Shannon Sharpe blasts Doc Rivers over Kyle Kuzma comments after 0-0-0 game, Stephen A. Smith hits out

The Milwaukee Bucks first playoff game of 2025 did not go as planned.

The Indiana Pacers won their opening game of their playoff series with the Milwaukee Bucks convincingly, 117-98.

For the Bucks, Game 1 will be remembered for Kyle Kuzmas disastrous performance .

The former Wizards star scored 0 points, and also had 0 rebounds, assists, steals and blocks.

Kuzma admitted he has to do better , insisting he has a clearer idea that he must be more aggressive in Game 2, while the Bucks could also be boosted by Damien Lillards return.

Shannon Sharpe questions Doc Rivers Milwaukee Bucks head coach Doc Rivers defended Kyle Kuzmas performance against the Pacers.

He felt that the team should have done better in terms of getting Kuzma into scoring positions.

These comments carried little sway when Kuzma was discussed on First Take, with Shannon Sharpe hitting out at the Bucks head coach.

Sharpe asked: Whos the coach? How about you dial a play to get him the ball? Lets just say its hard to score when you dont have the ball.

How about a rebound? What about an assist? What about a block? What about a steal? Im confused Doc.

You are the head coach, and youre complaining about a guy who is supposed to be an x-factor.

Isnt that Doc Rivers job, if he sees that his guy is struggling, to diagram a play to get him the ball, to get him easy shots? He didnt score, but I need Doc to explain why he didnt get a rebound, why he didnt get an assist, why he didnt get a steal, why he didnt get a blocked shot in 22 minutes.

Stephen A.

Smith on Kyle Kuzma Stephen A.

Smith did not agree with Shannon Sharpes takeaways from Doc Rivers comments, and believes the Bucks head coach was defending Kyle Kuzma, taking the heat off him.

Theres no excuse for this, Stephen A.

Smith laid out, directing his ire towards Kyle Kuzma .

He believes that Kyle Kuzmas 22 minutes on the court spoke volumes, well below his season average.

Come on Kyle Kuzma, heres how you know Doc Rivers was being nice in the post game instead of telling it like it is.

Kuzma averaged nearly 32 minutes a game since hes arrived in Milwaukee...

he only played 22 minutes.

That tells you what you need to know about how Doc Rivers felt that he was doing.

Why would you need to reduce his minutes by 10, you obviously saw how lethargic, ineffective he was, which was inexcusable.

This article first appeared on NBA Analysis Network and was syndicated with permission..

This article has been shared from the original article on yardbarker, here is the link to the original article.