Tag: Adrian Griffin

The Bucks suddenly firing Adrian Griffin had NBA fans totally stunned

The Bucks really fired a coach with the second-best record in the NBA.

The Milwaukee Bucks have 30 wins. They are tied for the second-best record in the NBA. In Giannis Antetokounmpo and Damian Lillard have two legitimate franchise superstars pushing for a championship.

None of that matters to head coach Adrian Griffin’s job security, apparently.

On Tuesday, the Bucks unceremoniously fired Griffin, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski. Smack dab in the middle of a 30-win season (at the halfway mark!), Milwaukee dismissed Griffin, seemingly hoping for an upgrade on the bench. Doc Rivers has already been mentioned as a distinct possibility to replace Griffin.

Even still: they fired the coach of a team with the second-best record in the NBA? WHAT?

None of this shock is to say that Griffin was doing a terrific job. The Bucks sit in a great position in the standings, but were showing some fatal flaws that would be really tough to overcome this spring in the postseason.

Despite rostering All-NBA-caliber defenders like Antetokounmpo and Brook Lopez, Milwaukee has the fifth-worst defensive rating in the Eastern Conference and the 22nd-worst in the NBA. Some of that is on poor personnel, and some of that is on coaching. On offense, the Bucks under Griffin too often devolved into a nonexistent two-man game between Antetokounmpo and Lillard. The two stars effectively “take turns” rather than running a conducive offense with a flow. It is a testament to their individual ability that the Bucks are still somehow second in offensive net rating.

Rivers might be the cure to what ails Milwaukee in another title push, but that is no guarantee. Between stints with the Los Angeles Clippers and Philadelphia 76ers, Rivers hasn’t coached a team to a Conference Finals appearance since 2012.

For now, Milwaukee must pick up the pieces after firing Griffin.

Bobby Portis ‘passionately challenged’ his head coach after Bucks lost in NBA Cup, per report

Portis was concerned with Griffin’s play-calling down the stretch.

The Milwaukee Bucks were eliminated by Tyrese Haliburton and the Indiana Pacers in the semifinals of the NBA Cup.

After the game, per Bleacher Report insider Chris Haynes, Bucks veteran forward Bobby Portis “passionately challenged” first-year Milwaukee head coach Adrian Griffin.

Portis reportedly “stressed how essential it is for Griffin to structure the offense” during crunch time. According to Haynes, the coach “welcomed the criticism” and agreed that he could do a better job calling plays. Here is more from Haynes:

“The nine-year veteran explained that it’s a two-way street: direction is needed and then it’s up to the players to execute, sources say.”

During their postgame press conferences, both Damian Lillard and Giannis Antetokounmpo said that Milwaukee required a more organized offense in late-game moments.

Antetokounmpo finished no scoring possessions as the roll man in pick-and-roll sets during the loss against the Pacers, per Synergy. Others, meanwhile, shared concerns about Milwaukee’s 2-3 zone defense.

Griffin played in the league from 1999 until his final professional season in 2008. He was hired by the Bucks after most recently serving as an assistant coach for the Toronto Raptors and has coached in the NBA since his playing career ended.

This past summer, meanwhile, Portis represented Team USA during the 2023 FIBA World Cup. He has played for Milwaukee since 2020 and he helped the team win a championship in 2021.

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On this day: Celtics first game ever in 1946, MANY players, coach John Russell debut; Hal Crisler passes

On this day in Celtics history, the storied franchise played its first game.

On this day in Boston Celtics history, the storied franchise played the first game of its storied history in 1946 as it kicked off play in the brand-new Basketball Association of America, which became the National Basketball Association in 1949).

That first contest was not an auspicious one. The Celtics dropped their inaugural game to the (now defunct) Providence Steamrollers, 59-53. Boston fell to 0-1 to start the 1946-47 BAA season on a sour note that offered no hints of the many wins to come. It was of course the Celtics’ debut for the entire team, but in that era, sparse counting stat records were kept — or even conceived of.

With that in mind, let’s review the details we do have.

Bucks coach Adrian Griffin gives love, respect to Sixers’ Nick Nurse

Milwaukee Bucks coach Adrian Griffin gives a lot of love and respect to Philadelphia 76ers coach Nick Nurse.

