Bucks coaching failure latest example of falling short of expectations – BOFA Sports

Apparently, having one of the best records in the NBA isn’t enough to guarantee a head coach’s job security these days

The NFL is understandably king when it comes to talking points, and a lot of time will be spent reviewing the Super Bowl in a short time. Meanwhile, there’s a lot going on in other leagues, and there’s one topic that’s bound to come up and go unnoticed. It involves the Milwaukee Bucks of the NBA, and their decision to fire first-year head coach Adrian Griffin after (only) 43 games. The factors as to why the Bucks made this move, at this point in the regular season, will be discussed in a bit. Be aware that situations like this point to a bigger problem when it comes to the stress of trying to produce winning results quickly, quickly, and in a hurry. Expectations like these can lead front office executives everywhere to misunderstand the personnel they have, and to make poor decisions.

Let’s start with these statistics. At the time, Milwaukee sat at 30-13, good enough for second in the Eastern Conference (behind the Boston Celtics). That record should make the Bucks feel good about recruiting Griffin to replace Mike Budenholzer, who coached Milwaukee to the NBA title in 2021. As previously stated, the hope is to get back to the top of the mountain again, and frankly, the Bucks have to believe they can hang another championship banner. On top of that, they have a perennial MVP candidate in Giannis Antetokounmpo, and they traded for Damian Lillard, who is one of the top scorers in the league, to help with the assists. When a squad has those assets, it’s easy to see where a head coach could crumble under pressure, especially in his inaugural season. Based on the record, Griffin did his job well, but apparently not well enough. So why the sudden turn to firing him? According to reports, the way Milwaukee plays defense is the main reason, ranking 24th in points allowed per game this season. In back-to-back games against the Detroit Pistons, the Bucks dropped 135 and 113 points, respectively. The Pistons have the NBA’s worst record at 6-43. Griffin will be the one to fall short because of these struggles, but there is reason to believe there are other factors contributing to his lack of defense.

The first factor is that no one in the league plays defense anymore, especially in the regular season. To put that in perspective, the Minnesota Timberwolves, who are in a four-way tie for first in the Western Conference, lead the league in points allowed per game with 107.1. Years ago, that point total might have been the last in the NBA, but now, it’s a miracle if a team is held under 100 points after three quarters. The second factor is that the Bucks’ roster is not built to stop anyone. Besides Antetkounmpo, anyone with a defensive mentality would be out of a Lillard trade, and all the shooting the guard generates is offset by his defensive liabilities. In other words, it’s no surprise that Milwaukee has a bad defense, regardless of who the head coach is. The NBA is understandably a player-driven league, meaning they will get the benefit of the doubt in most cases when teams split. However, it is too easy to blame other factors for the dispute, and the head coach is the victim.

So who do the Bucks decide to bring in as Griffin’s replacement? Of course it was none other than Doc Rivers. After all, it makes sense to bring in a guy who was a team consultant while working on the main commentary team for ESPN (as dirty as that sounds). Whatever happens, it’s possible things could be different in Milwaukee, but there’s little reason to believe they will. Rivers had just been fired by the Philadelphia 76ers at the end of last year, and had been the head coach of a team that had blown multiple series leads in the playoffs, including last season’s 3-2 lead over the Celtics in the East semifinals. There was a time when Rivers was considered one of the best coaches in the NBA, and some people may still hold that view. These days, it’s increasingly difficult to live off the title he won as Boston’s head coach in 2008, especially when all the places he visited afterward became defunct when it came time to say goodbye. Frankly, having Rivers replace Griffin suggests that Milwaukee is now giving in to the pressure to win.

No one knows the real reason why the Bucks released Griffin, except for people within the organization. If the team’s lack of defense is the main reason, then it’s fair to say that every coach in the league should be a top candidate. For Milwaukee, the record since Griffin was fired on Jan. 23 is 3-5, and an opponent has never scored fewer than 112 points in any of those games. Unless Rivers has some kind of secret to magically fix the squad’s lack of defense, many of the same problems will continue, and the Bucks will fall short of those lofty expectations. At that point, perhaps the front office will take a look at the players, and discover that this is a problem (of their own creation) that the coaches can’t solve with schemes alone. Time will tell, but right now, it appears Griffin is getting a raw deal.