(Photo by Jacob Kupferman/Getty Images)
The Milwaukee Bucks surprised a lot of people when they fired head coach Adrian Griffin on Tuesday just several months after hiring him.
Griffin had never been a head coach before, yet he had coached the Bucks to a 30-13 record, which is the second-best record in the Eastern Conference.
Some have questioned the timing and wisdom of canning Griffin, including former NBA player Jamal Crawford, who called the decision “disheartening,” via the NBA on TNT.
“They’re going to be judged on their postseason success. He didn’t get a chance at that and, for me, that’s disheartening,” Crawford said.
“I don’t like it, to be honest with you. … The Bucks aren’t going to be judged on the regular season anyway. … They’re going to be judged on their postseason success. He didn’t get a chance at that and, for me, that’s disheartening.”@JCrossover on the Bucks firing HC Adrian… pic.twitter.com/X2r1zxJ44K
— NBA on TNT (@NBAonTNT) January 24, 2024
Despite their strong record, the Bucks have had problems defensively, as they ranked 22nd in defensive rating as of Tuesday.
On the other hand, they rank second in both scoring and offensive rating, and they may be starting to figure out how to win with future Hall-of-Fame guard Damian Lillard.
After some struggles in late December and early January, Milwaukee has won five of their last six games, and that streak started with a 135-102 drubbing of the Boston Celtics, who have the NBA’s best record.
Milwaukee won the world championship as recently as 2021, but they lost in the first round of last season’s playoffs, which led to them firing head coach Mike Budenholzer during the offseason.
They are now rumored to be after Doc Rivers, who is currently an analyst for ESPN, to fill Griffin’s spot.
Rivers has been a longtime head coach for multiple teams, and although his teams have a history of blowing 3-1 and 3-2 series leads in the playoffs, he did get a ring with the Celtics in 2008.
He was fired by the Philadelphia 76ers last year after they gave up a 3-2 series advantage to the Celtics in the second round of the postseason.
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