CAMDEN, N.J. — The Milwaukee Bucks made a shocking decision on Tuesday when they fired Adrian Griffin after just 43 games as the lead man. The Bucks were 30-13 despite some problems on the floor.
To replace Griffin, the Bucks hired former Sixers coach Doc Rivers, who was let go after three seasons at the helm in Philadelphia. He had a 154-82 record as coach of the Sixers.
Philadelphia 76ers coach Nick Nurse has a history with Griffin from their days with the Toronto Raptors. With the Sixers back at practice on Wednesday, Nurse addressed the Griffin firing while keeping the focus on his team.
“Yeah, listen, yesterday two people that I’ve had some great success with and I’m really close to in Kyle (Lowry) and Adrian had things happen to them,” Nurse said. “My concern is are they OK? Right? How do they feel? And my other thought is I’m concerned about my team. I don’t really get into all what other people are doing. I got enough to think about with this team and that’s just kind of how I always operate.”
The coach was referring to the Miami Heat sending Lowry to the Charlotte Hornets in the Terry Rozier trade. Nurse and Lowry had a lot of success during their time together in Toronto.
When asked if it was surprising to see Griffin fired despite the 30-13 record, Nurse was not very shocked. It’s the way the coaching world has operated.
“Yeah, you know, I don’t think much in the coaching world in football and baseball and basketball, hockey, soccer — none of that seems to be surprising anymore,” Nurse stated. “So again, I’m concerned about him and concerned about this team.”
The Sixers will begin a five-game road trip on Thursday with a matchup against the Indiana Pacers.
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