Milwaukee Bucks coach, Doc Rivers Fined $25,000 For Publicly Criticizing NBA Referees

The NBA PR office announced that Milwaukee Bucks coach Doc Rivers will pay a $25,000 fine for criticizing referees in their loss to the Hornets.

Doc Rivers has been punished for his rage-filled comments after the Milwaukee Bucks’ 114-115 loss to the Charlotte Hornets, with the NBA PR office announcing a $25,000 fine for public criticism of officiating. Rivers was furious in the wake of the last-second foul called against Giannis Antetokounmpo for seemingly impeding LaMelo Ball.

Doc Rivers had criticized the officiating on the foul call against Giannis, claiming that it was a clean defensive play from Antetokounmpo on LaMelo Ball, and the Bucks should have been able to use the success of that play to win their game.

“I thought the final play was the ref blowing the call. This is back-to-back games now where on the final play there’s been an incorrect call made. LaMelo Ball fell. He just fell down.”

“Nobody was near him, slipped on his own, we come up with the ball, the game’s over… And there was clearly not a foul. When you watch the video, the ref that called the foul was blocked out by one of our players. You can’t guess at the end of a game. Both teams have played too hard. You can’t guess.”

Doc wasn’t the only person frustrated about the foul call, as Damian Lillard also slammed the officiating against Atntetokounmpo. There is no word on whether Lillard will face similar repercussions. Rivers’ frustration is understandable, given where the Bucks are currently, sitting 12th in the Eastern Conference with a 4-9 record.

While they have been able to improve their fortunes from a few weeks ago when they were 14th in the East standings, there is still some urgency to get wins for the Bucks, who many expected to be a championship team.Rivers hasn’t wavered in confidence towards his team, as he recently claimed that despite the poor start to the season, he expects the Milwaukee Bucks to make the NBA playoffs. But given the team that they have assembled, they should be in the conversation of championship contenders.

Doc Rivers Must Respond To Criticism

There is no doubt that Doc Rivers is in the proverbial hot seat right now. With his team almost entirely healthy (with the exception of Khris Middleton), and Giannis Antetokounmpo playing the best basketball of his career since his MVP season, the legendary head coach has not delivered performances like he should be.

The Bucks have been very poor on both ends of the court, with a defensive rating of 113.6 which ranks them 16th in the NBA.

This is an improvement from where they were a week ago when they ranked 22nd, and this improvement has only come about because they have played weaker teams in the last week.

Even on offense, the Bucks are leaving a lot to be desired, with an offensive rating of 110.9, which ranks 18th in the entire league. The Bucks need to make some drastic improvements in the coming weeks and months if they are serious about wanting to contend for the NBA championship this year.

There is already frustration among players, as Giannis Antetokounmpo showed his mood once again after the Bucks lost. If things don’t improve, there might be some big changes to the roster, or even the coaching staff.