The Milwaukee Bucks have fired head coach Adrian Griffin after simply 43 video games, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski. The firing makes Griffith tied for the third-shortest head teaching tenure in NBA historical past.
Milwaukee is anticipated to make assistant Joe Prunty its interim head coach, per Woj. The Athletic’s Shams Charania additionally reported that Doc Rivers has already emerged as a severe candidate for the brand new emptiness.
The Bucks began their season fairly robust, all issues thought of. At 30-13, Milwaukee at the moment sits second within the East and tied for the second-best file within the NBA. That’s tied for the seventh-best start in Bucks historical past by means of 43 video games. Milwaukee additionally boasts the second-best offensive ranking within the league and a top-10 internet ranking.
As a first-year head coach, although, Griffin simply wasn’t getting the job performed. Going from five-time All-Defensive Group nominee Jrue Vacation to Damian Lillard goes to come back with some defensive dropoff, however the Bucks fell from fourth in defensive ranking in 2022 to twenty first midway by means of the season this yr.
The primary-time head coach additionally made easy lapses in essential tactical moments, like failing to foul shooters or not structuring recreation plans. Bobby Portis known as out Griffin in the course of the Bucks’ In-Season Event run, saying “how essential it is for Griffin to structure the offense down the stretch of games” in the course of the Milwaukee’s loss to the Bucks, according to Bleacher Report’s Chris Haynes. Gamers earlier within the season additionally requested Griffin to change his defensive scheme again to the one they used to run simply 5 video games into the league yr.
The writing was on the wall early for Griffin. Bucks blogs had been calling for Griffin’s job 10 video games into the season. One month in, The Ringer’s Kevin O’Connor called the Griffin rent “the biggest mistake any team has made this offseason.”
And our personal Carron Phillips pondered back in October if Adrian Griffin could coach this team.
Griffin was simply the mistaken match. Hopefully the Bucks corrected course in time for a postseason run.
