The trouble came early this season for Griffin, the 49-year-old who spent the last 15 seasons as an NBA assistant for five teams following a nine-year NBA playing career. His inauspicious start first drew the national spotlight when first-year assistant coach Terry Stotts stepped down on Oct. 19, 2023, one day before the team’s preseason finale.
[Oh, that’s a problem and that is early.]
Stotts’ decision came about for myriad reasons, but all of the underlying issues seemed to come to a head following a brief verbal argument at a shootaround in Oklahoma City on Oct. 17, 2023, first reported by The Athletic.
League sources said Stotts, who was Lillard’s coach in Portland for his first nine seasons there, and Griffin never saw eye to eye on his role and responsibilities as an assistant and the disrespect Stotts felt in that situation served as the final straw. Regardless of why Stotts headed for the exits, the notion of Griffin’s coaching staff losing its most experienced voice was an indisputable setback.
[No, no, no, no, no. That's bullshit reporting. They flirt with "brief verbal argument," Stotts felt disrespected, and then cover with "for myriad reasons" and "Regardless of why".]
According to team sources, the issues plaguing Griffin’s early tenure ranged from putting together strong schemes on both ends of the floor for the Bucks to fulfill their championship potential to successfully communicating his vision to his players for them to execute it on the floor. But the bottom line, given the high stakes of this Bucks era, the concern over Griffin’s ability became a question too big for executive leadership to withstand any longer.
…the frustrations regarding the team’s defense had reached a boiling point following a 122-116 loss to the Houston Rockettes on Jan. 6.
Following that loss, Antetokounmpo spent seven and a half minutes bemoaning the Bucks’ defensive issues.
[I read something about that.]
…
…the Cavs game [a 40-point loss] was the latest evidence that these Bucks aren’t as good as many people expected them to be — *including some of the key decision-makers within the Bucks.*
[They’re shielding the GM who hired Griffin with anonymity.]
…
The embarrassing loss to the Cavs appears to have been a tipping point.
…
…the Bucks made it clear that Griffin would be expected to compete for championships. [THEY WERE 30-13!] By hiring Griffin, they took a calculated risk on a coach who would inevitably need time to develop as head coach. But Griffin’s innumerable growing pains led to his demise.
[There's more indirect blame on the GM. 1) Griffin was "expected to compete for championships" but 2) was a "calculated risk" who would 3) "need time" "4) "growing pains". What they're saying ever so carefully is "A competent GM doesn't hire a newbie coach if he expects immediate championships."
…
The Bucks…spent so many nights struggling to find the synergy between their dynamic duo of Lillard and Antetokounmpo…
[It doesn’t sound like that should be hard and even I wondered what was up with Dame. Still, they were frigging 30 and 13.]
…
League sources also said Lillard has spent much of this season struggling with the way the Bucks function on the offensive end. …
…
On the other end of the floor, the Bucks’ struggles were even more obvious. Some were at least partially expected because of the massive changes in the team’s defensive personnel.
To open the season, Griffin employed an aggressive defensive game plan that looked an awful lot like the units he ran as the top assistant and defensive coordinator under Nick Nurse in Toronto. After a 130-111 loss in Toronto in the fourth game of the season though, a group of veteran players went to Griffin and told him that such an aggressive scheme was not going to fit with their personnel…
To this point in the season, Griffin and his staff had not found a way to scheme around their personnel issues and properly leverage the defensive strengths of Lopez [2023 DPOY] and Antetokounmpo, the five-time NBA All-Defensive Team honoree and the 2020 Defensive Player of the Year.
[That doesn't seem like it would be hard.]
Following Antetokounmpo’s impassioned plea for a better defensive effort, the Bucks gave up 132 points and lost to the Utah Jizz, their fourth loss in five games.
[I noticed that streak.]
[They] have now won five of their last six games. But that stretch of games includes the…blowout loss in Cleveland and a Saturday win in which the Bucks allowed 135 points against the 4-38 Detroit Zollner Pistons.
With Griffin gone, the Bucks now have to find a way to correct course and get to a place where they believe they can win an NBA championship this season.
[They’re 30-13. I believe they can get there from here, but what does DARKO say?]
