The Bucks Stops Here

How surprising was the decision to sack Milwaukee Bucks' head coach Adrian Griffin? Think of it as Manchester United sacking Alex Ferguson at the peak of his powers. That's how crazy this was. The Bucks were on a stellar 30-13 record; second in the NBA only to the runaway Boston Celtics; and looked on course to be a main contender for the NBA championship. So how did this happen?

Well if you dig deeper below the trenches; you could sense that perhaps this was happening. Even in pre-season; his yelling at assistant coach Terry Stotts for not joining the team huddle in time seemed onerous. And even in the Bucks' so-far stellar season; the writing was so the wall. They were winning; but were they really playing well? There were times when the players were questioning their tactics on both offence & defense; and the time when star player Giannis Antetokounmpo was seen drawing plays on his own was particularly bizzare. Maybe his man-management; or lack of it; really irked the players and in the end; he probably lost all control of the dressing room. And perhaps his taunting of Thanasis Antetokounmpo was not far off the mark too.

Whatever it is; who else would replace him than Doc Rivers? The veteran coach; famed for his championship win with the Boston Celtics in 2008; could be a good choice; but his career has been overall mixed at best. He has actually lost the first two games as the Bucks seem to struggle with a new identity. This should be interesting.