After losing five of its last seven games, Milwaukee Bucks head coach Doc Rivers likely realizes his team could be on the verge of collapsing.
To avoid that, Rivers met with Bucks guard Damian Lillard and forward Giannis Antetokounmpo after a 104-93 loss to the Golden State Warriors on Tuesday night, via longtime NBA insider Chris Haynes.
Sources: With Bucks struggling and after dispirited loss to Warriors, Doc Rivers called a meeting with his two superstars: Giannis Antetokounmpo and Damian Lillard. Details inside #haynesbriefs pic.twitter.com/lhC0PfREoG
— Chris Haynes (@ChrisBHaynes) March 19, 2025
"In this meeting, I'm told, was an open forum for both stars to provide input on ways to improve the team," Haynes said in a clip posted to his X account Wednesday. "It was a constructive session with each individual being allowed to share their perspectives."
The meeting better spark a turnaround for the Bucks (38-30). They clearly need one, especially after they lost to the Warriors, who rested star guard Steph Curry.
The loss to Golden State highlighted a potential problem for the Bucks. When Lillard and Antetokounmpo go cold, their offense falters.
Against the Warriors, Lillard scored 16 points on 6-of-18 shooting. Antetokounmpo, meanwhile, scored 20 points but shot 5-of-16 from the field. The Bucks shot 39.2% from the field.
"I think right now our offense is not forceful enough," Lillard said in a postgame news conference. "It's not intentional enough. Each part of our stuff, we gotta have pace. We gotta hit people. We gotta do those things consistently and right now, we're not doing it well enough to have an effective offense."
Perhaps Lillard reiterated this to Rivers in their meeting. If he did, the coach should listen.
Milwaukee faces the Los Angeles Lakers on Thursday at 10:30 p.m. ET. Monitor whether the Bucks rebound or continue to flounder in the road matchup.
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