RIVERS BEGAN SOWING the seeds for a stronger connection between Antetokounmpo and Lillard before he even officially took over as head coach. He attended shootaround in Milwaukee on Jan. 26, three days before his first game at the head of the bench, and he emphasized the need for a stronger connection between the Bucks’ two best players on the court. When Rivers led his first shootaround in Denver a few days later, he had five players take the court — three players on one side, Antetokounmpo and Lillard on the other. Then, Rivers had the two run pick-and-rolls together. “We’ve laughed about it in practice,” Lillard said. “[He’ll] be like ‘All right, Giannis set the screen. Throw it back. Now dribble it back to Dame. Dame throw it back.’ And we’re just going back and forth with each other for 15 seconds. “Then, he’s like, ‘All right, somebody shoot.’ Then we shoot and everybody start laughing.” -via ESPN / March 19, 2024
