The Milwaukee Bucks are not in great shape heading into the end of the regular season.
Not only has the Eastern Conference team been dealing with Giannis Antetokounmpo’s absence and the drama it’s come along with, given that he didn’t want to sit out, but they’ve also now been eliminated from playoff contention.
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The Bucks are numerically unable to make it to the postseason following a blowout 127-95 loss to the San Antonio Spurs on Saturday.
While the team hasn’t looked anything close to a playoff team this season and went into Saturday’s tilt with just 29 wins, Doc Rivers is disappointed all the same.
The coach lamented the team’s struggle to remain healthy since he’s been in charge, pointing to injuries to star players, including Antetokounmpo, as well as to Damian Lillard, who has since returned to the Portland Trail Blazers.
“It’s been disappointing, obviously,” he said, according to Bucks beat writer Eric Nehm. “Since I’ve been here, I haven’t had a healthy stretch, and it’s been your key guys. It’s been Giannis. It’s been [Damian Lillard]. And you hope you can play through that, but we just haven’t had the ability. This year, having only one quote-unquote star, every other team has two and three. We needed health. 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.”
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Doc Rivers Outlines Silver Linings
Milwaukee Bucks head coach Doc Rivers reacts after a play against the Utah Jazz during the first half at Delta Center. Rob Gray-Imagn Images
(Rob Gray-Imagn Images)
Rivers also referred to the emergence of Ryan Rollins, Pete Nance, and Ous Dieng as key players as he discussed some of the good things to come from the failed campaign.
“But I always try to look at silver linings and Ryan (Rollins) is one of them. Pete Nance is anothe one. Ous (Dieng) is one of them. And we gotta rehabilitate or get AJ Green going again. He’s a good player,” Rivers continued. “He’s played too many minutes. We’ve had no choice, and I think that’s put him in a tough spot, and I feel bad for him at time. Bobby was Bobby. He’s been a pro throughout this year. 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. He tries to say the right things in the locker room. So, there’s some good things in there.”
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The Bucks have nine games left to play this season and should now be looking ahead to the draft. They may also be dreading the offseason, given that Antetokounmpo may be on the move following their insistence on keeping him past February’s trade deadline.
This story was originally published by Lindys Sports on Mar 29, 2026, where it first appeared in the Other Sports section. Add Lindys Sports as a Preferred Source by clicking here.