Fantasy Basketball Impact of Bucks Hiring Doc Rivers | Have Fantasy Values for Giannis Antetokounmpo, Damian Lillard, Khris Middleton and Others Changed?

Fantasy basketball player values change all the time during a given season. Most of it simply has to do with how many minutes a player has, but trades and signings/releases can also shake things up.

Another way fantasy values can shift is due to a coaching change, but those rarely happen during the NBA season, especially to top-end teams. The Milwaukee Bucks, one of the top contenders in the Eastern Conference, decided to fire Adrian Griffin and hire Doc Rivers in late January.

Now that several games have passed, let’s take a look at how fantasy basketball values for several players on the team may have changed under Rivers.

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Starting Rotation Outlook

The Bucks’ starting rotation has remained the same under Rivers, with Damian Lillard, Malik Beasley, Khris Middleton, Giannis Antetokounmpo and Brook Lopez continuing to start for Milwaukee. 

Other players have made starts for Milwaukee since Rivers took over, but that’s been due to guys like Lillard, Middleton and Lopez missing time for injuries/personal reasons.

Let’s look at the starter’s averages since Rivers took over (eight games) and compare them to their season averages to see if anything stands out.

We’ll start with Antetokounmpo, who ranks third currently on the FantasySP trade value chart.

Antetokounmpo has averaged 29.9 points, 9.8 rebounds, 6.5 assists, 1.8 steals and 0.9 blocks across 34.3 minutes since Rivers’ first game. Giannis averages 30.8 points, 11.4 rebounds, 6.3 assists, 1.4 steals and 1.1 blocks across 35 minutes for the full season. 

While a couple of his averages are down, he’s also played a few less minutes because of some lopsided games. He’s shooting better (62.8% overall to 61.1%), so there’s really nothing to worry about here. Antetokounmpo is still one of the best players in the game and will remain a top-end fantasy asset for the remainder of the season.

Lillard has been a bit underwhelming (compared to some of his past few seasons) in his first season in Milwaukee. He’s averaging 24.8 points, 6.8 assists, 4.2 rebounds, 1.1 steals and 0.2 blocks across 35 minutes played for the season. Under Rivers, Lillard is averaging 21.5 points, 6.5 assists, 3.2 rebounds, 0.8 steals and 0.7 blocks across 33.8 minutes and six games played. 

Lillard has continued to struggle as a shooter, although some of that could be due to an ankle injury he’s dealing with. He’s shooting 44.9% over that six-game stretch compared to 42.6% for the season, so while he’s scoring less, he’s been a touch more efficient.

I still think we haven’t seen Lillard reach his full potential for the season. He’s down to 27th on the trade value chart and is a guy I’d try to “buy low” on before he starts to look like his old self. He’s too talented a player to struggle for a full season - at some point, things will click and he’ll average closer to 30 points per contest. Invest now before his value skyrockets.

Middleton, who is 106th on the trade value charts, has played in just four games since Rivers took over. He’s likely going to be out until the All-Star Game with an ankle injury.

Middleton is averaging 13.5 points, 5 assists, 4 rebounds and 0.5 steals and blocks across 27.6 minutes played in his four games with Rivers as head coach. If you take out the game he got injured in, his averages jump to 16 points, 6.3 assists, 4.3 rebounds, 0.7 blocks and 0.3 steals across 34.2 minutes. He averages 14.8 points, 5 assists, 4.3 rebounds, 0.9 steals and 0.3 blocks across 26.3 minutes for the season, although he just recently got back to a full complement of minutes.

Injury concerns are definitely there with Middleton, but before the ankle injury, he was playing some of his best basketball of the year. The injury might allow you to obtain Middleton for fairly cheap. He’s going to be the team’s third scoring option after Antetokounmpo and Lillard, but is still capable of going for 20 points every night he plays. I like the idea of buying him low too.

Lopez, ranked 84th on the trade value chart, has played in five games under Rivers - he missed three for personal reasons. Lopez is averaging 14 points, 4.6 rebounds, 2.4 assists and blocks and 0.4 steals across 30.4 minutes in the five games he’s played. For the season, Lopez is averaging 13.1 points, 5.5 rebounds, 1.7 assists, 2.7 blocks and 0.6 steals across 31.6 minutes played.

