If you ask Doc Rivers, Giannis Antetokounmpo is in the perfect place to take the next step in his career.
In the most recent episode of "The Bill Simmons Podcast," Rivers dished on his time with the Milwaukee Bucks, how he navigated the ill-fated Damian Lillard trade and the highs and lows that came with coaching the Greek Freak.
"I liked Giannis a lot. I liked him more as a dude," Rivers told Simmons. "He's interesting. He's not easy. He plays at this crazy downhill pace. He's really a difficult guy because he has this great passing ability, but he doesn't necessarily have super IQ at the same time. It's really a strange thing, and he really has one way. Downhill. Force, force. Every play, he wants to force it."
Doc Rivers tells Bill Simmons it
was so hard for him to coach Giannis Antetokounmpo during his tenure with the Milwaukee Bucks: “He’s not easy. He plays at this crazy downhill pace. He’s really a difficult guy. He has this great passing ability, but he doesn’t have a super-high…
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The number one thing Rivers emphasized was execution. Preparing the right way and setting his teammates up for success is the area the Hall of Fame coach believes Antetokounmpo fell short in during their time together. But now, with Antetokounmpo on the Miami Heat under Erik Spoelstra, Rivers is hopeful that will come to fruition.
"I wish he learned how to execute better," Rivers said. "He's one of those guys − you get a lot of them from the U.S., AAU guys − that have never needed to execute because they can do it on their own. But that doesn't help the team. And I told Giannis this, the thing he needs to still learn is the value of execution. How important it is when you're in practice and shootarounds to lock in on execution. And now he has a coach who is as good as there is in execution."
Antetokounmpo landed in South Beach this summer after a blockbuster trade that put an end to the long-running standoff between the 10-time All-Star and the Bucks front office, but it's been anything but greener pastures early on. The Heat are 3-6 in their first nine games despite him averaging 28.3 points and 12.5 rebounds a night.
The Golden State Warriors pulled away from a tie game against Miami at halftime to earn a comfortable 120-100 win Thursday, thanks in no small part to the ability of Draymond Green, Al Horford and Charles Bassey to contain Antetokounmpo to just one point in seven fourth quarter minutes down the stretch.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Doc Rivers shares criticisms of Giannis Antetokounmpo's game − and how he can improve
