While all parties are concerned about the wind direction of player trading, the Bucks suddenly fired head coach Adrian Griffin, indeed although the Bucks are currently among the best, but there are many questionable aspects of the game, Adrian Griffin's defensive collapse under the coaching, and the dissatisfaction he may have formed in the lounge, may be the main reason for his resignation, but the Bucks' rough change of coach at the moment may also declare that they cannot afford to make any mistakes this season.
It came a little suddenly, but maybe the Bucks wanted a turnaround.
With the midseason trade deadline approaching, the Heat and Hornets traded Kyle Lowry and Terry Rozier, and there was a feeling of slowly warming up various midseason trades, but just at the moment of completing the deal, the Bucks threw another shock bomb in the league, and head coach Adrian Griffin was taken off the black veil hat and became the first coach to be fired this year.
It's not the first time a team has changed a head coach in the middle of the season, and it's not a team with a good record to change a head coach, but it's the first time that a team with such a good record in the league has become the first team to change a head coach that season as the season progresses. The strange thing about this situation is that this season there is even more than one super lying flat team that has experienced an early long losing streak, dropped out of the competition early, and is destined to nest at the bottom of the group, and there is not only one team with a poor record, but the result is that the strong team that is currently ranked second in the East and tied for second in the league is the first to remove the coach.
After a series of rumors, Doug Rivers, an old face in coaching circles who has been questioned from time to time, took over as the head coach of the Bucks, but before discussing how far Doug Rivers can take the Bucks, we should take a look at what the Bucks have at present.
The weakness of the substance, the Bucks are not as good as the record?
The Bucks are definitely not a weak team, we can also imagine that the ubiquitous inside and outside, only the slightly worse outside Brother Alphabet with the fierce outside firepower Lillard will have a good offensive base, and during the offseason, the Bucks will join the battle for Lillard, and do not hesitate to replace the original starting point guard Jrue Holiday In addition to the original team positioning, salary should also be replaced, the Bucks in the past two seasons at the critical moment of the playoffs offensive problems are far greater than the defense is also a major reason.
As a result, the Bucks' offense has indeed improved this season, and this is still due to the low tide of the Bucks' wing Chris Middleton. As a result, Brother Alphabet and Lillard did not cooperate well enough, the Bucks' current OffRtg is as high as the second in the league, only a slight gap behind the Pacers who broke out this season's offense, and as we all know, the Pacers' offense is historically strong so far this year, that is to say, the Bucks' offense is indeed bright enough, but in the preseason estimates that the overall first half of the season is easier, the Bucks are very bad on the defensive end, this season's Bucks' DefRtg is only ranked 21st in the league, and among all defensive data, only the opponent's free throw shooting rate is 0.818, which is the highest free throw shooting rate of any team in the league, especially in the case of the defensive artifact Brother Alphabet and the basket protector Brook López, he also allows the opponent to attack the interior with extremely high quality and quantity, which is equivalent to being taken by the opponent from the first stage of the defense to the outside of the penalty area.
As a result, the Bucks will have a 40-point defeat like the Cavaliers a few days ago, will be knocked down by the Pacers four games in a row (including the key battle of the midseason tournament), will lose to the Rockets who are just about to rise and the Jazz who are clearly not going to fight now, will be suppressed by the Magic to the point that they can't even score 100 points, and there will also be the whistle logo of the Kings who were about to lose but were missed by the opponent's free throws and Lillard Overall, the expected win and defeat given by the data website is 26-17, which is four games different from the Bucks' current record, indicating that the Bucks' current performance is indeed a little watery.
The problem of defense is obviously the biggest breach of the Bucks, since the combination of Brother Alphabet and Brook Lopez, the Bucks have been a team with a decent level of defense, the last time the Bucks DefRtg was in the 20th was in 2015-16, when the Bucks were still Greg Monroe and Jabari Parker on the inside, and the defensive level of the two can be imagined. Therefore, in the case of this year's defensive collapse, it is conceivable that the original Bucks veterans have a lot of complaints about this, and there are rumors from time to time, including Brother Alphabet, who always focus on the importance of defense, and even dissatisfaction with the defensive system of the existing coach.