MILWAUKEE — Before becoming the head coach of the Milwaukee Bucks, Adrian Griffin spent the previous five seasons as an assistant for the Toronto Raptors under the guidance of coach Nick Nurse.

Nurse, now the coach of the Philadelphia 76ers, gave Griffin his first real shot at being an NBA coach in the bubble. Nurse allowed Griffin to coach a game against the Sixers, coincidentally, and Griffin’s coaching debut came against Nurse and the Sixers.

Before Milwaukee pulled out the 118-117 win on Thursday, Griffin gave abundant love and respect to Nurse for helping him get to this point.

“I have a tremendous amount of respect for coach Nurse,” said Griffin. “I wouldn’t be sitting here without him and the support. He had a tremendous amount for me working for him for five years, and we accomplished some special things together so definitely a lot of respect to him.”

Nurse is known for his unorthodox schemes, but he also always has his teams ready to play no matter the circumstance. That was on display on Thursday when the Sixers nearly pulled off the upset despite not having James Harden and being on the road.

Griffin stated the best way to honor Nurse was to come out swinging.

“The way that I honor him is to come out ready and prepared because that’s who he is,” Griffin explained. “He’s the ultimate competitor. We were always prepared going into every game and he held us to high standards. I wouldn’t be here without coach Nurse, so I think to honor him is to come out and be ready.”

Griffin is 1-0 in his coaching career.

“Again, I wouldn’t be here without Nurse,” Griffin finished. “I’m truly grateful for this opportunity.”

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‘I’m a big fan’: Adrian Griffin praises Mark Daigneault

Adrian Griffin praised Mark Daigneault for the job he’s done so far in OKC as both share a history in their time with the Thunder.

Tuesday marked the first time Milwaukee Bucks head coach Adrian Griffin roamed the hallways of Paycom Center with his new job.

After spending time as an Oklahoma City Thunder assistant coach on Billy Donovan’s staff from 2016 to 2018, Griffin coached against a familiar face, Mark Daigneault.

Even though Daigneault was the OKC Blue head coach at the time, Griffin mentioned his relationship with him when their time in OKC intersected. The Bucks head coach spoke glowingly on the job Daigneault’s done with the Thunder since taking over in 2020.

“I was here in OKC with Mark when he was the head coach of the OKC Blue. He would be in a lot of our meetings with Billy Donovan. He’s an extraordinary coach,” Griffin said pregame. “I’m a student of the game. I studied him. I watched him. You can say (that) he’s a younger coach but he’s past his years as far as his IQ of the game, his feel for the game, the things that he never miss on the court. And how he gets his team every night to play hard. That’s a skill in itself.

“So I’m a big fan of Mark. Definitely can’t underestimate anybody in this league. What OKC is building is very impressive over the years. A lot of that can be attributed to — obviously Sam (Presti) — but Mark’s done a tremendous job.”

This is a pretty high compliment from Griffin. He’s one of the top head coaches in the entire league, and he knows Daigneault best considering their shared history in OKC.

The budding head coaching star continues to see his stock rise after finishing No. 2 in Coach of the Year last season. In their first matchup, Daigneault won in dominating fashion against Griffin — albeit in the preseason.

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Every player in Boston Celtics history who wore No. 44

Today’s installment focuses on the dozen players who wore No. 44 over the years as of Aug. 2023.

The Boston Celtics have more retired jerseys than any other team in the NBA, but that doesn’t mean the rest of their jerseys have little history of interest tied to them.

In fact, with 17 titles to their name and decades of competitive basketball played in them, their unretired jersey numbers pack in some of the most history not hanging from the rafters of any team in the league. To that end, we have launched our accounting of that history, with every player in every jersey worn by more than one Celtics player in the storied franchise’s history accounted for.

Today’s installment focuses on the dozen players who wore No. 44 over the years as of Aug. 2023.

On this day: Gordon Hayward agrees to sign; Griffin, Lucas born; Gene Conley passes

On this day, Boston Celtics All-Star forward Gordon Hayward agreed to sign with the team after his agent initially denied he planned to do so.

