The Milwaukee Bucks won their first game since the firing of rookie coach Adrian Griffin and prior to pounding Cleveland 126-116, Giannis, Dame and the squad got in a circle and did a synchronized dance.
Can’t deny that the mood of the team since Griffin’s exit has transformed into this joyous, unanimous ball of energy.
Why Are The Milwaukee Bucks So Happy?
Giannis made it clear that he may not say it publicly, but he’s very happy Griffin is gone. That’s why prior to having his best game of the season (35, 18 rebounds and 10 assists) the team basically stomped on Griffin’s coaching grave to set the game off, in the arena that he only got to call home for 43 games, 30 of which he won.
“I was coached by him, and we did very well. In a position like that you have to understand that when somebody’s being hired … the GM will come and say, ‘what do you think about that?’ Not to just me, but the players he trusts for advice.
“At times they make it seem like it’s the players that’s making the decisions. … This is the business of the NBA,” Giannis told reporters Wednesday night.
So Giannis is insinuating that Milwaukee Bucks front office and ownership came to him, and probably Dame, to ask their opinion on a potential coaching switch to Doc Rivers. We don’t have to be there to know how the conversation went. Out went Griffin, who now holds the distinction of having the third-highest winning percentage in NBA history by a coach to be fired midseason.
“It was a very bad look. A very bad look,” Stephen A. Smith said of the team dancing prior to the game. “(But) Giannis is a superstar in this league and if he’s not enamored with the coach, he’s not enamored with the coach.”
Sounds like Smith just wants Giannis to admit that it wasn’t a good fit and he also wanted Doc. The answers Giannis gave in the postgame interview weren’t satisfactory.
Smith went on to say that Giannis is either tone deaf, or he wanted the world to know how “happy he is that (Griffin) is gone.”
Writing Was On The Wall For Griffin’s Departure
Back when Giannis and the Bucks got eliminated from the In-Season Tournament, the franchise player expressed his criticism of the coaching, so Smith says the writing was on the wall.
Who knows if Griffin, who had 14 prior head coaching interviews before landing the Bucks job on his 15th try, will even get another crack at a job. After all, winning over 68 percent of your games is great, but on the other hand, being dismissed because of a personality or style conflict with your star players isn’t a good look. If Griffin does get another shot it will most likely be with a young, rebuilding squad with much less star power.
What’s Next For Giannis and Dame?
The Giannis and Dame combo looked strong against Cleveland. Dame still has to work out some kinks as he dropped 28 but was only 8 of 21 from the field and missed seven of his nine three-point attempts. He did slither to the line 11 times and converted 10 free throws.
“Times like this either, tear us apart or keep us together,” Giannis told Bally Sports on the court after the game.
It’s clear that Dame and Giannis are on the same page. It’s everybody else’s job to follow.
JJ Redick says the bottom line is that they wanted a proven coach, but he doesn’t think Doc Rivers is the guy that gets them over the hump unless they add another star player at the deadline.
Any way you slice it, the stakes just went up for Greek Freak and his sidekick Dame Lillard. A midseason change of this magnitude and under these circumstances has to equate to something big. Plus, they are running out of people to blame. Only time will tell if they will be dancing in the glow of another NBA title, or the excuses for another season of playoff failure.
