The similarities between the Denver Nuggets and Milwaukee Bucks' arcs are almost Dickensian. Michael Malone and Doc Rivers tell A Tale of Two Cities in NBA form. They’re Charles Darnay and Sydney Carton playing out identical careers in small markets while being conspicuously different beneath the surface. On Tuesday, Malone was sent to the guillotine. Rivers is enjoying a six-game winning streak against the soft portion of their schedule but still hasn't beaten a top-3 seed in the East all season. Despite both squandering the seasons of top-3 MVP candidates, only Malone is facing the music.
Typically when a team fires a head coach, it’s a result of unmet expectations. The Nuggets have won two more games than the Bucks this season in the Western Conference death trap. Yet, Rivers’ job security has never been in question.
Malone’s firing is instructive. Reports out of Denver indicate that he was wearing on the front office and the players.
Why is life so different for Rivers and Malone?
Charisma and personal likability comprise the significant differences between Rivers and Malone. Rivers has the best PR in the league. He’s the ultimate player’s coach. He was hired after serving as an advisor over the likely Coach of the Year Kenny Atkinson because co-owner Jimmy Haslam stumped for him.
Rivers’ predecessor Adrian Griffin ran off Terry Stotts. His refusal to listen to the concerns of Brook Lopez, a perennial All-Defense big, and his contentious relationship with Antetokounmpo led to him getting canned with a 30-13 record. Since then, the vibes have been better, but the Bucks haven’t come close to going 30-13 over any stretch.
Throughout The Association’s parity era, Nikola Jokic and Antetokounmpo have been two of the NBA’s premier players. Guards like Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, James Harden, and Steph Curry gobble up the attention, but between Jokic and the Greek Freak, they have a title each and a handful of MVPs. Unfortunately, their careers never intertwined in an NBA Finals, but as they encroach on their early 30s, they find their teams stalled in similar slumps while their organizations have chosen different paths.
Milwaukee is not set up for success
Milwaukee’s front office has helped bury Antetokounmpo’s prime under five feet of dirt. Jon Horst has been the front-office equivalent of Dave Klingman. He’s batting .200 most of the time but smashed a grand slam or in the trade market at the expense of their draft coffers for a decade.
It’s the inverse of Jokic’s issues in Denver where they’ve hit singles in the draft since former general manager Tim Connelly’s departure, but have failed to connect on the big swings. Jokic still hasn’t played with an All-Star in their prime while Antetokounmpo lives out a Children of Men basketball remake where a homegrown rookie hasn’t joined the rotation in nearly four years.
Something’s gotta give. Their current winning streak, including a 34-3 fourth-quarter run against Minnesota doesn’t wipe away an aimless season and a stick-figure offense filled with one-dimensional wings and guards.
Denver has gone 12-13 since the All-Star break while Milwaukee has beaten only one Real Playoff Team since March 15 when they trounced the Los Angeles Lakers by 20. That isn’t counting a win over the then-spiraling, post-Jimmy Miami Heat, the Bronny-led Lakers, or the charred remains of the post-De'Aaron Fox Sacramento Kings.
Horst’s resume is one of the worst in the league over the past five years. Rivers’ coaching prime has passed him. If the Bucks are an organization as committed to winning as they are to they’d follow the leads of Memphis and Denver by throwing their coach out with the bathwater when this stomach-churning season concludes.