Nickel: Cool, calm and collected, Bucks coach Doc Rivers adapts to a practice without Giannis and Damian Lillard

Game film on the golf course? Whatever it takes…

Doc Rivers was hitting golf balls the other day. (And the day before that.) It’s his respite from stress, his diversion from working 24-7. If he’s not catching a little golf on TV and rooting for Tiger Woods, he’s trying to hit a few on the driving range or fairways.

“It’s all I ever do,” the Milwaukee Bucks coach said at the end of his team's practice Tuesday afternoon.

But that sanctuary from the NBA grind goes only so far. The slumping Bucks need help. Lots and lots of help.

Giannis Antetokounmpo missed Tuesday's practice with the fourth injury to his left leg this season (ankle soreness, Achilles tendinitis, hamstring soreness and now calf). Damian Lillard also missed practice (aggravated adductor and groin injury as well as Achilles tenderness). So, Rivers had to scrap his entire practice plan and start anew.

Beyond that, Rivers has so much to manage. He has a starter he suspects has lost a little confidence, and a first-round playoff opponent in the Indiana Pacers that wants to tear through Milwaukee’s defense with offensive rebounding and fast breaks.

So Rivers packed a little more than a driver in his stand bag.

“I had my laptop at the place I was hitting  balls,” Rivers said. “I hit balls for 20 minutes; I sat down and watched more film; I hit balls for 20 minutes. ... It was phenomenal. It's a good break for you; it's all I have, to get away. You try to do that. Some guys go for a walk. … You know, that's exercise and I'm anti-that, so I figure I will go hit balls."

This is what is required of the 62-year-old, seen-it-all, but brand-new to the Bucks coach. Not even three full months on the job yet, Rivers sits in the most stressful position of all the playoff-bound teams, his battle not just against the opponent, but also trying to make up for lost time.

Rivers must be rotation manager, scheme strategist and mindfulness coach.

Doc Rivers wants to get Malik Beasley back on track

Rivers is trying to coax guard Malik Beasley, who has been in a shooting slump, to think bigger picture, with overall play in mind. Rivers has professed constant faith in Beasley’s shooting, but it hasn’t been enough.

Beasley’s play in April was rough. He shot great – 7 of 10 – in the loss at Oklahoma City last Friday, but otherwise his shooting generally has ranged from 14.3% to 33%. He scored in double figures only twice in eight games this month.

“He's never been in a situation like this; last year he didn’t play a lot with the Lakers,” said Rivers, nothing that he thinks that adds pressure to the first-year Buck.

Rivers sensed that Beasley sees himself only as a scorer and bucket getter, and that’s not the mindset Rivers wants.

“You put the pressure on, ‘If I don’t make shots, I can’t help the team,’” Rivers said. “That’s a lot of pressure. He’s human. And he’s going to have nights where he doesn’t make shots. I want him to know – and I tell him every day – how valuable he is.”

Instead, Rivers wants Beasley to focus on defensive stops, ball movement and action as a decoy.

“That’s hard for a guy to see that, so we’re trying to teach that.

“We’re going to need him. I want him to feel good about himself. I want him to see his value.”

Doc Rivers scheming ways to win despite obstacles

Beyond that, the Bucks just have to give up on the idea that they will have everyone healthy playing together. That hurts Rivers the most – he isn’t going to get at least this one week of practice to try to pull things together. So he’s preparing for the Pacers, who beat Milwaukee four out of five times this season, with piecemeal practice.

"It's not the perfect way,” Rivers admitted. “We're going to make no excuses.”

At first, Rivers tried to put in Pat Beverley, Beasley or Pat Connaughton as stand-ins in practice to try to simulate what could happen on the court with Lillard in uniform. But he didn’t think it was worthwhile.

“No matter how many times you tell the defense to play that like Dame, they're not going to do that. They're just not, and that's just the reality of it,” Rivers said. “So at the end, we took all that part out.”

Instead Rivers went with the players who could go full strength, like Khris Middleton and Bobby Portis, and showed them defensive coverages they could expect from Indiana. He made it Middleton and Portis’ offensive emphasis.

“That wasn’t the game plan today, but that’s what we did today,” Rivers said.

Rivers wrapped up Tuesday by reiterating how much he was up for taking this challenge “knowing that this was a very difficult situation to come into.”

He’s the third man to work as the Bucks head coach in a year.

“I didn’t just walk to it, I ran to it,” Rivers said. “Couldn’t wait to do it. Still feel that way.

“This group has been so great to coach. We haven’t played well, we haven’t done a lot of stuff, but they’re wonderful people.”

This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Bucks coach Doc Rivers adapts to practice without Giannis, Lillard