On this day in Boston Celtics history, the team landed All-Star forward Gordon Hayward in 2017 after the Indiana native penned a letter in The Player’s Tribune announcing his decision to leave the Utah Jazz to sign with the Celtics.

Earlier in the day, his agent had denied reports by ESPN NBA insider Chris Haynes that the unrestricted free agent would sign with Boston, but the former Butler player opted for a largely ill-fated reunion with his college coach, Brad Stevens, who had left the collegiate ranks to join the Celtics in the same role in 2013.

“There were so many great things pulling me in that direction,” Hayward explained. “There was the winning culture of Boston, as a city — from the (Red) Sox to the (New England) Pats to the (Boston) Bruins.

11 Boston Celtics alumni changing places in redraft of NBA’s 1996 class

Let’s take a look at which Celtics alumni landed where.

As Hoops Hype’s staff keep themselves busy reassessing the draft orders of the last few decades over the years, there are always a fair number of Boston Celtics alumni making moves in their re-drafts as a result.

In the H/H reassessment of the 1996 NBA draft class, a total of 11 Boston alumni ended up seeing their draft stock shift with the benefit of hindsight lifting their fortunes. And while they won’t see any pay raises or anything else of that sort given the fictitious nature of such an exercise, it’s also nice to see this group get their flowers, too.

Let’s take a look at which Celtics alumni landed where.

Ime Udoka and the 9 other most likely candidates the Raptors may consider to replace Nick Nurse

Two other names to watch: former NBA players Jerry Stackhouse and Adrian Griffin Sr.

The Toronto Raptors surprised fans when they decided to fire head coach Nick Nurse on Friday morning.

Nurse, who led the Raptors to win the NBA championship in 2019, is now widely considered the favorite to become head coach of the Rockets. The Raptors, meanwhile, have a big decision to make when it comes to finding a replacement for the 2020 NBA Coach of the Year.

Whoever takes over for Nurse will inherit a roster with two-time All-Star Pascal Siakam, one-time All-Star Fred VanVleet, Rookie of the Year Scottie Barnes, and OG Anunoby (who was one of the most coveted players at the trade deadline).

Toronto’s coaching decision will reflect whether the franchise plans to rebuild (VanVleet and Gary Trent Jr. both have player options and can become free agents this offseason) or just slightly retool for another championship pursuit.

Here is more from Raptors president of basketball operations Masai Ujiri (via ESPN):

“This is an opportunity for us to reset, to refocus, to put into place the personnel and the players who will help us reach our goal of winning our next championship.”

Ime Udoka is expected to be a “serious candidate” for the opening in Toronto, per ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski. Here is who else the organization may have in mind.

Interviews: NBA coaches who met with Rockets or plan to meet during 2023 search

In the aftermath of Ime Udoka meeting with the #Rockets on Wednesday, here’s an updated look at the team’s list and schedule of head coaching interviews.

As of Thursday, April 20, the coaching search for the Rockets is now approaching the end of its second week. In-person interviews with a number of candidates have already taken place in Houston.

After finishing with the NBA’s worst or second-worst record for three straight years, Houston (22-60) recently declined to pick up the team option on the contract of former head coach Stephen Silas.

With that, the Rockets entered into a search for his replacement. As usual, led by general manager Rafael Stone, they’re casting a wide net and making plenty of contacts, with the interview list including both former head coaches and current assistants around the league.

However, in the wake of Silas not working out after being a first-time hire in 2020, it’s believed that head coaching experience is more of a priority in 2023. Thus, former coaches such as Frank Vogel, James Borrego, and Ime Udoka are among the list of confirmed interviews.

Here’s a look at where the Rockets appear to be at in their search, as of Thursday afternoon. This list does not yet include Toronto’s Nick Nurse, since he remains under contract with the Raptors as head coach and will not interview unless a parting of ways is announced.

Per Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle, interviews with Warriors assistant Kenny Atkinson (formerly head coach of the Nets) and 76ers assistant Sam Cassell are planned but not yet scheduled, as a result of their teams playing in the 2023 NBA playoffs.

Some of these interviewees may also factor into Houston’s potential staff of assistants beneath its new head coach. The Rockets plan to fill the lead role first, and then that person will be able to make decisions regarding who will fill out the surrounding coaching staff.