The Milwaukee Bucks came into Friday’s contest with a clear game plan in mind. Defense had been a major issue for this team over their slow start to the new season, and this was something that had to be addressed moving forward.
One major change they implemented was center Brook Lopez dropping to the basket to protect the rim. The fact that the veteran swatted away eight shots against the Knicks is a testament to how effective this defensive adjustment was for the Bucks.
Milwaukee Bucks Vets Met With Adrian Griffin

Apparently, some veteran players of the team had approached Griffin following their stunning blowout loss to the Toronto Raptors on Wednesday. They had a few ideas in mind as to how the team could improve, and one of them was having Lopez drop deeper defensively.
Griffin admitted that this meeting was what sparked the tweak on the defensive end:
“Just sometimes as coaches are too smart for our own selves and so a couple players came to me – I won’t disclose – but they wanted Brook deeper in the drop and I was smart enough to listen to ‘em and it paid off tonight,” Griffin said, via Jim Owczarski of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.

Griffin noted that the matchup against the Knicks was a particularly difficult game to try and switch it up defensively considering how much of a threat New York posed from mid-range. However, Coach Griff trusted his players’ instincts, and as he said, the decision paid off for them handsomely.
“The players are not always correct with their assessment, but I think it is wise to at least listen to them,” Griffin said. “And if it makes sense, we incorporate it. But we’re all pulling for the same thing, and that’s to win.”

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