That’s exactly what I was talking to him about, you know,” Rivers said Saturday. “He asked me what changes [he] should make.”
The NBA Cup had its inaugural run last season after Silver implemented it to generate interest and give players an extra incentive to compete during the early part of the regular season — players on the winning team earn an additional $515,000.
In its first year, the Los Angeles Lakers defeated the Indiana Pacers in the Cup final, giving both teams big-game experience followed by, as many Vegas trips do, an extended hangover. Post-Vegas, the Lakers limped to a 1-4 mark. The Pacers went 1-3.
The Bucks’ win in Las Vegas capped a major turnaround in their season. After starting off 2-8, the team has gone 13-4. That includes a 112-101 beatdown of the Wizards on Saturday night. Veterans Bobby Portis and Khris Middleton stepped into starting roles, combining for 52 points. Both hit their season-high, picking up the slack left by their superstar teammates’ absence.
Next up: Bulls on Monday in Chicago. The Bucks don’t play on Christmas Day this year, giving the team a needed rest before they host the Nets on Dec. 26. Lillard and Antetokounmpo are day to day, expected back soon.
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