"Getting paid all these f—n money to f—n come in here and just watch these kids play free fall" - McCants says Doc is the Bucks problem

The Milwaukee Bucks entered Wednesday’s game versus the Miami Heat on a five-game losing streak, including the last three without two-time MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo, who is sidelined with a left abductor strain.

After their loss to the Portland Trail Blazers on Monday night, head coach Doc Rivers admitted that they have a Giannis-sized problem because without their superstar, they are easier to guard.

With Doc seemingly resigned to the fact that the team is going to struggle until Giannis returns, former NBA player Rashad McCants took a shot at Rivers, pointing at him as the problem in Milwaukee.

“What happens when your star player goes down? Who has to make better decisions? The coach. It’s up to the coach to win the game. Now, you have to strategize, scheme, and out-think the other side with what you have. You have less, much less. You said 95 to 90 percent of the offense and winning is dictated on Giannis, and he not there? OK, coach. What are we gonna do now?” said McCants.

The Bucks are now 0-4 since Giannis got injured

Antetokounmpo was off to a sensational start this season, averaging career-highs at 31.2 points and 6.8 assists while pulling down 10.8 rebounds and blocking 1.2 shots per game. The Bucks were off to a solid 4-2 start, but have since struggled to a 4-9 record and are winless so far with Giannis out.

In their first three games without The Greek Freak, the Bucks ranked just 27th in the league in offensive rating, and it wasn’t a surprise they lost all three games. On Wednesday night against the Heat in Miami, they were held to only 103 points for the second straight game and suffered their fourth consecutive loss without Giannis, marking six straight losses overall.McCants says it’s Rives’ fault.

“Doc Rivers is getting paid all these fu—n’ money to fu—n’ come in here and just watch these kids play free fall and not take the blame for s—t and just say, ‘We don’t have our best player.’ Yeah, we f—n’ know that. But you signed two of his brothers when you could’ve signed motherf—s that could help you in free agency, and you didn’t. You mad cuz Khris Middleton’s not there, you lose fu—n’ Brook Lopez, and you said nothing about Myles Turner, you said nothing about Kyle Kuzma. Like, what’s the problem? It’s the fu—n’ coach,” added Rashad.

Rivers did not call a timeout to set up a game-tying 3-pointer on Wednesday

McCants’ criticism of Rivers was somewhat vindicated in their loss to the Heat on Wednesday night. With the Bucks down by three points in the closing seconds of the game, Doc opted not to call a timeout and instead let Ryan Rollins create his own play, which he did. Rollins found Myles Turner on the wing, but his contested 3-point shot missed.

After the game, Rivers said this about not setting up a game-tying play:

“I loved it,” Doc said, per Eric Nehm. “Loved the call. Would do it again…Instead of letting them set their defense, we had them on their heels.

Doc had a point there. However, given that his team was without its top two creators in Giannis and Kevin Porter Jr., it might have been a wiser move to plot a play so that everybody was on the same page. Kudos to Rollins for stepping up and making a play, but obviously, they could have gotten a better shot if Rivers had made a play. But then again, he doesn’t, and that’s why Rashad says the coach is the problem in Milwaukee.

This story was originally published by Basketball Network on Nov 27, 2025, where it first appeared in the Latest News section. Add Basketball Network as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

“Getting paid all these f—n money to f—n come in here and just watch these kids play free fall” – McCants says Doc is the Bucks problem

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