Doc Rivers: ‘I’ve never come up short’

Some were happy to say that the Bucks were now destined to come up short with Rivers in charge. That, however, is not a criticism Rivers is willing to accept. “But I’ve never come up short, in my opinion,” Rivers said. “Come up short? What does that mean? Like, we didn’t win a title? I go back in Philly. I took that job after we lost in the first round 4-0 (to the Celtics in 2020 under Brett Brown). The next year, we win the East in the regular season. All right. We are one game away from the Eastern Finals. “So there’s times where I’m like we’re being evaluated on a different standard. And the great news is I’ve created that standard. So for me, that’s good. But then when the narrative comes that you can’t do it, that’s bulls—. Because I’ve done it and I can do it. It’s just hard to do it. It’s just hard. So I’ve always looked at it that way.”