"How soon before the Bucks fire Doc Rivers": Milwaukee losing 4 games in veteran HC's tenure has fans pondering his future  

The Milwaukee Bucks dropped their fourth game in the Doc Rivers era, losing 112-104 to the Phoenix Suns on Tuesday night. It was another second-half collapse that led to a loss for Milwaukee under Rivers. He has been at the helm for only five games, but eyebrows have been raised about his future.

Rivers' hiring was highly questioned, so the four losses have only exacerbated the noise surrounding him and the Bucks. The veteran coach's struggles in close games and playoffs surprised everyone when Milwaukee signed him to replace Adrian Griffin, who had led the team to a 30-13 record.

The Bucks have dropped to 33-18 for the season. They are third in the Eastern Conference, behind the Cleveland Cavaliers and tied with the fourth-placed New York Knicks.

The Bucks underperforming under Rivers has NBA fans pondering whether the team's brass could soon fire the new coach.

"How soon before the Bucks fire Doc Rivers lol," one tweeted.

More reactions followed:

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Doc Rivers faces a tough test in early phase of Bucks tenure

Doc Rivers' tenure in Milwaukee is not off to the best start. However, it's worth noting that the Bucks have had some unfortunate injury absences apart from a West Coast road trip. Rivers couldn't have had a more steep challenge to begin coaching a contending team mid-season for the first time.

On Tuesday, the Bucks were without Damian Lillard (ankle) and Brook Lopez (personal), while Khrid Middleton exited after eight minutes after landing on Kevin Durant's foot on a closeout on the arc. The Bucks aren't as deep as they were in the past few seasons, which showed.

Giannis Antetokounmpo was the only one to display a promising effort, tallying 34 points, 10 rebounds and six assists on 54.2% shooting, while Malik Beasley had 22 points but shot only 41.2%.

The Suns were healthy. So, it was going to be difficult to stop them without a co-star and starting center, who the Bucks heavily rely on. Rivers had made questionable choices like not playing young players like MarJon Beauchamp and Andre Jackson Jr., who have proved themselves before.

Rivers' in-game adjustments have also been clunky. But it could be because he's still adjusting to the new team while they adapt to his schemes. The Bucks return home for their next contest for a four-game stand, so Rivers will hope that the team can rediscover their lost rhythm.