Bucks keep blowing leads with Doc Rivers at helm

The Milwaukee Bucks can't seem to get right under new head coach Doc Rivers. 

The Bucks fell to 1-4 since Rivers took over for Adrian Griffin as head coach with a 114-106 loss to the Phoenix Suns on Tuesday night – even more concerning is that the Bucks have blown a lead in each of the four losses. 

In the nine-day, five-game road trip that started after Rivers was hired on Jan. 26, the Bucks have blown leads of 19 points (Jazz), 15 points (Mavericks) and 13 points (Nuggets) while dropping one spot to third place in the Eastern Conference standings. 

The Bucks led the Suns by seven points in the latest loss, but it might be the most excusable of the bunch. All-Star guard Damian Lillard and center Brook Lopez were out and forward Khris Middleton left the game in the first quarter with an ankle sprain. 

"The confidence is growing, you can see it," Rivers told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. "Made a couple mistakes, which is fine, but you can see the confidence, you can see the talking ... the defensive confidence is absolutely growing. That's a big thing for this team. If they can get that confidence, that takes us to a different level." 

It should be no surprise Rivers seems hyper-focused on defense. Griffin's struggles to get the Bucks on the same page defensively were a big part of what led to his ouster just 43 games into his first season and the team currently ranks No. 24 in team defense with an average of 119.8 points per game. 

Milwaukee (33-18) opens a four-game home stand on Thursday night against the Minnesota Timberwolves.