When it comes to being the son of Doc Rivers, Austin Rivers will be the first one to tell you he won’t be objective regarding his father. So it didn’t exactly come as a surprise when Rivers went on The Ryen Russillo Podcast and was asked directly about his father’s painful playoff loss and came to his defense.
The Milwaukee Bucks were eliminated by the Indiana Pacers earlier this week, and while another early playoff exit for Doc Rivers will be the story, so will Giannis Antetokounmpo’s future and his run-in with Tyrese Haliburton’s dad.
It’s all in the family on The Ringer’s podcasts.
Russillo asked Austin how long he waits until he talks to his father after a loss like that. A loss in which the Bucks led 118-114 with less than 30 seconds in overtime. But two Gary Trent Jr. turnovers and a couple of clutch Haliburton baskets later, the Bucks were going home once again.
“I’ve never seen a loss like that in — it’s been a while,” Austin said. “I’ve never been so emotionally drained and charged up at the same time after a game. I don’t even know how to explain to you watching that game unfold. The thing that pisses me off the most is following the loss, I see comments and people like, ‘Oh, that’s Doc.’ What the f*ck was Doc supposed to do in that position. I went back and watched that game purposely five times again, just the last 3-4 minutes of the game. I usually write down notes and some adjustments I would’ve made, maybe some subs, maybe a play or two I would’ve looked at, or a player matchup… When Giannis hit the Euro step and went up seven with 40-something seconds left, if you replayed that game 10 times, it wouldn’t have happened that way.
“It was hard for me to be hard on Gary Trent because he was fantastic the last couple of games. They were only in the game because of him. He lost the ball through his legs. I mean, the balls just went right through his hands, man. Then, he gets trapped in a corner, but he could’ve just dribbled to his left. He picks it up, throws it the opposite way, [Andrew] Nembhard hits a 3. They give an and-1 up to Haliburton. Every possible mistake that a team could make in a minute was made. I’ve never seen something like that end that way.”
Austin didn’t know when he’d be able to talk to his father, so he turned to his brother Spencer, an assistant coach who sits just behind Doc on the bench, for answers instead.
“That was brutal, man. Now, the question turns to something else, which we all are wondering,” Austin says. “What’s next? I don’t. I talked to my brother for an hour about this. Selfishly, my answer is different from what might be good for the team. I’m not thinking about the Bucks. I don’t give a sh*t about the Bucks. I care about Doc Rivers. That’s who I care about, personally. I have my thoughts on what would be beneficial for him. I don’t know if it’s the best for the team.”
Does Russillo dare ask the follow-up?
“You have to honor what Giannis wants to do at the end of the day,” Austin said. “He’s earned that. He won a championship there. He’s one of the top players on the planet — still. If this guy comes to you and says, ‘I want to stay here. I want to keep rebuilding around me.’ Then, you do it because that’s what you do with a guy like Giannis, and he’s earned that. But if there is a hint, if he starts having conversations with you, like, ‘I gotta look at other options,’ then you look at other options, and you get a haul for him. He’s so good that you could get a restart, a full restart with him.
“…Personally, if you’re asking from his son, I miss him coaching the ‘Heart & Hustle’ Magic. I wish him doing more with less. I’m tired of him putting himself in these positions, to they either win and it’s a good job, or they lose and it’s ‘Fire Doc.’ He’s been in pressurized coaching situations for the last however many years. And I don’t know if you’re looking around the NBA, the teams that are winning are start-up teams who have held together, and started from within, and build their way up.”
The other way, Austin says, isn’t working.
“Go coach some basketball without stress or a year or two,” Austin implored his dad. “My god, you just did it with Philly. You were on a team that wasn’t built to win, but if you lost, you got fired. He got fired for losing to the Celtics, who won. It makes no sense. That’s what he keeps putting himself in these situations to do. I’m just tired of seeing him in these positions where every time they lose, they bring up his 3-1 record or this bullsh*t with him. It’s exhausting as a family member.”
And Austin sounds exhausted after defending his father.
“As a family person, we feel for him when things go this way, and they’re throwing it at him, and they’re saying the 3-1. ‘He sucks. He’s overrated. Oh, Doc’s there. You know Doc and Darvin Ham.’ I see the jokes. He sees them,” Austin adds. “It wears you out a bit. Because I’m like, ‘You’re a f*cking great coach, man.’ I don’t hear this with anybody else that loses. Steve Kerr and these guys could lose every year. Nothing. If Doc loses, jokes. 3-1 jokes. There’s just jokes on jokes with my guy. So, yeah, I get a little defensive. I get a little irritable with it. I would like him to go coach basketball where he has actual voice and control over things again, and gets to build within.”
But Austin isn’t his dad. That’s not how Doc feels.
He sounds like a son who cares, who’s exhausted by the constant scrutiny his father faces. Austin is clearly frustrated with the unfairness of it all, the jokes, and the 3-1 references that get thrown around every time Doc’s teams fall short. He wants something different for his dad. He wants less stress, more control, and a chance to rebuild without the looming pressure of “win or bust.”
And as much as Austin may want to protect his father from criticism, Doc’s path is his own to walk.