Doc Rivers is back coaching within the NBA, but there’s one job he’s not excited about.
Typically, the pinnacle coaches of the teams with the highest records in each conference are chosen to educate the All-Star Game.
With a win on Saturday night, the Milwaukee Bucks improved to 33-16 on the season, giving them the second-best record within the Eastern Conference on Feb. 4, which is the cutoff the league uses to choose the coaches.
While the Boston Celtics are the No. 1 seed, at 37-12, head coach Joe Mazzulla coached in the sport last yr and is subsequently ineligible to educate again this season.
That leaves Rivers, who has coached just three games with the Bucks after replacing Adrian Griffin, who went 30-13 before being fired, and Griffin’s alternative, Joe Prunty, who went 2-1 because the interim head coach.
“That’s ridiculously bad,’’ Rivers said of getting the All-Star spot after only one win. “Adrian’s going to get some money, that’s needless to say. And a hoop. It’s one among these quirky things. I believe there needs to be a rule someway that another person does it apart from me.”
Even Rivers’ latest players were surprised.
“He’s going to educate the sport?” Giannis Antetokounmpo said when hearing the news following the victory.
“That’s pretty funny,” Damian Lillard said. “It definitely wasn’t a conversation within the locker room.”
But Antetokounmpo added he was pleased for the team’s assistant coaches, who may even get to educate in the sport.
“I’m definitely comfortable for them,” he said. “It’s lots of exertions that paid off.”
Rivers spent a lot of the season as an ESPN analyst before getting back on the sidelines following the dismissal of Griffin, who was in his first season as a head coach after replacing Mike Budenholzer.
Despite a solid begin to the yr, the Bucks opted to make a change and tabbed Rivers, who spent the prior three years as the pinnacle coach of the Philadelphia 76ers.
He coached the Celtics to the NBA title in 2007-08 and in addition coached the Los Angeles Clippers and Orlando Magic.
Rivers joked that he might skip the sport and have his assistants go in his place.
“Perhaps I’ll send my staff and I’ll go on vacation,” Rivers said. “I’m going to run that by [NBA commissioner] Adam Silver. I believe Adam’s man. I believe he’ll understand.”
Doc Rivers is back coaching within the NBA, but there’s one job he’s not excited about.
Typically, the pinnacle coaches of the teams with the highest records in each conference are chosen to educate the All-Star Game.
With a win on Saturday night, the Milwaukee Bucks improved to 33-16 on the season, giving them the second-best record within the Eastern Conference on Feb. 4, which is the cutoff the league uses to choose the coaches.
While the Boston Celtics are the No. 1 seed, at 37-12, head coach Joe Mazzulla coached in the sport last yr and is subsequently ineligible to educate again this season.
That leaves Rivers, who has coached just three games with the Bucks after replacing Adrian Griffin, who went 30-13 before being fired, and Griffin’s alternative, Joe Prunty, who went 2-1 because the interim head coach.
“That’s ridiculously bad,’’ Rivers said of getting the All-Star spot after only one win. “Adrian’s going to get some money, that’s needless to say. And a hoop. It’s one among these quirky things. I believe there needs to be a rule someway that another person does it apart from me.”
Even Rivers’ latest players were surprised.
“He’s going to educate the sport?” Giannis Antetokounmpo said when hearing the news following the victory.
“That’s pretty funny,” Damian Lillard said. “It definitely wasn’t a conversation within the locker room.”
But Antetokounmpo added he was pleased for the team’s assistant coaches, who may even get to educate in the sport.
“I’m definitely comfortable for them,” he said. “It’s lots of exertions that paid off.”
Rivers spent a lot of the season as an ESPN analyst before getting back on the sidelines following the dismissal of Griffin, who was in his first season as a head coach after replacing Mike Budenholzer.
Despite a solid begin to the yr, the Bucks opted to make a change and tabbed Rivers, who spent the prior three years as the pinnacle coach of the Philadelphia 76ers.
He coached the Celtics to the NBA title in 2007-08 and in addition coached the Los Angeles Clippers and Orlando Magic.
Rivers joked that he might skip the sport and have his assistants go in his place.
“Perhaps I’ll send my staff and I’ll go on vacation,” Rivers said. “I’m going to run that by [NBA commissioner] Adam Silver. I believe Adam’s man. I believe he’ll understand.”
