The Milwaukee Bucks have seen a marked improvement on the defensive side of the court since the arrival of new head coach Doc Rivers and a few tweaks to the roster at last week’s NBA trade deadline.
Following a convincing victory over the Denver Nuggets on Monday night, a dominating 112-95 performance that isn’t truly illustrated in the final score, Bucks superstar guard Damian Lillard and Rivers both talked about the improvements with NBA journalists and media.
“I think we’ve just taken a lot of time to simplify things. We’re doing a lot of walking through. Just walking through scenarios that teams might try to do against us when we’re on the defensive side of the floor,” Lillard said, according to Gabe Stoltzy of SB Nation’s Brew Hoop. “And I think we’ve just embraced it. I think the walkthroughs and the small attention to detail… I think it’s really starting to help us.”
Rivers also complimented to team’s progress.
“Just steady progress. Believing in your D. Trusting it. Clarifying it — what we want to do. … And the more we can get our guys to know exactly what they’re doing, they can pull at full speed and that’s what we’re trying to do is simplify so we can play with fire,” Rivers said.
