NBA – In the dark, both offensively and defensively, the Bucks did not know where Adrian Griffin was leading them. But they ended up concluding that it was not towards the title.
Firing a coach after 43 games is not common. Firing a coach when his team is 2nd in his conference, and even in the league, with 30 wins and 13 losses, is even less so.
However, this is what has just happened to Adrian Griffin, who was hired last summer by the Bucks to take over from Mike Budenholzer. At the time, already, the choice to hire a recognized assistant, but without experience as a “head coach”, to manage one of the candidates for the title, was logically surprising.
A delicate position from the start
His position was thus delicate from the start, the surprise resignation of the man who was to be his right-hand man, Terry Stotts, in pre-season having clearly shown that he was under pressure. It is that, as Bleacher Report reminds us, the circumstances of his appointment quickly changed. When he arrived, there were doubts about the future of this group, released in the first round of the playoffs.
Certainly, Giannis Antetokounmpo was there, but the “Greek Freak” increased the pressure on his leaders. Brook Lopez and Khris Middleton weren’t sure they’d be kept. And it was only almost four months after his appointment that the Bucks recovered Damian Lillard, sending Jrue Holiday away.
The group that Adrian Griffin had prepared to lead had thus changed considerably. With the Raptors, he implemented particularly aggressive defensive strategies. Except that with the duo Damian Lillard – Malik Beasley on the “backcourt”, they became complicated to put in place. Quickly, the team’s executives demanded a return to “drop coverage”, with Brook Lopez remaining low, to clarify things.
Overall, The Atheltic and ESPN indicate that Giannis Antetokounmpo and his teammates demanded more clarity from their coach, both in attack and defense. What the double MVP said publicly…
“Now, defensively, we have to have a plan”he explained recently, after a defeat against the Rockets, the Bucks being only the 22nd defense in the NBA. “What is our strategy? Should we leave a lot of 3-pointers open? Should we let them go in the paint? When they are not in position, should we stick to our players and let them play one-on-one? Currently, we are giving everything. All. We give the 3-points. We give penetration lines. We let guys play low post and be comfortable. We give offensive rebounds.”
Doc Rivers to advise him… then replace him?
Frustration, despite this 2nd place in the East, was mounting among the leaders, to the point that Bleacher Report assures that the GM, Jon Horst, and his right-hand man, Milt Newton, had been observing training for a week and a half and shootarounds from the edge of the field. Which is never a good sign for a coach.
After the elimination in the semi-finals of the NBA Tournament, the franchise contacted Doc Rivers, currently a consultant for ESPN, so that he could help Adrian Griffin find his place and his voice within the team. A Doc Rivers who should now take over to try to restore order and consistency to Milwaukee.
“I appreciate the opportunity the Bucks gave me. We can’t control everything.”explained Adrian Griffin following his ouster. “I am satisfied with the work we have accomplished. I thank my coaching staff for their hard work. I always wanted to be a head coach in this league. I couldn’t have asked for a better team. I was able to train Giannis, Dame, Khris and Brook. The dream has come true. I hope I get another chance, but overall I’m grateful. »
On the side of the leaders of Milwaukee, we think that Adrian Griffin will one day become a very good “head coach”, but we are playing for the title in the short term in Wisconsin, and the time is no longer for experiments and trial and error.
2024-01-24 13:11:01
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