The Milwaukee Bucks have unexpectedly decided to part ways with their head coach, Adrian Griffin, halfway through his debut season following 43 games.
This move is surprising and decisive, to say the least, especially considering the team's strong performance, being tied for the second-best record in the league at 30-13. The Bucks are only trailing the league leaders, the Boston Celtics, by a margin of 3.5 games.
The Bucks are reportedly set to appoint Doc Rivers as their new head coach. Currently serving as an ESPN analyst on their NBA broadcasts, Rivers was let go by the Philadelphia 76ers last May after bouncing out of the playoffs in the second round for the third straight year.
The 62-year-old previously coached the Los Angeles Clippers, Boston Celtics, and Orlando Magic, winning an NBA title with Boston in 2008.
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The Lakers with Darvin Ham
The Los Angeles Lakers are not playing as advertised, sitting in ninth place in the highly competitive Western Conference with a 22-23 win-loss record.
Under Darvin Ham, who assumed control of the purple-and-gold squad before the 2022-23 NBA season, the Lakers have not demonstrated the potential to be genuine championship contenders.
Despite having two of the game's top talents in LeBron James and Anthony Davis, the Lakers have encountered offensive challenges during the 50-year-old's coaching tenure.
While their defensive prowess has been evident during the past two seasons, their offensive performance is subpar, ranking 21st in the league in terms of offensive rating last season.
In the 2023-24 NBA season, they now find themselves in the 22nd position in the league for the same category, holding a rating of 114.17.
Surprisingly, their poor offensive rating persists despite the team's wealth of offensive talent, which, aside from James and Davis, includes D'Angelo Russell, Austin Reaves, Cam Reddish, Taurean Prince, and many others.
As a result of their challenges, six unidentified sources within the team have reportedly pointed to a widening divide between head coach Darvin Ham and the Lakers' locker room, as disclosed by Shams Charania and Jovan Buha of The Athletic earlier this year.
Should the Lakers also fire Darvin Ham
The Bucks' choice to dismiss Griffin appears to be a preemptive measure, made despite the team's overall success. This decision was influenced by concerns related to questions about his leadership capabilities and his management of new acquisition Damian Lillard.
Bucks players were reportedly responsible for drawing up plays for themselves, and miscommunication emerged as a consistent issue on the team's defensive front.
On the contrary, the Lakers are adopting a passive stance regarding their head coaching position, opting not to make a change despite experiencing multiple challenging stretches over the past two years.
This approach may haunt the purple-and-gold squad, especially with rumors that he has lost the locker room.
Such circumstances are concerning as the team looks ahead, and they should make a change as early as now to integrate an offensive-minded tactician who could maximize all the talent in the roster.
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