For the Bucks, even if the situation is precarious, they still have to aim for the championship, so these objective shortcomings, especially the problems that will not occur with the original lineup in the past, are difficult for the original team to accept, but because of this gap, Adrian Griffin can only take responsibility and lose his job.
The pre-season big change x stubbornness, Adrian Griffin may be sympathetic but still has to be held accountable
It is reported that the decision that led to the team's dismissal of Adrian Griffin came from the turmoil in the locker room, and it was revealed that Adrian Griffin had held internal meetings after several disappointing defeats and expressed his opinions to the players, but his feedback with the players was not smooth, even to the point that he would argue with the players. Griffin wanted to adopt the interference principles he had applied in the past during his time with the Raptors, where players actively stepped out to avoid three-pointers and then turned back to protect the restricted area, but it was clear that Brook Lopez, who was slow to move and had a strong presence in the frame, was not suited to such a strategy. Griffin believes that this is the result of the players' inactivity, and the old Bucks members will naturally not be satisfied, the original strategy has helped us become a strong defensive team for many years, and this year's new strategy is not good to defend but blame our players for not being active, how can this make sense?
Of course, from another point of view, the Bucks only completed the Lillard trade at the beginning of the season, and also sold Grayson Allen, who was originally responsible for the defensive work in the team, so less than a month before the start of the season, the Bucks' starting backcourt was officially replaced from Jrue Holiday + Grayson Allen to Lillard + Malik Beasley, and the naked eye can see how big a gap this is. To say that this is all the coach's pot may not be reasonable.
It can only be said that even if the defensive plunge may not be entirely Adrian Griffin's pot, but from the way he corrects and the relationship with him and the players, it seems that the Bucks' former ministers or the senior management of the club are unacceptable, and for the Bucks, their preseason stud to add Lillard is a kind of urgency to compete for the championship, which is the same as the original would rather spend a lot of money to replace the main control from Eric Bledsoe to Jrue Holiday Jrue Holiday, it is an ultimatum that must be issued for the championship, otherwise Chris Middleton will turn 33 this year, Brooke Middleton will be 33 years old this year. Lopez is about to turn 36, Lillard will also turn 34, and even his brother has passed his 29th birthday at the end of last year.
In a way, I feel very sorry, because in the past few years, Adrian Griffin has been highly regarded in the assistant coaching circle, many teams have mentioned Adrian Griffin's name when changing coaches, and even Bucks general manager Jon Horst has publicly said that "I believe Adrian Griffin is naturally suitable to be a head coach" I'm curious to know what such a well-received assistant coach will be like when he actually takes charge, but now he can't even finish a season, and it's just a feud between him and assistant coach Terry Stotts, who has been a head coach for many years, before the start of the season. Griffin is not kind to people, if a person who was originally expected to be able to handle people well is rumored to be unable to handle people, then maybe in such a team that cannot afford mistakes, losing his job is also a predictable end.
On the other hand, it also makes me feel that the Bucks have declared their determination not to miss any mistakes, and this year, when the outside world paid attention to the number one power, the Celtics, the defending Nuggets, or the 76ers where MVP Embiid is located, the Bucks told everyone that they definitely have the determination to continue to compete in the Central Plains, maybe the successor Doug Rivers has too many performances that have been questioned in the playoffs in the past, and there are also comments about engaging in political maneuvers to survive, but if Adrian Rivers is the next big player, the Bucks tell everyone that they definitely have the determination to continue to compete in the Central Plains. Griffin has really lost the popularity of the players, and the exchange for Doug Rivers, who has a good reputation among the players, may also show that at least for now, the team has the goal of focusing on player orientation first.
It's just that the failure cases of Doug Rivers in the past are vivid, which makes it really difficult for me to have much confidence in his coaching this time, even if the players pay for him now, but if he continues to suffer in the playoffs, then the Bucks' declaration of "no mistakes" is on a road that must wait for people to see (Doug Rivers)?
Now except for Doug Rivers, no one can help him rehabilitate this label.