The Milwaukee Bucks are in a precarious situation with Giannis Antetokounmpo sidelined with injury and the team struggling to get over the line. Milwaukee has lost four of its last five games with plenty of problems to address. The first opportunity to resolve those problems is on Sunday, when they will hit the road to Minneapolis, the first of four consecutive away games.

With Christmas in the proximity, the Milwaukee Bucks coach, Doc Rivers, revealed a quirky decision that the team has taken to be with their families during the holidays. Following the game against the Minnesota Timberwolves and another trip to Indiana, the Bucks were expected to fly to Memphis for the next game on December 27. Instead, the players will now fly back to their families for the holidays.

“We’re gonna fly back and let guys spend Christmas Eve and half of Christmas Day at home and then go back out on the road to Memphis,” Doc Rivers said to the media ahead of Sunday’s game. “Listen— family man, spend time with your family. Not just for our team— that’s for everybody who’s listening. If you can, do it,” head coach Rivers said.

While it could be extremely hectic for the players to take extra flights in between two away trips, it could be just worth it as everyone deserves to be with their near and dear ones in these special days, something that the franchise and Doc Rivers understand very well.

Who knows, this could be the factor that may change their fortunes in the upcoming game. It is sometimes the little things that affect a player, and maybe meeting their families and spending some time could actually help them bounce back.

Doc Rivers confident of the Bucks showing growth in fixable deficiencies

The Milwaukee Bucks have struggled with turnovers, fouls, and poor rebounding throughout this season. Plus, missing Giannis Antetokounmpo also doesn’t help their cause in any way. They mostly get the basics wrong to give them any chance in games.

However, Doc Rivers continues to be optimistic about the Bucks fixing their problematic areas. There have been some improvements in their recent 111-105 loss against the Toronto Raptors. Following the defeat, Rivers backed his players and felt that the players are understanding their roles and gradually getting better, and it is only a matter of time before they strike that consistency to push ahead.

“It wasn’t [just] Toronto. It’s just more we’re starting to do more things right. You know, the things we’re doing wrong, the turnovers, the fouls, and things like that are fixable,” Doc Rivers told the media following the defeat against the Raptors.

While the coach’s optimism is really heartening to see, the results paint a different story as the Bucks have fallen to 11th spot with an uninspiring 11-17 record in the East. They are 2-4 without their talisman, Giannis. And with a calf strain, he will be out of action for the next few weeks. Rivers desperately needs his other players to step up collectively.

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There was some substance in Rivers’ optimism as the Bucks kept even in the turnover margin (Bucks 16-17 Raptors) while also reducing the fouls (20-19). However, rebounding remained a problem as they also struggled for creativity in offense despite recording decent 40.5% record from beyond the arc.