Damian Lillard explains how Doc Rivers is changing the Bucks offense

At the beginning of the season, Damian Lillard looked uncomfortable, especially on offense. Maybe Dame's struggles had something to do with him sharing the court with a player of Giannis' caliber for the first time in his career. Or, alternatively, maybe asking a first-year head coach to handle a team with championship aspirations was a little far-fetched. Whatever the case may be, Lillard has regained his rhythm, thanks to Doc Rivers who replaced Adrian Griffin as head coach midseason. 

In a 113-106 victory over the LA Clippers, Lillard found his offensive flow, scoring 41 points, shooting 4-of-9 (44 percent) from beyond the arc and 13-13 from the charity stripe. This newfound rhythm didn't come out of nowhere though. To aid the transition, Rivers installed some of Portland's best sets during Lillard's time there. 

Damian Lillard explains how Doc Rivers is changing the Bucks offense

After the game, Lillard told reporters that Doc Rivers' decision to include former Portland Trail Blazer sets in the offense has "helped a lot" and even admitted that "for a significant part of the year" he was just trying to find his way.

Having played against Doc multiple times in the West, Lillard explained how Rivers has experience scouting him, so, when it comes to using Lillard, Doc knows exactly what frustrates other teams' defenses. Lillard told reporters, "He came in and he was like...'you guys don't run this? You guys don't run that? This is stuff we'd hate to guard against you.' And he started to slowly put some of those actions in."

If last night's game is any indicator, Dame is clearly very happy with these additions to the Bucks' playbook. In terms of season highs, his 41 points against the Clippers are second only to his 45-point outing against the Detroit Pistons earlier this season.

Keep in mind, this is the same team that entered the All-Star break 3-7 in its first 10 games under Doc Rivers. Needless to say, with six straight victories, things might finally be clicking for Doc Rivers and the Bucks.