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The Milwaukee Bucks surprised a lot of people earlier this week by firing head coach Adrian Griffin and replacing him with Doc Rivers.
It’s certainly a bold move to replace a coach with a 30-13 record, but it was fairly obvious that this was coming down the pipe at some point. Whispers were already indicating that Griffin had lost the locker room, and the team’s defensive performances under Griffin were clearly not good enough to win four rounds in the playoffs.
It’s a surprising move, but it’s likely the right one. Milwaukee’s offense at times wasn’t called in a way that maximized Giannis and Lillard together, and a bottom-third defensive rating won’t get it done when it really matters.
To a degree, I feel that Giannis and Lillard have pulled Milwaukee to some wins in spite of the coaching. There was a clear opportunity for them to work together more in the two-man game, and it seemed like Griffin was holding that potential back.
However, I question how much fault Griffin really has for those lackluster defensive performances. I mean, you’ve gotta expect some light defensive nights when Damian Lillard is your primary perimeter defender. I think I could blow by him at this point in his career.
And yes, Doc Rivers is a better coach than Griffin, but is he really the solution to those problems? Doc will definitely work more out of that pick-game with Giannis and Dame on offense, but what can he do to actually help that defense?
What has he done in the past to prove that he is the one to fix this? Here’s how every one of his teams has finished in defensive rating and regular season wins. Yeah, we’re getting graphical today.
Rivers started his head coaching career with the Orlando Magic. Early on, he had a slight increase in wins but a steady decrease in defensive rating. 2003/04 bottomed out because he got fired after 11 games.
Rivers’s teams in Boston were terrible until the Celtics acquired Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen. That massive jump in defensive rating is largely thanks to Garnett, one of the best rim protectors of his generation. It was pretty easy to defend effectively in that era with KG prowling the paint. Still, there’s a steady decline in performance from 2008 onward.
The Clippers were all over the place under Rivers, but they did have a defensive stalwart in prime DeAndre Jordan. Still, wins and defensive performance largely declined before a jump when Kawhi Leonard joined the team in Doc’s last year.
And then came Philly. Joel Embiid carried the Sixers’ defense to pretty high rankings. To me, it had little to nothing to do with the scheme.
All that goes without even mentioning all the playoff meltdowns Doc has overseen. His teams have blown three 3-1 leads, four other 3-2 leads, and he’s 6-10 in Game 7’s.
What about all of that suggests that he’ll come in and make Milwaukee any better?
Don’t get me wrong. I think Doc is a better coach than Griffin. He’s certainly more experienced, and he’ll do a better job exploiting Milwaukee’s strengths on offense.
Ultimately, there isn’t any evidence that he will be able to step in and fix the Bucks’ brutal defense. Plus, he’s a fairly consistent choke artist in the playoffs outside of 2008.
Griffin likely needed to go, and it’s better to make the move now than when it’s too late. However, is Doc Rivers really the right replacement? The jury’s still out.
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