Doc Rivers sounds the alarm as Bucks losing streak carries huge playoff implications

The Milwaukee Bucks are riding a three-game losing streak following their 117-111 loss to the Toronto Raptors. Their other two losses were to the Washington Wizards and Memphis Grizzlies, who are all well outside of the playoff picture. The Bucks are now in danger of dropping to the third or fourth seed before the regular season ends.

Doc Rivers, their head coach is sounding the alarm and taking part of the blame. As Eric Nehm of The Athletic noted, Rivers told reporters that he has "gotta figure out what we gotta do to play at a higher pace."

"The last three were against three bad teams," said Rivers. "To me, that's inexcusable. For all of us. As I told them, this is on me."

Are the Bucks set for an early exit in the playoffs based on their recent struggles?

One of the reasons that this losing streak is extremely disappointing is the fact that they are losing to teams that can't even make the play-in tournament. The franchise better hope to get things right as soon as they can since three of their next five games are against teams that can jump in the standings. Two of those games are against the Orlando Magic, who sit in fourth-place in the Eastern Conference with a 45-32 record. The other opponent? The New York Knicks, who are tied with the Magic with a similar record entering Saturday, Apr. 6.

The other two games are against the 60+ win Boston Celtics and a Oklahoma City Thunder squad that is still in the running for the best seed in the Western Conference.

In the worst-case scenario, the franchise could be in the play-in. More realistically, the team is likely to lose home court in the first round. With that possibility looming for the Bucks, is the squad set for a premature departure in playoffs?

While Milwaukee might not head towards an early exit like last season, the franchise doesn't look like they are in any position to challenge the Celtics for the top dog in the playoffs. The squad hasn't been able to defend at a great level since trading for Damian Lillard at the beginning of the season. Khris Middleton has continued to dip in play, and they have very questionable guard depth.

Despite poor play in certain areas, the Bucks might get by one playoff series based on the talents of Giannis Antetokounmpo and Lillard. If the team can keep the two-spot in the East, they have a great shot of beating whoever comes out of the play-in round. At the end of the day, the Bucks don't look like title contenders and their head coach needs to properly adjust in addition to sounding the alarm.