Lopez continues to be a pretty underrated piece for the Bucks and in fantasy purposes. A couple months back, I liked the idea of selling Lopez high. His value has remained pretty much the same, so I can understand if fantasy owners just want to hold on to him now. I’d personally still try to trade him, because his scoring isn’t going to be there every night, and you might be able to land a touch more consistent fantasy asset. 

Beasley, ranked 182nd on the trade value charts, has been a waiver wire option most of the season. He’s averaging 11.4 points, 4 rebounds, 1.4 assists, 0.7 steals and 0.1 blocks across 29.6 minutes. Since Rivers took over, Beasley is averaging 11.5 points, 4 rebounds, 1.6 assists, 0.8 steals and 0.1 blocks across 30.8 minutes.

As you can see, Beasley has pretty similar numbers since Doc took over - much like the rest of the starters. Beasley is going to have some big games as primarily a 3-point specialist, but will also have games he barely scores in. That makes it tough to roster him in standard formats, but he plays enough each night to play in deeper formats.

Bench Options Outlook

There’s five bench players from Milwaukee that I’d like to mention.

The first is Bobby Portis, who ranks 107th on the trade value charts. For the season, Portis averages 12.6 points, 7 rebounds, 1.1 assists, 0.8 steals and 0.4 blocks across 23.9 minutes. He got some extra playing time with Lopez out, so his averages have improved a bit to 13.4 points, 8.5 rebounds, 1.6 assists, 1.3 steals and 0.1 blocks across 27.6 minutes under Doc. 

Even with Lopez back, Portis has attempted between 12-14 field goals in the past three games. He’s been a solid rebounder over that span as well. His ceiling is capped by playing in a reserve role, but he’s a double-double threat every night and should be rostered in most leagues out there, especially until his scoring dips.

Jae Crowder returned to the team just a few games before Rivers was hired. He’s only played in 23 games this season, averaging 7.3 points, 3.3 rebounds, 1.7 assists, 0.8 steals and 0.2 blocks across 25 minutes. He’s gotten four starts and averaged 28.5 minutes under Rivers (with the injuries around him helping bump those numbers up) - Crowder is also averaging 7.6 points, 3.3 rebounds, 2.5 assists, 1.1 steals and 0.3 blocks under Doc.

He’s playing enough minutes of late to be a fantasy asset, but as those averages suggest, he’s still not a really great option. He’s an option in the deepest of fantasy leagues, but that’s probably it unless he heats up from the floor.

Pat Connaughton has had a bit of a down season, averaging 5.4 points, 3.2 rebounds, 2 assists, 0.5 steals and 0.2 blocks across 21.1 minutes. Rivers said he’s trying to build his confidence back up, and Connaughton has averaged 5.1 points, 3.5 rebounds, 3.3 assists, 0.6 steals and 0.4 blocks across 21.8 minutes under Doc. The big difference is in shooting percentage, with Connaughton at 46.2% overall, but 56% since Doc arrived.

Even with the higher percentage, Connaughton isn’t a fantasy asset outside of really deep leagues. He’s getting enough playing time to be an asset, so keep an eye on him in case he ever really heats up/scores more.

Patrick Beverley joined the Bucks at the deadline after a trade with the Philadelphia 76ers. In two games with Milwaukee, Beverley has combined for 11 points, eight assists, two rebounds and one steal across about 30 minutes (although both games have been lopsided). In Philly, Beverley was averaging 6.3 points, 3.1 rebounds and assists, 0.5 steals and 0.4 blocks across 19.6 minutes.

Beverley is another guy who is only a fantasy asset in the deepest of leagues. He’d probably be worth streaming if Lillard or Beasley were ever out.

The last guy I need to mention is AJ Green. He barely ever played under Griffin, but has averaged 9.8 points, 2.4 rebounds. 0.8 assists and 0.2 steals across 18.1 minutes in the past five games under Doc. 

He scored 27 in one of those games, so the numbers are a bit skewed - and with Middleton out, it’s hard to tell if he’d be making the same difference, but he’s at least worth keeping an eye on.