By Jordan Long
(Update at 12:05 Eastern Time: Doc Rivers accepts Head Coaching Job For The Bucks)
The Milwaukee Bucks stand at 30-13. They look to improve on that record tonight when they host the Cleveland Cavaliers. The Bucks made a surprising move, firing first year Head Coach Adrian Griffin.
Griffin was hired by Milwaukee on June 5th, 2023. This was after letting Mike Budenholzer go following 5 successful seasons. Budenholzer held a 271-120 record in his time with Milwaukee, a winning percentage of .693. Milwaukee didn’t miss the playoffs with Budenholzer as head coach and even won an NBA title in 2021. It was very surprising they made the move. Griffin didn’t have head coaching experience.
Griffin had been an assistant coach in the NBA since the 2008-2009 season. These included Milwaukee, Chicago, Orlando, Oklahoma City, and Toronto. It seemed like it was his time to be a head coach in the league.
Unfortunately, it didn’t last long. The Bucks made a puzzling move, dismissing him following 43 games into the year. They are second in the Eastern Conference with a 30-13 record, 3.5 games behind the Boston Celtics for 1st place in the East. There are 13 teams in the East that would love to switch places with Milwaukee.
The offense wasn’t the reason Griffin was let go. Milwaukee was the top scoring team, averaging 124.6 points per game. It helps they have two All-Stars in their lineup, power forward Giannis Antetokounmpo and point guard Damian Lillard.
The Bucks let him go because they couldn’t play defense. They permitted 120.5 points per game, the 6th most in the NBA. With the poor defense, the Bucks didn’t believe Griffin could lead them to win an NBA title which is the goal.
The coach they are targeting is Doc Rivers. They are in talks with him to take over as head coach. It wouldn’t be a surprise if he was hired.
Rivers brings in 24 years of NBA head coaching experience. His stops include Orlando, Boston, L.A., and Philadelphia. Rivers’ overall coaching record stands at 1,097-763, a winning percentage of .590. Rivers coached his teams to 19 playoff appearances. He advanced to two NBA Finals with the Boston Celtics. Boston won the NBA Championship in 2008. In 2010, they were beaten in 7 games by the L.A Lakers.
Rivers is one of the best coaches who isn’t with a team. The difficulty is the front office of the Bucks’. It begs the question of how long will Rivers have the job if hired. The Bucks have shown in the past they aren’t patient with their head coaches.
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