Former Miami Heat player Solomon Hill recently brought up the idea of Milwaukee Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo becoming a member of the Heat and alluded to head coach Erik Spoelstra as a reason why he should come to Miami.
Doc Rivers says his new coaching gig with Milwaukee has "been probably more difficult than I thought."
“Taking a job when you’re about to go on the toughest road trip of the season is not the smartest decision. I even told them that: ‘Can we wait ‘til All-Star break?’ It would… pic.twitter.com/v921PLLZdz
— NBACentral (@TheDunkCentral) February 18, 2024
giannis to the heat? he need a coach that’s going to be there consistently. pic.twitter.com/uIIiRNEfEW
— solomon hill (@solohill) February 19, 2024
Hill spent nine seasons in the NBA after getting drafted in the first round of the 2013 NBA Draft and appeared in 11 games with the Heat during the 2019-20 regular season. He hasn’t played in the NBA since he logged 13 appearances with the Atlanta Hawks in the 2021-22 regular season.
Spoelstra has been one of the most successful coaches in the NBA over the last decade-plus. He has coached the Heat to a 734-516 regular-season record since he became the team’s head coach in the 2008-09 season.
Plus, he has led Miami to two titles in 2012 and 2013 as well as six NBA Finals appearances. Most recently, Spoelstra and the Heat reached the 2023 NBA Finals, where they lost to the Denver Nuggets.
The Bucks fired Adrian Griffin back in January after he coached the team to a 30-13 start to the 2023-24 regular season and replaced him with Doc Rivers, who coached the Boston Celtics to a title back in 2008 when they had Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen.
But Rivers has gotten off to a rocky start to his stint coaching the Bucks. Milwaukee owns a 3-7 record since he took over as the team’s head coach, and the Bucks lost their last two games prior to the All-Star break.
The Bucks suffered a rough loss at home to the Heat on Feb. 13. Milwaukee lost by a whopping 26 points despite the fact that four Bucks in Antetokounmpo, Damian Lillard, Malik Beasley and Bobby Portis scored 10 or more points.
As has been the case at times this season, the Bucks struggled to get stops on the defensive side of the ball versus Miami. They allowed the Heat to score 123 points as a team and shoot 51.7 percent from the field and 47.5 percent from 3-point range.
